Industrial relations changes herald start of sweeping reforms under new Employment Rights Act

The Employment Rights Act 2025, which was finally granted royal assent in December, introduces significant reforms to the employment law landscape in the UK, not least in the complex field of industrial relations.

The first of a series of articles considering the impact of the act on industrial relations, this piece considers the initial raft of changes which come into force on 18 February, and principally repeal various provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016. The second article in the series, which will focus on the reforms to be introduced in April, will follow later this month.

Balloting requirements

Under the current rules, in order for a union to obtain a mandate for industrial action, at least 50% of members who are entitled to vote in the ballot must do so (the turnout threshold). Furthermore, a majority of the votes cast must be in favour of industrial action for it to succeed (the support threshold). There is an additional requirement in industrial action ballots in what are defined as ‘important public services’ for at least 40% of those who are entitled to vote actually voting in favour of action.

The support thresholds which were introduced by the Trade Union Act 2016 will be repealed from 18 February, meaning that it will be easier for unions to secure an industrial action mandate. The turnout thresholds will also be repealed, but this change will not come into force until the introduction of e-balloting. A consultation on a code of practice on electronic and workplace balloting closed on 28 January, and these changes are expected to be introduced in April 2026. The introduction of e-balloting is likely to increase voter participation, and therefore make it easier for trade unions to hit the relevant thresholds for industrial action. Employers can expect more action as a result.

Once a mandate has been obtained, the period for which it will be valid will be increased from six to 12 months. The government believes that this should ensure the appropriate balance between reducing costs of re-balloting without prolonging disputes, or permitting disputes to be called based on a mandate which is no longer valid. There will be no option for an employer and a trade union to agree to an extension of the mandate beyond the 12 month period.

The increased length of the mandate creates a sustained disruption risk for employers and means that disputes may be seen as long‑term strategic risks, not short, time‑limited disruptions. Employers will also, in most cases, lose the tactical advantage of waiting for a ballot to expire.

Ballot and industrial action notices

The amount of information unions must include in ballot notices provided to employers will be reduced. From 18 February, the notice need only include:

• the categories of employees being balloted;
• workplace locations; and
• the total number of employees concerned.

This change is being made on the basis that it is more useful for employers to have more specific information at the point when industrial action is being called, as opposed to when action is merely the potential outcome of a ballot. While there is certainly some truth in this, employers will nevertheless wish to have as much information about the potential action as early as possible, particularly in light of the fact that a mandate for action may be easier for unions to obtain. It will also make it significantly more difficult for employers to assess ballot accuracy or identify numerical or descriptive defects in the ballot that could form the basis of a legal challenge.

In addition, the notice of industrial action that unions must provide to employers will be reduced from the current 14 days to 10 days. This will have an impact on contingency planning (for example staffing and business continuity) and will reduce the window of opportunity for negotiation or avoiding the action.

Voting papers

Voting papers will be simplified and will no longer need detailed descriptions of proposed industrial action. Unions need only ask members which type of action (strike or action short of a strike) they support. Again, this will reduce the risk of union error in the voting papers, and reduce the scope for employers to raise technical objections.

Protection from dismissal

Currently, a dismissal will be automatically unfair where the date of the employee’s dismissal falls within the ‘protected period’ (usually 12 weeks, starting with the day the employee first took part in a period of protected (that is, lawful) industrial action), where the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason) is taking protected industrial action. This 12-week cap will be removed, meaning that employees will be protected at any time both during and following the industrial action.

The act also introduces protection against detriment for taking (or to deter an employee from taking) protected industrial action. This is intended to protect striking workers from being penalised by their employer, following a recent case deciding that there was inadequate protection for workers under our domestic law. However, these provisions will not give rise to enforceable rights until further regulations are made setting out a ‘prescribed description’ of the detriments that will be unlawful, and will not come into effect until October 2026, following a period of consultation.

Picketing

The requirement for union supervision of picketing (by a union official either present at the picket line or readily contactable) in order for industrial action to be protected, is being repealed.

Check-off

The restrictions on public sector employers deducting trade union subscriptions directly from a union member’s pay on behalf of that union (a practice known as ‘check-off’) will be removed. Under TULRCA 1992, public sector employers could only provide a check-off service if their workers had the option to pay their union subscriptions by other means and arrangements had been made for the union to make reasonable payments to the employer in respect of making the deductions. This will no longer be the case.

Minimum service levels

18 December, the date on which the act came into force, saw the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, which allowed employers to set minimum service levels that had to be maintained during strikes in certain key sectors such as health, transport and education. However, in practice this is a technicality, as no employer ever invoked these powers while they were in force.

Transitional arrangements

There are complex transitional rules that apply where ballot notices or ballots were issued before 18 February. Employers – and unions – will need to be alert as to which rules apply.

What to take away

The proposed changes in February and beyond are intended to, and will, strengthen trade union rights in the workplace. Employers should be prepared for industrial action to become less burdensome for trade unions to organise, and adjust their industrial relations strategy to account for this. With reduced time and information to prepare for industrial action, and significantly less opportunity to challenge the legitimacy of strike action on technical grounds, building strong engagement with unions and the workers they represent will be more important than ever before.

Contingency and operational planning will need to be tightened, union activity and workplace tensions will need to be monitored carefully, and managers trained to spot early indicators of disputes and to utilise any new or existing industrial relations framework.

For further information, please contact Binder Bansel or your usual contact in the Penningtons Manches Cooper employment team.