The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a new duty for UK employers to provide workers with a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union.
As discussed in a January 2026 GT Alert, this change was expected to come into effect on 30 October 2026. Employers have been waiting for secondary legislation and further guidance on these changes to plan and prepare. However, on 25 September, the government announced that the duty is intended to come into force in January 2027 and published its response to the public consultation on the change.
This GT Alert summarises the revised implementation timetable, key points arising from the government’s consultation response, and practical considerations for employers ahead of the new duty.
Revised Implementation Timetable
From 1 January 2027, employers will be required to provide workers with a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union. The government says the change will better inform workers of that right and enable them to participate in collective bargaining if they choose to do so.
The recently published guidance clarifies that the government will provide a standard form template letter for employers to complete and deliver, confirming right of employees to join a trade union.
Key Requirements
The standardised statement will explain the functions of trade unions and summarise statutory rights relating to union membership. Where applicable, it will also identify recognised trade unions, their contact details, and the worker categories and workplace locations covered by the recognition arrangements, as well as the contact details of unions with statutory access agreements. Employers must include a link to the certification officer’s list of trade unions or provide a copy alongside the statement.
From January 2027, or a later date if the government postpones implementation, employers must provide new workers with the statement alongside their written statement of employment particulars. Existing workers who remain employed on 5 April 2027 must receive the statement, or be told where it can be found, by that date. Employers may provide the statement by email, post, or in person.
Alternatively, employers may make the statement available through an intranet or staff handbook, provided that workers are told where to find it and it remains continuously and reasonably accessible. By 5 April each following year, employers must either provide the statement directly again or remind workers that it is available and where it can be found. Employers must also notify workers if the location changes and reissue the statement within one month of any change to a recognised trade union or statutory access agreement.
Practical Considerations for Employers
Employers can use this lead-in period to plan how they will implement the new obligation. In particular, employers may wish to consider:
- Auditing onboarding and recruitment documentation to identify where the statement should be incorporated;
- Reviewing existing employee communications and annual compliance reminders to determine how the new requirement fits within current processes;
- Assessing the most effective channels for making the information available and accessible to employees; and
- Mapping existing employee engagement initiatives, feedback mechanisms and employee representative structures to coordinate communications about trade unions with broader employee communications.
Conclusion
Whether the new information duty will materially increase trade union membership remains open to debate. From an employer perspective, the more significant development is likely to be the introduction of statutory trade union access rights from 30 October 2026. Unlike the information duty, those reforms are proceeding to the original timetable and are likely to have more tangible operational implications for businesses. Employers that have not yet considered their approach to union access should be using the coming months to prepare.