Employment Rights Act 2025 – Focus on Trade Unions

In our January blog, we provided an overview of the key provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (the Act), which was passed just before Christmas.

The Act will bring about major changes to industrial relations law, significantly strengthening the rights of trade unions.

Therefore, in this blog, we highlight the key changes universities need to be aware of, in the context of industrial relations, and the practical impact of these changes.

Repeal of existing legislation

On Royal Assent in December, the Act repealed the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, which allowed minimum service levels to be applied in the event of strikes in areas such as health, transport, education and fire and rescue.

The Act will also repeal much of the Trade Union Act 2016, which introduced restrictions on the organisation of lawful industrial action, including longer notice periods, higher ballot thresholds, restrictions on picketing and the expiry of industrial action mandates after six months. The broad intention is for the law to return to its pre-2016 position with some exceptions.

Changes in force from 18 February 2026

Increased dismissal protection for industrial action

Previously, employees could claim unfair dismissal if they were dismissed for taking protected industrial action and the dismissal took place within 12 weeks of the employee starting the industrial action. This 12-week cap has been removed, meaning employees are protected against unfair dismissal when taking protected industrial action, regardless of the length of the strike action. Dismissing employees who have taken part in industrial action is not necessarily a great look from an industrial relations point of view in any event, and universities will now also need to exercise further caution when dismissing participating employees during or following strikes, ensuring there is an unrelated reason for the dismissal.

Relaxation of rules on trade union activity

A number of changes have been made to the rules on trade union activity including:

• The notice period for industrial action has been reduced from 14 days to 10 days.
• Industrial action mandates now last for 12 months, instead of 6 months.
• Picket supervisors are no longer required.
• The 40% support requirement for industrial action ballots in important public services including education of those aged under 17 has been removed.
• The information that a union must provide to employers during balloting has been reduced. There is no longer a requirement to specify the number of affected workers in each category listed and at each workplace or to provide an explanation of how these figures were reached.
• The ten-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds has been replaced by a requirement for unions to send a ten-yearly reminder to members of their right to opt out of making political fund contributions.

April 2026 changes

Simplified trade union recognition

The Act will amend the existing statutory recognition process by: 

• Removing the current requirement for unions to have the support of at least 40% of the workforce in the proposed bargaining unit, instead requiring only a simple majority of those voting.
• Removing the requirement for a union to demonstrate to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) that they are likely to win a recognition ballot. Unions would only need to show the CAC that they have 10% membership of the proposed bargaining unit for their application.
• Setting a clear timetable for negotiations on access i.e. 20 working days from the point the CAC accepts a trade union recognition application. If no agreement is reached, the CAC will have 10 working days to determine a reasonable access agreement.
• Allowing 5 working days after the close of the recognition ballot for complaints to be submitted to the CAC where an unfair practice is alleged and making it easier to win such complaints by only requiring the CAC to consider whether an unfair practice has occurred without considering the effect it may have had.

August 2026 changes

Electronic balloting and voting changes

The requirement for a 50% turnout for industrial action ballots will be removed, returning to simple majority voting. This is expected to happen once electronic voting is introduced for industrial action ballots, which the Government has recently announced will take place in August 2026. It was previously expected in April this year.

October 2026 changes

Duty to inform employees of right to join a union

The Act introduces a new duty on employers to provide their workers with a written statement of their right to join a trade union. Specific details of this requirement, including the content, form, frequency and manner of communication, will be set out in secondary legislation. The consultation on this duty closed on 18 December 2025 and we await the Government’s response.

Strengthened rights of access for trade unions

The Act provides a new statutory framework through which a trade union can negotiate a workplace access agreement with an employer. Access means physical access and communicating with staff in person or through electronic means for the purposes of representing, recruiting or organising members, or to facilitate collective bargaining. It does not include access for the purpose of organising industrial action. A new Code of Practice setting out more detail is expected in the Spring.

Where these negotiations are unsuccessful, either party can apply to the CAC for a decision. The Act also establishes an enforcement framework, allowing cases to be referred to the CAC where a party believes a breach has occurred. The CAC has the power to issue financial penalties.

Rights of trade union representatives

There will be a new right to reasonable accommodation and facilities for trade union representatives carrying out their duties as well as a new right for union equality representatives to take time off to carry out their duties.

Increased protection against detriment for industrial action

Workers will be protected against detriment (i.e. less favourable treatment), where the employer’s sole or main purpose is to prevent or deter the worker from taking protected industrial action, or penalising the worker for doing so. The Act allows for secondary legislation to set out which detriments will be prohibited, and the Government expects to consult on this in the Spring.

2027 changes

Existing laws that protect trade union members from being 'blacklisted' and discriminated against will be extended, with a consultation due in the Spring.

Electronic balloting will be permitted for recognition and derecognition ballots.

Consultations

Many of the trade union provisions in the Act will require secondary legislation and further consultation. Universities would be wise to monitor developments over the coming months.

The following consultations have either taken place or are in progress:

• The duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union (closed on 18 December 2025)
• Trade unions’ right of access (closed on 18 December 2025)
• The draft Code of Practice on electronic and workplace balloting for statutory union ballots (closed 28 January 2026)
• The revised code of practice during recognition and derecognition processes and proposals on unfair practices in electronic ballots (closes 1 April 2026)
• Acas Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities (closes 17 March 2026)

Further consultations are expected on blacklisting and protection from detriment for taking industrial action.

What does this mean for universities?

The changes will make it easier for trade unions to obtain recognition and to call strikes and other industrial action. Universities will potentially face greater risk, for example in relation to detriment and dismissal claims, and will also find it more challenging to manage the unions and any threat of industrial action.

Steps that universities can take to prepare for the changes include:

• Reviewing and, where necessary, amending the university’s industrial-relations framework, so policies reflect the new rules on industrial action, workplace access and trade union recognition.
• Reviewing the organisation's communication and engagement strategy to ensure it supports constructive dialogue with workers and clearly sets out how updates will be shared.
• Updating employment contracts to include a reference to each worker’s right to join a trade union, in line with the new employer duty coming into effect later in 2026.
• Providing training for people managers and HR teams, so they understand the new rights and are confident handling workplace access requests, industrial action queries and union-related concerns.
• Identifying any practical issues that may arise from third parties accessing the workplace, including visitor protocols, health and safety considerations, and the impact on day-to-day operations.

These steps will help universities manage risk, support compliance, and put the organisation in a stronger position ahead of the phased changes.

Shakespeare Martineau

Tom Long, Partner, Shakespeare Martineau

Tom.long@shma.co.uk

Susannah Nicholas, Professional Support Lawyer, Shakespeare Martineau

Susannah.nicholas@shma.co.uk

Important information

This article provides general guidance only and should not be treated as legal advice.