Soundbite: New Trade Union Rules in Force
On 18 February 2026, significant reforms to trade union law came into effect, one of first tranches of changes to be introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. The reforms make it much easier for Unions to take industrial action and provide workers with greater protection.
The key changes are as follows:
- Reduction of the notice period for industrial action to 10 days (previously 14 days). This means that employers will have less time to prepare for and reduce any disruption caused by industrial action.
- Extension of the mandate period for action to 12 months (previously 6 months). Employers will therefore face uncertainty around the prospect of industrial action for much longer periods.
- Removal of the 40% support threshold for strikes in important public services. A simple majority is now enough. Industrial action will therefore be easier to trigger in key sectors and is therefore much more likely to occur.
- Removal of the 12-week limit on protection from unfair dismissal during industrial action. Employees will now be protected from unfair dismissal for the entirety of the period of industrial action. This will make it much harder for employers to discipline and dismiss employees for participation in strikes.
- Simplified ballot rules. Ballot papers and action notices are no longer required to contain detailed information. This will make organising industrial action much easier. As this has been a significant area for litigation in the past, it does mean more strikes are likely to go ahead.
- Removal of requirement for picket supervisors. Unions will no longer have to appoint or identify picket supervisors, meaning employers will lose a point of contact for managing picket‑line behaviour and there is increased potential for unmanaged or unpredictable picket‑line disruption.
Employers should ensure that they focus on strengthening early‑warning systems for workplace issues, updating contingency and business continuity plans, adjusting internal procedures to cope with shorter notice periods and longer ballot mandates, reviewing industrial action and employee relations policies, and training managers on the new dismissal protection rules.
Further reforms to trade union law are due to come into effect later this year, so make sure to look out for future Soundbites covering this.
If you need any assistance with mitigating the impact of the new trade union rules on your business, please get in touch with a member of the team.