The Employment Rights Act 2025 is being implemented in phases. The trade union reforms are among the first provisions to take effect — applying from February 2026, ahead of the wider rights changes planned for later in the year. For many employers, particularly those without recognised unions or a history of collective disputes, these changes may feel distant. They are not. The direction of travel is clear, and understanding the new framework before it becomes relevant is considerably easier than managing it under pressure when it does.
What is changing
Three substantive changes come into force under this phase of the Act. Each addresses a different aspect of the employer-union relationship, and each increases the legal risk attached to decisions made during or around periods of collective activity.
Taken together, they represent a clear shift toward stronger protections for workers engaged in lawful industrial action and a reduction in the procedural barriers unions face when organising it.
Automatic unfair dismissal protection
The most significant change is the removal of the previous 12-week protected period. Under the old framework, dismissal connected to lawful industrial action was automatically unfair — but only for the first twelve weeks. After that, the protections fell away.
From February 2026, that time limit is gone. Dismissal connected to lawful industrial action will be automatically unfair regardless of how long the action has been ongoing. There is no qualifying period, no tapering of protection, and no mechanism by which an employer can argue that a prolonged dispute has diminished the employee's right to participate in it.
For employers, this means decisions taken during disputes — including those that might previously have been defensible after the twelve-week window — now require a higher standard of justification and documentation. Any action taken against an employee who is participating in or has participated in lawful industrial action will be scrutinised.
Ballot and mandate reforms
Two further changes affect the procedural requirements around trade union ballots and industrial action mandates.
First, the administrative requirements for conducting trade union ballots and issuing industrial action notices are being streamlined. The changes reduce the procedural burden on unions, making it easier to organise lawful industrial action. Employers should not expect the same level of procedural challenge that previously existed — the window for identifying technical defects in ballot processes is narrowing.
Second, trade union mandates for industrial action will last longer. Under the previous framework, ballots required renewal relatively frequently, meaning unions had to re-ballot members to continue action. The extended mandate period reduces that requirement, meaning a single successful ballot can authorise industrial action over a longer period without the union needing to re-establish its mandate.
Who is most affected
The immediate impact is greatest for employers where trade union involvement already exists — recognised unions, established collective bargaining arrangements, or a track record of industrial action. In those environments, the new framework changes the legal calculus around virtually every decision taken during a dispute.
Larger employers and those operating in sectors where union activity is common — manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, education, public services — will feel the changes most directly. For these employers, reviewing dispute management procedures and ensuring managers understand the new boundaries is a matter of urgency.
Smaller employers and those without union recognition are less immediately exposed, but should not assume irrelevance. The Act signals a broader shift in the legal environment. Where collective concerns develop — even informally — the framework for how those concerns are handled is changing. SMEs in particular may be exposed where managers are unfamiliar with union processes or where decisions are taken quickly and without proper documentation.
What employers should do
- Review dispute management procedures to ensure they reflect the removal of the 12-week protection period and the increased risk attached to any action taken during lawful industrial action.
- Brief line managers on what is and is not permissible where trade union involvement or industrial action arises. The risk of a misstep is now higher and the consequences more immediate.
- Ensure disciplinary and dismissal decisions are properly documented and clearly justified — particularly where an employee has recently been involved in collective activity.
- Review policies relating to industrial action, dispute escalation, and the handling of collective concerns to ensure they reflect the updated legal framework.
- Take advice early where union activity is anticipated or beginning to develop. Early guidance is considerably cheaper than managing a claim after the fact.
These reforms are the first phase of a wider programme. The employers who manage this period well are those who treat the changes as an opportunity to build robust, well-documented processes — not those who wait until a dispute arrives to find out where the boundaries are.