Your guide to new Employment Rights 2026

Summary of changes

Trade union laws

From 30 October 2026: 

New trade union right of access 

• Independent trade unions have the right to access workplaces and/or communicate with workers digitally to meet, support, represent, organise and recruit workers (whether or not existing members) and to facilitate collective bargaining. 
• There is a process, overseen by the Conciliation and Arbitration Committee (CAC), for unions to request and negotiate access agreements with employers, with time limits. 
• If employers do not respond or if it’s not possible to agree an access agreement, the union or employer can apply to the CAC to decide on access. 
• ‘Model terms’ for access, to which the CAC is likely to agree, include weekly access. 
• Employers with less than 21 workers are excluded from access rights, but there is an exemption to this for workers covered by the Adult Social Care Fair Pay Agreement and the School Support Staff Negotiating Body. 
• Enforcement is through the CAC. Fines range from £75,000 to £500,000, depending on the motivation, gravity and impact of the breach. 

Access and Unfair Practices during the recognition and de-recognition process + freezing the bargaining unit 

• The government has reformed the rules on access and unfair practices during recognition. 
• There is a formal process for agreeing access, which can be initiated once a request for recognition has been accepted by the CAC. 
• The duration and frequency of access has been increased to 45 minutes every 5 working days. 
• Once a union’s recognition application has been accepted by the CAC, the composition of the bargaining unit is frozen. 
• Rules on unfair practices will now apply from the point that the CAC accepts the recognition request. 
• A complaint will not need to show that voting would have been likely to have been affected and the timeframe for submitting one has been extended to 5 working days from the date the ballot closes. 

New and strengthened rights for trade union representatives 

• Certain trade union officials and union learn representatives (ULRs) gain statutory rights to workplace facilities, on request, when taking statutory time off 
• Union equality representatives (UERs) gain statutory right to paid time off during working hours for duties such as promoting equality in the workplace and access to workplace facilities 

Stronger protections when participating in industrial action 

• Workers gain new legal protection from any detriment from their employer for taking part in industrial action. 

New employer duty to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment at work 

• Employers must now take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment at work 
• This preventative duty also now explicitly includes third-party harassment, such as from customers.  

From 1 October 2026: 

Employment tribunal time limits extended 

• Workers have six months (less one day) to make employment tribunal claims  
• This applies across Great Britain (and for some claims to industrial tribunals in Northern Ireland).  
• This change will apply to breach of contract claims in Scotland from 9 November.   

From 25 August 2026:  

Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots 

• Gives unions flexibility to choose their ballot method(s). 
• It applies to statutory union elections, votes on political funds and industrial action votes. 
• Unions can use any combination of electronic, hybrid or postal ballots for elections and political fund votes. 
• Industrial action votes can also be carried out via workplace ballots, with the employer’s agreement 
• The new rules apply in England, Scotland, and Wales.  

From 7 April 2026:

New Fair Work Agency (FWA)

• A new single body enforcing employment rights.
• Combines several existing enforcement organisations.
• Includes: workplace inspections, issuing penalties for underpayment, taking legal action on behalf of workers and enforcing criminal labour law breaches.

From 6 April 2026:

Stronger penalties for employers who breach redundancy rules

• Maximum protective award doubled to 180 days' pay.
• Applies when employers fail to properly consult on collective redundancies.

Day-one parental leave rights

• Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave now available from day one of employment.
• Removes previous qualifying periods (26 weeks / 1 year).

Whistleblowing protection

• Sexual harassment is now a protected disclosure.
• Workers reporting it can be protected from unfair dismissal or mistreatment.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) reforms

• No minimum earnings threshold.
• Paid from day one (no waiting days).
• Lower earners receive 80% of average weekly earnings or £123.25 (whichever is lower).

Equality Action Plans

• From 2026: voluntary for large employers (250+ staff).
• From 2027: mandatory for those reporting gender pay gaps.
• Must include actions to reduce pay gaps and support issues like menopause.

Bereaved partner leave

• New day-one right to up to 52 weeks’ unpaid leave if a partner dies after childbirth/adoption.

Easier union recognition

• Simpler process for unions to gain recognition: No need to prove majority likely support upfront; simple majority vote is enough and employers can’t block recognition via alternative unions

From 18 February 2026:

The Employment Rights Act 2025 repeals major parts of the Trade Union Act 2016. Strong collective bargaining rights and unions are key to tackling problems of insecurity, inequality, discrimination, enforcement and low pay. The changes are as follows:

Simplified rules for taking industrial action

• The 40% support threshold for strikes in important public services (IPS) has been removed.
• Mandates for industrial action are increased to 12 months.
• Unions must give employers 10 days' notice of industrial action (previously 14).
• Unions no longer need to tell employers in advance how many workers in each role may strike.

Simpler ballot rules

• Ballot papers no longer need lengthy explanations of the dispute or action timetable.
• Members simply vote on the action they want to take: strike action or action short of a strike.

Changes affecting public sector unions

• Employers cannot charge unions admin fees for deducting subscriptions from pay.
• Public bodies no longer have to publish facility time data.
• The unused legal power to cap facility time has been removed.

Unfair picketing rules scrapped

• Unions no longer have to appoint a picket supervisor or follow the previous detailed supervisor requirements.

Stronger protection for workers

• Taking part in lawful industrial action is automatically protected from unfair dismissal, with no 12-week time limit.

Further details - before and after the law changes

The tables below set out the changes reps should be aware of in further detail, including a number of new and strengthened rights and protections for workers and unions and repealing a number of requirements and conditions introduced in the Trade Union Act 2016.

Resources

• Picketing: draft revised code of practice - GOV UK
• Industrial action ballots and notice to employers draft revised code of practice - GOV UK
• The Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No.1 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026
• Trade union law: transition to Employment Rights Act 2025 - GOV UK