The trade union resurgence is coming – How should businesses prepare?

21 April 2026

Years of legislation and shifting societal attitudes have significantly reduced the presence and impact of trade unions in many workplaces.

The Employment Rights Act seeks to rectify this situation and will empower trade unions throughout 2026 and into 2027.

As your business may soon need to engage with trade unions where perhaps you may not have done so before, it is worth understanding what is changing and how to prepare.

What is changing with trade unions?

Where trade unions may have been effectively barred from many businesses in the past, it will soon be a legal requirement to grant them physical or digital access to you work place.

It is currently expected that this will happen in October 2026, meaning that the necessary pathways to permit this should be in place ahead of that time.

Trade unions will be able to meet, recruit and represent your employees even if those employees previously had allegiance to other trade unions.

When a member of your team is recruited into a trade union, you will need to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that they can operate effectively.

This might include giving them paid time off to complete training or to complete any of their other duties.

If the presence of trade unions seems like something you are hoping you can ignore, it will be mandatory for you to alert your employees that they have a new right to engage with trade unions.

The wording of this announcement should be prepared ahead of time and it would be wise to begin engaging with employees now to determine the likelihood of trade union support.

Prior to this, there are changes to the way that trade unions are recognised and the ballots they complete, but you may not notice these if trade unions have yet to have a presence in your business.

From 2027, further changes will come into effect that are designed to increase the cohesion between employers and trade unions.

This will be alongside legal protections for trade union members, where they will not be able to be discriminated against or blacklisted due to their involvement with trade unions.

What should businesses do now to prepare for trade unions getting more power?

A notable concern for many businesses is that trade unions will make requests of a business that are simply not possible to complete.

The most common of these may be pay rises that would not be supported by the company’s budget.

The announcement of a framework to help employers and trade unions work together is welcome, even if it seems quite delayed compared to the resurgence of the trade unions themselves.

If you do find yourself in a position where you feel a trade union has made unreasonable demands, then seeking legal advice is imperative.

It may be necessary to go through mediation, as a third party might have a better chance of being less emotionally engaged with the disagreement and therefore better able to come to a compromise.

Clear, consistent communication with employees is the best way to manage the presence of trade unions, as there should be a shared goal of employees getting the most out of their working lives.

Happy employees are more likely to stay with a company and be more productive while there, so trade unions should not be seen as a threat to your business.

Get in touch for help preparing for the new role that trade unions will play in your business.