Trade union consultations: what do the government's proposals mean for employers?

The government has opened two consultations to gather feedback on how to implement key elements of its trade union reforms set out in the Employment Rights Bill. In this article, we look at what the government is asking for views on, its preferred approach, and what these changes could mean for employers. 

Duty to inform workers of right to join a trade union

Currently, employers are not obliged to tell workers they have the right to join a trade union. The Employment Rights Bill introduces a new duty requiring employers to provide this information. The Make Work Pay: Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union consultation, seeks views on how this duty should work in practice, focusing on four areas:

1. Content: what should the statement include to be clear and useful for workers? The government suggests a brief overview of trade union functions, a summary of statutory rights on union membership, a list of recognised trade unions (if any), and a link to a Gov.uk webpage with a list of trade unions.
2. Form: two options are proposed, an employer-drafted statement or a standard template with space for workplace-specific details. The standard template is the government's preferred option.
3. Delivery: how and when should workers receive the statement? For new workers, the government proposes direct delivery (e.g. by email or letter) alongside the employment particulars. For existing staff, the government favours allowing employers to choose direct or indirect methods (e.g. posting on notice board or intranet) to suit their organisation.
4. Frequency: if delivered directly to existing staff, the government thinks that the statement should be issued annually. If it's decided that the statement should be issued to existing staff directly or indirectly but with reminders, the government proposes that they should also be given annually. 

Right of trade unions to access workplaces

The Employment Rights Bill introduces a statutory right for trade unions to access workplaces - both physically and digitally - to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers, as well as to facilitate collective bargaining. 

Under the Bill, unions must give notice of access. Employers can agree or object. If terms are agreed, they are recorded with the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). If no agreement is reached within a set timeframe, either party can refer the matter to the CAC, which will decide if access should be granted based on factors that will be set out in regulations. The CAC will also enforce access agreements and impose fines for breaches.

The Make Work Pay: Right of trade unions to access consultation, seeks views on how unions should request access and how employers ought to respond. The government states that it is keen to understand the factors at play when determining whether access should be granted and on what terms.  

The government proposes that:

1. Union requests should be sent directly to the employer, using a standard template. The request should include a whole raft of information. It should say it's an access request, describe the group of workers the union wants access to and why, confirm what type of access they want (physical and/or digital), and the nature of that access. It also should set out the first visit date, how the union will provide practical information about the visit, notice periods, frequency of access, workplace locations, and union membership numbers.
2. Employers should have five working days to respond via a standard template stating whether the access request is accepted or rejected (in whole or in part) with reasons.
3. The negotiation period - the time between when the employer's response is given and when the parties must conclude negotiations on terms of access - should be 15 working days.
4. Union access (physical, digital, or both) should be weekly.
5. Where a case has been referred to the CAC for determination:
   1. It should refuse access for employers with fewer than 21 workers - the government states that this will provide certainty to smaller employers while allowing trade unions to seek access to the vast majority of workers.
   2. It is reasonable to refuse access where an employer already recognises an independent union to negotiate on behalf of a group of workers
   3. It should take into account that employers should not be required to allocate more resources than is required to facilitate the terms of an access agreement. Specifically, an employer should not have to construct new meeting places in the workplace or implement new IT systems.
6. There should be a two-stage maximum fine linked to repeated breaches. Under this approach the standard maximum penalty would be £75,000. The higher maximum for repeated breaches (where there is an upheld complaint following at least one previous upheld complaint for which the CAC had issued a penalty) should be £150,000, double the initial cap.   

What do these proposals mean for employers? 

You will face additional administrative obligations and demands that will take time and resources to comply with. If you are worried about the options preferred by the government, now is the time to speak up. While the government will not abandon these plans at this stage, if enough employers complain and make the same points, it's possible that it may adapt them. 

Both consultations close at 11:59pm on 18 December 2025.

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