With the Employment Rights Act 2025 continuing to be implemented in waves, one of the next major changes centres on the presence of trade unions in the workplace.
While some employers may have assumed that a quick Teams message or company email would be sufficient to meet the new obligations, there may be more involved with notifying employees of their rights than was previously assumed.
As such, employers may need ongoing HR support to ensure that rights are communicated effectively and fully adhered to.
How should employers inform employees of their new rights?
From October 2026, it will be necessary for employers to inform all existing and new employees of their right to join a trade union.
If employers were under the impression that this could be a casual comment or piece of correspondence, they may be at risk of non-compliance.
Instead, the statement must be issued alongside the written statement of particulars of employment, something that employers already provide in accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996.
There are specific requirements for the statement that will need to be followed, including its format, content, and method of delivery.
Frustratingly for employers, these specifics are yet to be released even as October draws ever closer.
A consultation that was to determine the details concluded in December 2025 but the response has not been published yet.
As such, it is imperative that employers are aware of the upcoming requirements so that the correct statement can be created as soon as the information is made public.
How will this impact HR requirements?
Another aspect that has not yet been revealed is the frequency at which the right to join a trade union must be communicated.
All that is known at the moment is that this will not be a one and done statement.
Severe penalties await employers who fail to maintain this duty, hence why nervous eyes are waiting for the full detailsone-and-doneled.
It is also worth remembering that the obligation to engage with trade unions does not stop with just letting employees know they can join.
Instead, employers will need to provide trade unions with physical and digital routes to access the business, ensuring that unions are able to meet, support, represent, recruit, or organise workers and to facilitate collective bargaining without being impeded.
If an employer does not have a dedicated HR team, or an in-house team needs extra support, it would be worthwhile getting help from an external HR team.
Our team are here to help you manage the appearance of trade unions in your workplace.
We can review your current practices to ensure you are ready to meet your obligations as they develop across the coming months and years.
Once the details of how to communicate to employees their rights are released, we can check over you draft communications to verify that they do what is required.
Get in touch with our team to better prepare for the new rules with trade unions.
