Trade Union Balloting Goes Electronic — What Employers Need to Decide

From 31 August 2026, trade unions can run statutory ballots electronically. For most employers this is background noise, because how a union ballots its own members is the union's business. There is one exception, and it lands on your desk as a decision with obligations attached.

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What changes by 31 August

Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, trade unions will be able to conduct statutory ballots by electronic means, or by a hybrid of postal and electronic voting, alongside the traditional postal ballot that has been the only lawful route for four decades.

This covers statutory ballots generally: industrial action ballots, union elections and other ballots required by statute. The government has published a draft code of practice on electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots, setting out the processes involved and the duties that sit with employers.

The practical consequence worth understanding is turnout. Postal balloting suppresses it. Electronic balloting does not. Industrial action ballots have to clear statutory turnout thresholds, and a ballot that would previously have failed on participation may now clear.

Workplace ballots: the decision that is yours

Where the ballot is for industrial action, a union can ask the employer to consent to a workplace ballot — members voting in person, at or near the workplace, rather than by post or online.

That request is a genuine decision, not a formality, and the guidance is that it should be approached with a clear mind. Consenting puts ballot activity physically on your premises during working hours and, again, tends to raise turnout. Refusing may be entirely reasonable on operational or health and safety grounds, and may also cost you goodwill in a relationship you are otherwise trying to keep constructive.

Neither answer is automatically right. What matters is that somebody senior makes the decision on stated grounds and writes down why.

The voluntary access agreement

Consent is not the end of it. Once given, the employer and the union have to work out a voluntary access agreement covering the arrangements for the ballot.

In practice that means settling where voting takes place, when, how union officials access the site, how normal operations continue around it, and what supervision or facilities are provided. This is a negotiation, and it happens under time pressure during a period of industrial tension. Having a template position agreed internally in advance is worth considerably more than working it out in the moment.

A union setting is not automatically union activity

As union relations become more active, the line between protected union activity and ordinary misconduct matters more. Young v Royal Mail Group (2026) is a useful marker.

During a period of industrial unrest, a union member posted messages in a union-created WhatsApp group. One was abusive about the employer. Another named two colleagues, questioned which side they were on, and said the wrong answer would result in a car being blown up. A named colleague complained. The employee was dismissed for gross misconduct under the employer's social media policy, for threatening and intimidating behaviour towards colleagues.

The tribunal found the dismissal was for conduct, not for taking part in union activities, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld that reasoning. The fact that the message was posted in a union group, during heightened industrial tension, did not make it union activity.

The read for employers cuts both ways. Heightened industrial relations do not suspend your conduct standards. But this employer won because it dismissed for a clearly identified breach of a policy that existed and applied — not because it decided an employee was being difficult. Keep the two separate in your investigation, your invitation letter and your outcome.

The bigger changes arrive in October

August is the small change. Two dates in October carry more weight.

• 1 October 2026. The time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims extends from three months to six.
• 30 October 2026. Employers must give new starters a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union. Trade unions gain new rights of access to the workplace. Regulations will provide protection against all detriment for taking industrial action. The sexual harassment duty is upgraded so employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent it, and a new duty to prevent harassment by third parties applies.

The extension of tribunal time limits deserves a moment on its own. Doubling the window doubles the period over which a case file has to remain intact, findable and complete. Records that were adequate under a three-month window are not automatically adequate under six.

The new starter statement

Of everything in October, the written statement of the right to join a trade union is the one with a hard document dependency and a fixed date.

It needs to be drafted, approved and built into your onboarding pack before 30 October — issued alongside the statement of particulars, not bolted on afterwards. If your onboarding runs on a checklist, the item goes on the checklist. If it runs on a manager remembering, it will be missed.

What to do now

• Decide who owns a workplace ballot consent request and on what criteria, before one arrives.
• Read the draft code of practice on electronic and workplace balloting, particularly the employer duties around workplace ballots.
• Check your conduct and social media policies apply clearly to messages between colleagues in private and third-party groups.
• Draft the new starter statement on the right to join a trade union, and add it to the onboarding checklist ahead of 30 October.
• Review record retention against the six-month claim window taking effect on 1 October.
• If you recognise a union, raise the balloting changes at your next scheduled meeting rather than waiting for a request to force the conversation.