Changes to trade union rules under the Employment Rights Act 2025
The Employment Rights Act 2025 removes a number of statutory constraints that previously limited lawful industrial action. Most significantly, it repeals the minimum service level regime introduced under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. From 18 February 2026, employers in affected sectors can no longer rely on statutory minimum staffing requirements to maintain service levels during lawful strike action.
These changes are brought into force by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, which also set out how ongoing disputes are treated where ballots or notices were issued before 18 February 2026.
Certain ballot thresholds that applied in specific sectors have been removed, and notice and information requirements have been adjusted. In practice, this reduces procedural friction and shortens the path from dispute to lawful action. While transitional provisions apply, employers should assume that future disputes will be assessed under a more permissive and union-friendly framework.
Where ballots or notices were issued before 18 February 2026, transitional rules apply, but action taken on or after that date will increasingly fall within the new, more permissive framework.
At the same time, protections for workers participating in lawful industrial action have been strengthened. The scope for dismissal or detrimental treatment is narrower, and employers have less room to rely on technical defects, timing points or process failures as justification for action against participants.
Detriment protection extends beyond dismissal and captures a wider range of employer responses during disputes, increasing exposure around communications, selection decisions and treatment consistency.
There is no replacement statutory mechanism for maintaining service levels during lawful industrial action.
Significance for employers
Taken together, these changes increase the likelihood, speed and durability of industrial action. Disputes are more likely to escalate, they are harder to disrupt through procedural challenge and, once action begins, the operational impact is likely to be greater due to the removal of minimum service obligations.
The reforms also heighten litigation and reputational risk. Employer decisions taken during disputes will be judged against a framework that gives greater weight to trade union freedoms and worker protection. Approaches that previously relied on technical non-compliance by unions or robust disciplinary responses now carry materially higher exposure.
Employers without an existing trade union presence should not treat these changes as irrelevant. Lower barriers to collective action increase the strategic value of recognition campaigns and collective leverage, particularly in environments shaped by cost control, restructuring or workforce change.
What employers need to do now
Policies and procedures covering industrial relations, collective consultation and disciplinary action should be reviewed against the new statutory position. Any documentation that assumes minimum service levels, enhanced ballot thresholds or limited protection for strike participants is now exposed and should be updated.
Operational contingency planning should be revisited and stress tested. Employers should model the impact of lawful industrial action without minimum service cover and identify where contractual, regulatory or customer commitments create acute vulnerability.
Management training is critical. Front line decisions during disputes often create the highest risk, particularly around communications, pay deductions, suspension and alleged detriment. Managers need a clear understanding of where the legal boundaries now sit.
More broadly, employers should reassess their approach to employee relations. In a framework that facilitates collective action, early engagement, credible consultation and defensible decision making are among the most effective risk mitigations available.
Risk mitigation in practice
Under the new regime, risk mitigation is less about procedural challenge and more about evidencing reasonableness, consistency and proportionality. Employers that can show genuine consultation, coherent decision making and operational necessity will be better placed to defend claims and manage disputes.
Legal input needs to be brought in earlier. Compressed timelines and expanded protections mean that reactive advice once action has begun is often too late to materially reduce exposure.
At governance level, boards and senior leadership should be briefed on the changes. Industrial relations risk now sits squarely within operational and reputational risk frameworks, rather than being treated as a narrow legal issue.
DMS Perspective
The trade union reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 are set to materially change the balance of risk in industrial disputes. Employers that continue to plan on the basis of the pre-2025 framework are likely to underestimate both the probability and impact of industrial action. Those that update internal frameworks and focus on defensible engagement strategies will be better positioned to manage disruption and legal exposure from February 2026 onwards.
Need assistance?
If your organisation has an existing trade union presence, is managing an active dispute or wants to assess exposure ahead of the 18 February 2026 changes, early advice can materially reduce risk. Our employment law specialists advise employers on industrial relations strategy, dispute management and compliance under the Employment Rights Act 2025. To speak to an employment lawyer about how the new trade union rules affect your organisation, book a fixed fee telephone consultation.
