General Council Report 2025
2.1 Stronger employment rights
Following long-running TUC and union campaigning, the new government is committed to an ambitious set of employment rights reforms under its Plan to Make Work Pay. Ministers met their promise to table an Employment Rights Bill within 100 days of taking office.
This contains vital reforms to stop abusive zero-hours contracts, improve statutory sick pay and give protection from unfair dismissal from day one in the job. The bill also, in line with resolution 7, allows for the creation of a mandatory seafarers’ charter, to protect the working conditions of seafarers aboard ships operating regular services from UK ports and provides powers to maintain compliance with international law.
Workers will benefit from new protections against dismissal for pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave and mothers who return to work. The existing day one right to request flexible working will be strengthened. And employers will need to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, with an additional obligation on them to not permit harassment of their employees by third parties.
Workers will benefit from new protections against dismissal for pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave and mothers who return to work.
Guided by input from the Executive Committee, General Council and an expanded Union Legal Officers Network, the
TUC has provided briefings for MPs and peers throughout the legislative process. The TUC general secretary also gave oral evidence to the House of Commons bill committee.
The TUC has also engaged throughout with civil servants to ensure that General Council priorities are reflected in the bill.
A large conference was held at Congress House in December on making the case for fair work. Chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones used his speech to note the centrality of employment rights reforms to the government’s economic agenda.
The TUC responded to the government consultation on statutory sick pay, lobbying for the highest possible rate for low-paid workers. We also successfully pushed for agency workers to be included within the scope of measures on guaranteed-hours contracts.
The TUC has sought to defend the bill from attempts by employers to water down the proposals. We have also set out key areas where parliamentarians should give further consideration.
Among the issues we have highlighted is the issue of upfront fees charged to performers by casting directories, in line with resolution 4.
In line with resolution 7, the TUC has sought to defend measures in the bill aimed at ending fire-and-rehire – under pressure from the business lobby. Also, in line with resolution 7, the TUC has continued to press the government to follow its pledge to use secondary legislation to permit the use of electronic and workplace balloting in statutory ballots.
And in response to resolution 5, we have continued to press Home Office and Defra ministers on reforms to the
regulation and enforcement of migrant workers’ rights.
2.2 Health and safety
The TUC campaigned to ensure that the health, safety and welfare of workers are protected by strong unions and a growing network of health and safety representatives with access to high-quality resources. We produced webinars focused on building safety, working in hot weather, toilets, and stress; and held seminars and conferences and weeks of action for reps across Britain.
In response to composite 14, the TUC hosted a roundtable of unions to establish shared objectives in establishing violence at work as a safety concern and published new guidance for reps on preventative control measures for the risk of racist violence.
The TUC invigorated its campaign for the removal of asbestos and a national risk register: through meetings with ministers, a parliamentary inquiry into the legacy of Cape (the UK’s largest asbestos manufacturer), a one-day seminar for safety reps and
a week of action inspecting building safety, we continue to make this a priority in campaigning and organising. This work involved working closely with health and education unions, in response to resolutions 55 and 69.
In response to resolution 19, the TUC worked with the Heat Strike campaign to mobilise for a week of temperature safety inspections in July 2025, as well as co-hosting a webinar and seminar. In response to resolution 54, this year we addressed issues related to workplace wellbeing, stress and burnout through webinars and workshops for reps.
And through our relationship with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the TUC continued to push for change, including the introduction of a maximum working temperature, and for work-related suicide and sexual harassment in the workplace to be reportable, as outlined in resolutions 43 and 44.
2.3 Tackling the far right
Our work on tackling the far and populist right has continued to grow and develop, with a focus on supporting affiliates to effectively counter far- right activity in workplaces and communities.
In line with composite 10, the General Council adopted a comprehensive strategy that focuses on political education, our industrial response, targeted research, international solidarity and our political interventions
in the run up to local, devolved and the next general election.
Following a resolution from TUC Women’s Conference and in partnership with the IPPR and Hope not Hate, the TUC has commissioned research looking at the far right, misogyny and young men, the insight from which will shape our resources and educational content for affiliates.
The TUC has worked closely with affiliates across the country and curated and delivered
a programme of regional briefings outlining its strategy and priorities. These sessions have also included practical workshops and supported conversations on how best to counter false narratives and division.
We’re continuing to work with affiliates to gather information from workplaces and are continuing our work to highlight union wins and successes as part of our industrial and organising response to the far right.
Working across our equality committees, the TUC has also focused on building an intersectional response to the rise of the far and populist right, with strong representation at all our statutory conferences. In line with resolution 39, we continued to organise against hate speech towards the LGBT+ community, facilitating the Trade Unions for Trans and Non-binary Right Alliance, including meetings in Brighton and Cardiff.
Banning zero-hour contracts, introducing day one rights and tacking the scourge of insecure work will improve working conditions for Black workers across the country.
2.4 Anti-racism
The TUC Racial Justice and Equality Conference brought together trade unionists, academics, journalists and campaigners to discuss racial justice, workplace inequality, and the rise of the far right. Discussions focused on the strength and solidarity within the movement and provided an opportunity to network, debate and identify opportunities to collaborate on our shared priorities.
