Employment Rights Act: Trade Union Updates
The Employment Rights Act isn’t just about individual rights. It’s also significantly reshaping the industrial relations landscape.
Whether you operate in a unionised environment or not, these changes matter.
What is changing and when?
18 February 2026: Key Changes
From February 2026, we saw immediate strengthening of protections around industrial action.
Workers are protected from “prescribed” detriments for taking lawful industrial action. (The full list of prescribed detriments will be published in October 2026.)
Dismissals for taking part in protected industrial action are automatically unfair.
Strike ballots have become easier to pass. Only a simple majority with a 50% turnout is required.
This lowers the threshold for lawful industrial action and increases protection for those taking part.
April 2026: Union Recognition Changes
If a union makes a recognition application and it is accepted, employers must allow union access during the process.
This increases transparency and strengthens union positioning during recognition campaigns.
No Earlier Than August 2026
Unions will be permitted to use electronic ballots, workplace ballots (with employer agreement) and hybrid approaches for statutory processes.
This modernises the balloting process and may increase participation rates.
October 2026: Further Strengthening of Union Rights
Employers must inform workers of their right to join a trade union.
Trade union access rights will be strengthened.
New protections will apply to trade union representatives, including equality representatives, with time-off requests presumed reasonable.
The full list of “prescribed” detriments will be published, further extending protection for those involved in industrial action.
What does this mean for employers?
Even if you are not currently unionised, these changes shift the tone around employee voice and industrial relations.
The bar for lawful industrial action lowers.
Protections against dismissal and detriment strengthen.
Union access rights expand.
And communication obligations increase.
In short, the landscape becomes more balanced in favour of organised employee representation.
For unionised businesses, this means reviewing agreements, protocols and communication strategies.
For non-unionised businesses, this is a moment to reflect on whether your employee voice mechanisms are strong enough. Because where employees feel unheard, unionisation often gains traction.
How should you prepare?
Now is not the time to ignore this because “it doesn’t apply to us.”
You should be:
Reviewing any existing union recognition or access agreements.
Auditing digital communication policies to ensure they align with proposed access rights, particularly if union access may extend into digital platforms.
Assessing how you currently manage employee voice, consultation and engagement.
Training senior leaders and managers on industrial relations awareness.
Ensuring dismissal and disciplinary decisions involving industrial action are handled with extreme care under the strengthened automatic unfair dismissal rules.
This is as much about culture as it is compliance.
Strong communication, fair treatment and genuine employee engagement reduce risk far more effectively than reactive legal positioning.
Final thought
These changes are not about creating conflict. They are about formalising and strengthening worker protections and representation.
Businesses that communicate well, consult properly and treat employees fairly will navigate this shift confidently.
Those that rely on outdated processes or defensive approaches may find themselves exposed.
At Streetwise HR, we support businesses to review their industrial relations approach, sense-check risk areas and build practical, commercially sensible frameworks that protect both the organisation and its people.
If you want to get ahead of these changes rather than react to them, let’s talk.