The government has confirmed the amendments it will make to the Employment Rights Bill as it prepares to update the law within which trade unions operate.
In its response to the consultation it launched in October, the Department for Business and Trade said it would ensure industrial relations are underpinned by “collaboration, proportionality, accountability”, balancing the interests of workers, business and the public.
Trade union law
Consultation: a new framework for industrial relations
The government said that trade union law must be “brought into the 21st century” and that the Employment Rights Bill will “fix the foundations” of the industrial relations framework.
This includes repealing much of the Trade Union Act 2016, including the 40% support threshold and the 50% turnout threshold.
The six key changes to the industrial relations framework to emerge from the tabled amendments are as follows:
1. Reducing notice periods for industrial action
The government is of the view that a 10-day notice period, rather than the current period of 14 days, would achieve the appropriate balance in allowing employers the ability to plan to mitigate the impact of industrial action while respecting the right to strike. It rejected proposals for seven-day and 21-day notice periods.
2. Doubling the expiry period of ballot mandates
The government has decided to extend the six-month expiration date of a legal mandate to industrial action to 12 months. It said this would reduce the cost of re-ballots, allowing mandates to continue for longer where they still have members’ support. It cited evidence from the Labour Disputes Survey that most industrial disputes conclude within a year.
3. Introducing e-balloting
The government said it is committed to working with businesses and trade unions by launching working groups on e-balloting in the coming months. It said e-ballots would make balloting more accessible, which it expects will increase participation in statutory ballots and demonstrate clear mandates.
The Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers will be updated to recommend that email is the preferred method to inform an employer of a ballot outcome. Currently, first-class post, courier, fax, email or hand delivery is recommended.
4. Simplifying information required
The government is introducing a new clause in the Employment Rights Bill to reduce the information required in ballot notices under Section 226A of TULRCA, so that a union no longer has to provide information on the number of employees in each category or workplace or explain how the total number was determined by the union.
The union will also no longer be required to disclose to the employer the number of employees in each category that are expected to take part in industrial action.
5. Protecting against unfair practices
If the union wants to claim an unfair practice, the government is tabling an amendment such that there will no longer be a “second test” which requires the CAC to decide whether the practice was likely to change a worker’s vote in a ballot.
“Our view is that irrespective of the impact on voting behaviour of an unfair practice, the unfair practice should not be occurring,” said the government.
Complaints of unfair practices will be accepted in a timeframe of five days, up from the current 24 hours.
6. Streamlining trade union recognition
The government will amend the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA) such that unfair practice provisions will commence at the point when the Central Arbitration Committee accepts an application for trade union recognition.
The number of people in the proposed bargaining unit for the purposes of recognition, cannot be increased after the point that the application is accepted by the CAC. An employer would be free to recruit more staff, but these new employees would not count towards the number in the bargaining unit and would not be entitled to vote in any subsequent recognition ballot.
The government said that mass recruitment into a bargaining unit to thwart trade union recognition is not a common practice, but it acknowledged concerns raised in the consultation. This appears to be related to allegations from the GMB union in 2023 that Amazon recruited more workers in its Coventry warehouse to frustrate the union’s recognition bid.
An amendment will introduce a negotiation period, starting when the CAC accepts the recognition application, lasting 20 working days, for the union and the employer to agree on access (allowing union representatives to enter the workplace to meet, recruit, represent, and organise workers) and to agree on the bargaining unit.
The regulations will also allow access agreements to cover virtual access, making it possible to agree access covering solely digital access, and ensuring there is no requirement for an access agreement to cover physical access. Further detail on what virtual access entails, such as its definition and the functions it would cover, will be set out in secondary legislation.
Also in the pipeline
The government will abolish the 10-year requirement for unions to ballot their members on the maintenance of a political fund. Instead, union members will be reminded every 10 years that they can opt out of the political fund.
In a written statement to Parliament, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will also amend the Bill so that independent unions can apply for recognition where an employer has voluntarily recognised a non-independent union following receipt of a formal request for voluntary recognition by the independent union.”
Reaction to the changes
Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the CIPD, said: “Proposed changes to make it easier for unions to achieve recognition, access workplaces and to take industrial action will have significant implications for many businesses. We must see further consultation with employers on key aspects of these proposals to ensure they can support effective collective employment relations and partnership working between employers and trade unions and don’t undermine workplace democracy.
“More broadly, there’s a need for the government to consider other changes to the employment relations infrastructure and institutions, including more resources for the Central Arbitration Committee and Acas. Many employers will have no experience of working with trade unions and will need support in order to develop the necessary employment relations skills and avoid disputes.”
Amendments to the Employment Rights Bill
Employment Rights Bill: Agency workers and zero-hours contracts ban
Employment Rights Bill: Collective redundancy protective award doubled
Len Shackleton, research fellow at free-market think tank, the Institute of Economic Affairs, said of the changes to trade union law: “It seems likely that unions representing a small number of employees will have rather greater power.
“This may mean more strikes, but not necessarily: the threat of strikes is itself enough to boost bargaining power and induce employers to make higher pay offers – which may be inflationary and/or discourage the expansion of employment.
“Unions will be better able to resist change – for example on the railways, where the productivity record is already abysmal and there is chronic overstaffing in some areas.
“The right to access physical workplaces to attempt to recruit union members would necessarily be limited in the frequency union officials could organise this, but ‘digital access’ is a whole new ball game. It could involve relentless emails to staff. The template for access, presumably to be produced by Acas, will need careful watching.”
Paul Nowak, general secrtary of the TUC, said: “Union-busting has no place in modern Britain. Corporate bully boys like Amazon throw everything at trying to stop workers from having an independent voice at work.
“This Bill will help to stop these sorts of egregious tactics and will mean more workers benefit from a union voice. The commitment to deliver e-balloting is also long overdue to bring voting methods into the 21st century. Unions will also welcome the government’s commitment to repeal the Tories’ unfair and anti-democratic 2016 Trade Union Act ballot thresholds.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite has been ensuring that the worker’s voice is heard every step of the way so that a fairer environment for workers is created. In many areas, the government has listened and acted. For decades, workers’ rights have been pushed down the agenda. This is the first time in a generation that workers’ rights have been taken seriously.”
Next steps
The Bill reaches the report stage and has its third reading in the House of Commons early next week (11-12 March 2025), where the latest amendments will be debated. It then moves to the House of Lords.
The Amendment Paper, listing all amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, has been published today (5 March 2025).
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