The timing has been pushed back and some details clarified, as our article explains.
The new duty requiring employers to inform staff of their right to join a trade union has been a key part of the Employment Rights Act reforms from the beginning. Following last year’s consultation, the government has now published further details of how the duty will operate.
Key points:
- The duty will now take effect in January 2027, later than the originally planned October 2026 start date.
- The government will provide the necessary wording.
- Employers will only need to complete and deliver the statement confirming the right to join a trade union.
- New joiners must receive the statement when they start employment, at the same time as their written particulars of employment.
- For existing workers, employers must publish (and leave) the statement on an intranet or make it available by another indirect method, but, crucially, they must send a written reminder to all workers each year.
- Regulations will set out the detailed requirements, but they have not yet been published.
All employers will have to comply; there will be no exemption for small employers. The duty will apply to all “workers”, meaning anyone with worker status rather than employees alone. The penalties for breach will be limited and aligned with those for failing to provide a statement of employment particulars. In practice, this will therefore be an additional administrative requirement, albeit one that trade unions have sought for many years.
Content of the statement
The government will supply the wording of the statement, which will cover:
- a brief overview of the functions of a trade union;
- details and contact information for any trade unions recognised by the employer;
- details of any statutory access agreements, including the relevant contact information;
- a link to, or a copy of, the Certification Officer’s publicly available list of trade unions; and
- a “clear, neutral and factual” summary of workers’ statutory rights relating to union membership.
During the consultation, we and other respondents argued that the statement should also explain that workers have the right not to join a trade union and cannot be compelled to join a particular union or any union at all.
The government has decided not to add information beyond the core elements above, except to clarify that unions may charge a membership fee (although the wording about those fees is not yet known). It has also promised that the statement will “make clear that workers have the right to choose whether to join a trade union”. According to the consultation response, the duty is intended to ensure that workers understand their rights, rather than to promote trade union membership.
Employers will not be permitted to alter the government’s wording or add their own details, such as information about their own employee forums or communication channels. However, the consultation response confirms that “Employers will not be prevented from sharing additional information through separate channels if they wish.”
Delivery methods
New workers. The statement must be delivered directly at the start of employment, at the same time as the written statement of employment particulars. The regulations will confirm the exact requirements.
Existing workers. Employers may deliver the statement directly or make it available indirectly, for example on an intranet. If an indirect method is used, each worker must receive a direct written reminder every year explaining that the statement is available and where to find it. The statement must remain continuously available and reasonably accessible.
The requirement to send annual reminders to existing staff will disappoint many employers, who will regard it as an unnecessary administrative burden. Employers are not required to remind staff annually of other employment rights, and there is still no clear rationale for treating the right to join a trade union differently. Nevertheless, the government’s position is clear, so employers should begin considering how they will comply, particularly in respect of workers who do not have (or need) access to email and/or intranet sites.
Enforcement
The new duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union will be enforced in the same way as the existing requirement to provide a statement of employment particulars. A worker will not be able to bring a standalone Employment Tribunal claim for a breach of this right. However, if they succeed in another claim, a breach may lead to an additional award of between two and four weeks’ capped pay. The government has resisted calls for the Fair Work Agency to enforce the duty directly.
Timing
The consultation response says the duty is expected to take effect in January 2027, although the exact date has not yet been specified. Employers will have to give the statement to all new workers who start from that date and to all existing workers by 5 April 2027.
Where an employer uses an indirect delivery method, it must send an annual reminder by 5 April each year. It must also reissue the statement within one month if there is a change to a recognised trade union, a union with a statutory access agreement, or the relevant union contact details. If the statement is made available indirectly and its location changes, workers must be told the new location within one month.
What employers should do now
Employers should not (and cannot) start drafting the statement yet. The government will provide a template, and employers will not be allowed to change the wording. We will therefore have to wait until the wording is issued before employers can start building it into their templates. In the meantime, employers can start to get ready by taking the following steps:
- review onboarding packs and other communications sent to new joiners;
- identify any existing annual staff reminders and review when and how they are issued, and what they include;
- consider where to host the statement on the intranet etc; and
- consider what information you already share about your employee forums, engagement channels and other ways for staff to express their views. How will the new statement sit alongside that?
The trade union movement will hope that these reforms lead to a substantial increase in membership, but we remain unconvinced that this duty alone will achieve that. The more significant pro-union reform on the horizon is the new right of trade union access, which takes effect on 30 October 2026. That change (unlike this one) has not been pushed back so all employers will need to be aware of it and consider how they can prepare.
