Collective employee relations

New and updated

• Type:

  Legal timetable

  Reform of trade union laws - phase three

  Updated to reflect the Government's timeline update for the Employment Rights Act 2025, published 3 February 2026.

• Type:

  Legal timetable

  Reform of trade union laws - phase two

  Updated to reflect the Government's timeline update for the Employment Rights Act 2025, published 3 February 2026.

• Type:

  Legal timetable

  Electronic balloting for union recognition

  The Government proposes to allow the use of electronic balloting (rather than only postal or workplace balloting) for trade union recognition and derecognition ballots.

• Type:

  Legal timetable

  Electronic and workplace balloting for industrial action

  The Employment Rights Act 2025 allows for the use of electronic and workplace balloting (rather than postal balloting) for industrial action.

• Type:

  Employment law guide

  Trade unions: blacklisting and inducements

  This guide summarises the law preventing blacklisting of workers from employment because of their current or past trade union membership or activities. The guide also covers the prohibition on offering inducements to prevent workers from joining a union or taking part in trade union-related activities.

• Type:

  Employment law guide

  Trade unions: time off for union representatives

  The guide covers the right to time off work for trade union representatives to carry out certain trade union-related activities. The guide sets out what types of activity are covered by the right; when the time off is paid or unpaid; and how much time off employers should permit.

• Type:

  Employment law guide

  Trade unions: collective bargaining and collective agreements

  This guide sets out the collective bargaining process of negotiation between representatives of trade unions and employers in respect of employees' terms and conditions such as pay, hours of work and working conditions. The guide also summaries collective agreements, which are agreements between trade unions (acting on behalf of workers) and employers or groups of employers covering matters such as pay, hours of work and working conditions.

• Type:

  Employment law guide

  Trade unions: employee protections

  This guide highlights employee protections in the context of trade unions, including protection against detrimental treatment or dismissal on grounds related to union membership or activities.

• Type:

  Employment law guide

  Trade union recognition: voluntary and compulsory recognition

  This guide contrasts the voluntary recognising of a trade union for the purposes of collective bargaining with the compulsory recognition of a trade union.

• Type:

  Legal timetable

  Reform of trade union laws - phase one

  Updated to reflect that extended protection against dismissal for taking industrial action will come into force on 18 February 2026.