The duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union: What you need to know
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a new duty on employers to inform their workers of their right to join a trade union. The duty is expected to come into force on 30 October 2026 and regulations governing how the duty will operate in practice have now finally been published. Employers do not have much time to prepare – this piece tells you all you need to know on how to comply.
What is the new duty?
Employers will be required to provide workers with a written statement of their right to join a trade union on joining. The statement must be provided directly to new joiners (for example by letter or email), together with their written statement of particulars of employment.
Employers will also need to either make this statement permanently available to existing workers, for example on a notice board or intranet, or to periodically reissue it to workers directly. If the employer takes the latter approach, the statement will need to be reissued annually.
What will the statement look like?
The government has issued a standard form of the statement, available here. Employers must use this standard form, completing the employer-specific particulars as indicated. The statement includes:
- Information on workers’ right to join a trade union;
- A brief overview of the functions of a trade union;
- Workers’ statutory rights in relation to trade union membership, including protection against detriment for joining a trade union;
- Details of any trade unions recognised by the employer; and
- A signpost to a government-maintained list of trade unions.
What happens if you fail to comply?
The duty is enforced through the Employment Tribunals in the same way as the duty to provide written particulars of employment. Compensation is only awarded in certain circumstances where a worker has successfully brought another substantive claim and is capped at four weeks’ pay (applying the statutory cap). While the legal risk attaching to non-compliance is therefore relatively limited, there may be less tangible consequences. Non-compliance may damage relations with trade unions (where applicable) and, more broadly, may create the impression that the employer does not take employment law compliance seriously, which may be unhelpful in other Tribunal proceedings.
What should you be doing now?
Familiarise yourself with the standardised statement. Include any business-specific particulars and upload the statement to your intranet or otherwise make it available to staff. Update documentation for new joiners to ensure that the statement is provided as required from 30 October 2026.
If you have any questions, please contact a member of the team.