As the Employment Rights Bill makes it way through parliament, our focus has been on underlining the positive impact the provisions will have on Black workers. Banning zero-hour contracts, introducing day one rights and tackling the scourge of insecure work will improving working conditions for Black workers across the country.
With the government launching a consultation on ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, trade unions have an urgent role in demonstrating why robust action on racial pay gaps is essential. The TUC organised a roundtable with trade union equality officers on sector- specific challenges on pay gap data and union engagement.
2.5 Tackling sexual harassment
Following the passing at Congress 2024 of the General Council statement on tackling sexual harassment and building preventative cultures in the movement, along with emergency resolution 2 and resolutions 38 and 43, the TUC has continued to support affiliates to progress this work and embed the commitments in the statement into its own structures.
We have continued to provide advice and consultation to affiliates seeking to undertake actions to address issues within their own organisations, advising on good practice and connecting affiliates with organisations that can also support them, as well as helping affiliates to access the TUC’s ‘Tackling and preventing sexual harassment’ training developed specifically for trade unions.
We launched our confidential reporting line delivered by the Survivors Trust for TUC staff and anyone attending TUC events, with a view to encouraging affiliates to use the templates and experience we have gained to engage the Survivors Trust and commission their own reporting lines if they do not (EHRC) to promote practical actions to support unions to fulfil their obligations under the Worker Protection Act.
We launched our groundbreaking report on Black women’s experiences of sexual harassment and have supported promoting the findings and recommendations through parliamentary events and workshops for affiliates.
Following the enactment of the Worker Protection Act in October 2024, the TUC continues to promote awareness of the act and the practical actions that employers should take to build preventative cultures. This includes attending union and stakeholder events to promote the risk-based approach we advocate for and to promote the TUC ‘Tackling and preventing sexual harassment’ toolkit, which is available on our dedicated webpage. And our TUC Education team delivered a reps’ webinar with the EHRC on the Worker Protection Act and what it means for workplaces.
The Employment Rights Bill contains several measures that will strengthen protections against sexual harassment, including introducing ‘all’ reasonable steps, granting the minster the power to set out all reasonable steps, strengthened protections for whistleblowers and reintroducing protections from third party-harassment. We continue to engage directly with government and affiliates on these elements of the bill as well as respond to formal consultations, informed by resolution 57. We have engaged in media work to promote the necessity of third-party protections and the popularity of them in the face of attacks from Reform and the Conservatives as a ‘ban on banter’.
2.6 Working time and flexible working
In line with resolution 10, the TUC has used its influencing and campaigning on the Employment Rights Bill, such as MP briefings and government engagement, to continue to call for stronger rights to flexible working, including an advertising duty.
Following attacks on flexible working in the media, the TUC released a joint statement calling for an end to the witch-hunt against flexible working and supporting the government’s ambition to make flexible working the default from day one for all workers.
The TUC submitted oral and written evidence to the House of Lords Home-based Working Committee. We used the submission to defend access to well-designed home and hybrid working, the need for stronger rights and the need
for all workers to have access to flexible working, not just those who can work from home.
2.7 Protecting equalities
Women
We responded to the Women and Equalities Select Committee call for evidence on paternity and parental leave, giving oral evidence to the committee ahead of the promised government review of the parental leave system, as referenced in resolution 41 ‘Closing the gender pay gap’.
The government launched a call for evidence on equal pay, pay transparency, dual discrimination, reasonable steps to tackle sexual harassment, the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and commencing the socioeconomic duty. The TUC has engaged directly with government and its affiliates to inform its response to the call for evidence. This work will support calls in resolutions 40 and 41 to support rights to equal pay, closing the gender pay gap and making the PSED more effective.
We marked the TUC Equal Pay Day on 17 February 2025 this year – highlighting that the average woman effectively works for free for the first seven weeks of the year. We continue to call for the Employment Rights Bill to be implemented in full, which will include mandatory pay gap action plans, as well as banning exploitative zero-hours contracts, a right to sick pay from day one, strengthened dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers, better flexible working access and a fair pay agreement in social care, all of which will disproportionately benefit women.
We continue to be a steering group member of the Early Education and Childcare Coalition and have participated in ministerial meetings and events to lobby for investment and reform of the childcare system and support for the
workforce. We worked with Carers UK to launch a toolkit on negotiating for carers in the workplace. We continue to support calls for paid carers’ leave.
Working with the Northern TUC Women’s Committee and the Miscarriage Association, we developed a toolkit for supporting workers who have experienced pregnancy loss and we continue to campaign for paid time off, as referenced in resolution 23.
Alongside our continuing work on tackling sexual harassment and promoting the practical use of the Worker Protection Act, we continued to push for change, including that sexual harassment in the workplace be reportable to the HSE, as outlined in resolution 43, and we have supported the End not Defend campaign. We participated in a session hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Domestic Violence and Abuse, discussing why it is a workplace issue and what employers can do to support victims/survivors, and we have participated in a range of webinars and events including for the White Ribbon campaign.
