The Government has begun four new consultation exercises on key legal updates contained in the Employment Rights Bill. Despite the Bill still not having received Royal Assent, the Government appear to be keen to push on with defining the shape of the new employment rights provided for in it.
These are amongst the first of a total of 13 consultation exercises connected to rights within the Employment Rights Bill that are scheduled to take place between now and the early months of 2026.
What do the consultations cover?
Two of the four consultations cover:
· The duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
· Right of trade unions to access a workplace
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Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
The Bill introduces a new duty on employers to give a written statement to their workers informing them of their right to join a trade union at the start of their employment and at other times.
The consultation is seeking views on how this duty can be implemented effectively while minimising burden on employers. It covers the following areas:
· The form the statement should take;
· The content of the statement;
· The manner in which the statement must be delivered (direct or indirect);
· The frequency with which the statement must be reissued after the beginning of employment.
Right of trade unions to access a workplace
Under existing legislation, unions do not have an independent right of access to workplaces and can only do so through individual members or through voluntary agreements with employers. The Government have said they want to see employers to continue to use voluntary agreements, but where they fail, a statutory framework will exist to allow unions to access workplaces physically, and to communicate with workers in person and also digitally.
The consultation is seeking views on the details of how the unions right to access will work. This includes:
· How unions will request access;
· How employers will respond;
· Factors the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) will take into account when determining whether access should be granted and on what terms; and
· How the CAC is to come to decisions on the value of fines issued for breaches of access agreements.
There will be a further consultation on a new Secretary of State Code of Practice on trade union right of access in Spring 2026.
The Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent in mid-late November 2025 and both consultations on trade unions close on 18 December 2025 with both of the measures consulted on due to come into effect in October 2026 under the Government’s Roadmap for Delivering Change.
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