The Government has confirmed that it will amend the Employment Rights Bill in order to update the laws within which trade unionists operate.
In response to the Consultation launched in October, Department for Business and Trade stated that it would ensure industrial relationships are underpinned by “collaboration”, “proportionality”, and accountability, balancing interests of workers and business, as well as the public.
The Employment Rights Bill, which will “fix” the industrial relations framework’s foundations, was a key part of the government’s statement that trade union laws must “be brought into the 21st Century”.
The Trade Union Act 2016, and its thresholds of 40% support and 50% turnout will be repealed.
Six key changes will be made to the Industrial Relations Framework as a result of the amendments.
1. Reduced notice periods for industrial actions
The government believes that a 10-day period would be a better balance than the 14-day period currently in place. This would allow employers to plan and mitigate the impact of industrial actions while still respecting the right of strike. It rejected proposals to extend notice periods by seven days and 21 days.
2. Double the time limit for expiry of ballot mandates
The government decided to extend to 12 months the expiration date for a legal mandate of industrial action. The government said that this would lower the cost of reballots and allow mandates to be extended for longer if they have still received support from members. The survey showed that the majority of industrial disputes are resolved within a year.
3. Introduce e-balloting
In the next few months, the government will launch working groups to discuss e-balloting with business and unions. The government said that e-ballots make voting more accessible. It expects this to increase participation in statutory elections and show clear mandates.
The Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employees will be updated to recommend email as the preferred method to notify an employer of the ballot result. At present, it is recommended that employers be informed of the results by email, fax, first class post, courier or other means.
4. Information required to be simplified
The Government is introducing a clause into the Employment Rights Bill that will reduce the amount of information required for ballot notices in Section 226A. This means a union does not have to give information about the number of workers in each workplace or category, or explain how they determined the total number.
The union is no longer required to inform the employer of the number and type of employees who are expected to engage in industrial action.
5. Protection against unfair business practices
The government has proposed an amendment that will eliminate the “second test”, which required the CAC decide if the practice would change the vote of a worker in a ballot.
The government stated that “we believe unfair practices should be avoided, regardless of their impact on voting behavior.”
The current 24-hour time limit for filing complaints of unfair practices has been extended to five days.
6. Trade union recognition can be simplified
The Government will amend the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA) so that unfair practices provisions will begin at the moment the Central Arbitration Committee accepts a trade union recognition application.
After the CAC accepts the application, the number of people who can be included in the bargaining unit cannot be increased. The employer is free to hire more employees, but they will not count in the bargaining units and won’t be able to vote at any subsequent recognition ballot.
The government acknowledged that the practice of mass recruitment to undermine trade union recognition was not common, but also noted concerns raised during consultation. The GMB union claimed in 2023 that Amazon had recruited more workers to its Coventry warehouse in order to frustrate their recognition bid.
A new amendment introduces a 20-day negotiation period that begins when the CAC accepts a recognition application. This allows the union and employer to reach an agreement on access (allowing union reps to enter workplaces to recruit, represent and organise employees) and on the bargaining units.
Regulations will allow access agreements to also cover virtual access. This allows access agreements to only cover digital access and ensures that there is no need for access agreements to include physical access. Secondary legislation will provide more detail about what virtual access is, including its definition and functions.
There are more pipelines in the works
The government will eliminate the requirement that unions ballot their members every 10 years on whether to maintain a political fund. Every 10 years, union members will instead be reminded that they have the option to opt out of a political fund.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary of the UK, said in a statement made to Parliament: “We’ll also amend the bill so that independent unions will be able to apply for recognition if an employer has already voluntarily recognised non-independent unions following receipt by the independent union of a formal request.
Reactions to the changes
Ben Willmott is the head of public policies at CIPD. He said that proposed changes to make unions more easily recognized, able to access workplaces, and take industrial actions will have significant consequences for many businesses. Further consultations with employers are needed on the key elements of these proposals in order to ensure that they support effective collective employment relationships and partnership between employers and unions, and do not undermine workplace democracy.
“More generally, the government should consider other changes in the employment relations institutions and infrastructure, including providing more resources to Acas and the Central Arbitration Committee. Many employers have little or no experience in working with unions. They will need help to learn the skills necessary for employment relations and to avoid disputes.
Len Shackleton is a research fellow with the Institute of Economic Affairs. He said of changes in trade union laws: “It appears likely that unions who represent a small number of workers will have… greater power.”
The threat of strike action is enough to increase bargaining power, and to encourage employers to offer higher wages. This may lead to inflation and/or a decrease in employment.
“Unions are better equipped to resist changes, for instance on the rails where productivity is already atrocious and overstaffing is a chronic problem in certain areas.
“The right of union officials to visit physical workplaces in order to try to recruit union members is limited by the frequency at which they can do this. But ‘digital’ access is a completely different ballgame. This could include sending out a constant stream of emails to employees. “The template for access that Acas will presumably produce, needs to be carefully watched.”
Paul Nowak said that “Union-busting is not acceptable in modern Britain.” Amazon and other corporate bullies do everything they can to prevent workers from being able to speak up at work.
This Bill will stop such egregious practices and give more workers a voice in their union. It is long past time that the government committed to e-balloting to bring voting into the 21st Century. Unions will welcome the commitment of the government to repeal the Tories’ unfair and antidemocratic 2016 Trade Union Act thresholds.”
Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham stated: “We have been making sure that workers are heard at every stage of the process to create a more fair environment for them.” The government listened to workers’ concerns and took action in many areas. Over the past decades, workers rights have been put on the back burner. It is the first generation in which workers’ rights are taken seriously.
Next Steps
The Bill will reach the third reading stage in the House of Commons next week, 11-12 March 2025. This is where the newest amendments are discussed. The bill then goes to the House of Lords.
Today (5 March 2025), the Amendment Paper listing all amendments made to Employment Rights Bill was published.
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