Black workers
The TUC has continued to engage with the government on numerous consultations and roundtables, including on extended equal pay rights and the enactment of dual discrimination provisions in the Equality Act 2010.
At Congress 2024, the TUC Race Relations Committee hosted a fringe event on the ethnicity pay gap, which currently sits at 14.4 per cent. The event included speakers from the Ethnicity Pay Gap Campaign and the Runnymede Trust as well as from GMB and UNISON.
A major focus was on how unions can use this data to demand structural changes in workplaces. Ethnicity pay
gap reporting is not just about numbers – it is a crucial step in addressing long-standing inequalities and holding employers accountable.
The TUC has responded comprehensively to the government consultation on ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, in line with resolution 42, underlining calls for pay gap reporting to be extended to all employers with more than 50 staff.
Additional fringe events were held at TUC Congress 2024 focusing on securing a New Deal for Black workers, and on the launch of the TUC Anti- racism Tracker, which allows affiliates to monitor their progress against the manifesto commitments that arose from the Anti-Racism Taskforce.
In December, the TUC published groundbreaking research into Black women’s experience of sexual harassment in the workplace. The report And Then it Clicked… included a foreword from the chair of the Advisory Group, who steered the work.
The research has been spotlighted at various events, including a discussion at the TUC Women’s Conference where Dawn Butler MP shared a video statement of solidarity and support that emphasised the importance of the work.
The Executive Committee Tackling and Preventing Sexual Harassment Working Group agreed to embed the findings of the report and a network of ambassadors and champions is being created to support affiliates in adopting the
recommendations in the report.
Disabled workers
Resolution 34 called for the social model of disability to be at the heart of PIP claims to ensure disabled people’s
independence and dignity and for the government and the DWP to establish a new fairer system for PIP.
The TUC did not believe the government’s proposals to reform the disability and health- related benefits system, as set out in the Pathways to Work green paper, were in line with this policy. To address this, the TUC made a written submission to the Works and Pensions inquiry on the green paper, sent a briefing to MPs and has highlighted its concerns in its formal green paper response and in media comments.
The TUC held Disability Pay Gap Day on 7 November 2024, highlighting that the disability pay gap was £2.35 per hour (17.2 per cent), which is wider than the previous year. It made a response to the government consultation entitled ‘Equality (Race and Disability) Bill: mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting’ where it supported the bill and highlighted where it could go further.
The TUC launched new research looking at disabled workers’ access to reasonable adjustments. It found that over half (55 per cent) of disabled workers who had made a request had had implemented only some or none of their needed reasonable adjustments. It highlighted that disabled workers, once having made a request, were waiting too long for their adjustments to be put in place, with our research finding eight in ten (82 per cent) disabled workers who had made a request were still waiting between four months and over a year to have their agreed adjustments put in place.
The TUC also released new polling finding that nearly four in ten (39 per cent) of disabled workers have experiences bullying, discrimination and harassment at work.
The TUC also released new polling finding that nearly four in ten (39 per cent) of disabled workers have experienced bullying, discrimination and harassment at work.
This research and polling were used in discussions with the government and in the TUC response to the Charlie Mayfield review into employer and government action on encouraging disabled workers
and those in ill-health into work.
LGBT+ workers
In response to resolution 39, the TUC has integrated addressing anti-LGBT+ narratives into its anti-far-right strategy and into its trade union political education and organised two Trade Unions for Trans and Non-Binary Rights Alliance meetings where these issues were the focus.
The TUC marked Trans Awareness Week by promoting its guidance and materials on supporting trans and non-binary workers. For Transgender Day of Remembrance, we remembered those around the world who have been murdered as a result of transphobia.
The TUC marked Trans Awareness Week by promoting its guidance and materials on supporting trans and non-binary workers.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of sex in the Equalities Act and the EHRC guidance, the TUC’s general secretary Paul Nowak wrote to Bridget Philippson, minister for women and equalities, outlining concerns and requesting a meeting to discuss the issues further.
The TUC held a meeting of equality officers where affiliated unions discussed the real-life impact the judgement and guidance were having on trans and non-binary members. Unions highlighted the dangers the judgement and guidance posed to trans and non-binary people as well as gender-non- conforming cis women. The chairs of the LGBT+ Committee and Women’s Committee also met to discuss a set of principles to guide the TUC’s response to the judgement through the coming period.
The TUC and trans and non- binary members of the TUC’s LGBT+ Committee have continued to organise and hold meetings of the Trade Unions for Trans and Non-Binary Rights Alliance. The first meeting was held 23 November 2024 in Brighton to coincide with Trans Awareness Week and the Trans Day of Remembrance. It focused on combating far- right narratives, trans and non-binary access to health care and trans and non-binary workers’ experiences.
The second was held on 10 May 2025 to coincide with the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) and focused on: DEI – the cold front blowing in from the US; sex, gender and data; and pushing back against the far right. Among the keynote speakers was Dame Nia Griffith DBE, Labour MP for Llanelli, parliamentary under-secretary of state (minister for equalities) and parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Wales Office. Each meeting was well attended with 70 delegates taking part in the conference.
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