Is the industrial relations landscape in the UK changing forever?
Most businesses in the UK fall into one of two camps – either they do not recognise a trade union and have never had to give that any thought; or trade union relations are long established and an intrinsic part of the business. Some employers have needed to grapple with requests for union recognition, but for many years this has been the minority.
The new trade union right to request access – in force from 30 October 2026 – will change this fundamentally. All employers with 21 or more employees now need to consider how they will approach a request for access made by a trade union.
Where a union gains momentum within an employer as a result, that employer will need to consider carefully what to do if they receive a request for trade union recognition, particularly considering the simplification of the recognition process.
We do not know whether political change in the future will alter this picture once again. However, for now at least a substantial change to the industrial relations landscape in the UK is imminent and is something that all but the smallest employer will need to consider.
Editorial - by Sarah Harrop
IR article
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Upcoming Events:
Our forthcoming industrial relations training: Preparing for a new era in trade union relations will be taking place in our London office in the afternoon on Tuesday, 29 September 2026.
We will be looking at the latest developments in the programme of trade union reforms being introduced by government and take a deeper dive into the new trade union right of access to the workplace coming into force in October 2026. Alongside our guest speaker, we will give some insight and perspective on how unions will approach the reforms and how they may target certain organisations and sectors with a view to achieving recognition. Our panel session of industry experts will also discuss their experience of working with trade unions. It promises to be a very popular event. To register, visit our registration page here.
For our Employment and Immigration Training Calendar 2026 listing all our client training events, please visit our website page here.
What else you should know
- We take a look at pay transparency in Germany post the 7 June 2026 deadline to implement legislation into national law. See Pay transparency in Germany after 7 June 2026: where do employers stand now?
- See our latest HR in the Know updates from Poland on the State Labour Inspection’s extended powers of reclassification of civil law contracts and on forthcoming changes and obligations on workplace bullying and discrimination.
- A recent High Court decision looked at entitlement to early retirement rights payable on redundancy or compulsory retirement due to a reorganisation following a TUPE transfer. Find out more in our article Member not entitled to early payment of deferred benefits following a TUPE transfer.
- Keep track of the latest developments on the EU Pay Transparency Directive by visiting our Pay Transparency Hub on our website here.
- For all the latest legislative developments, see our latest UK Employment Horizon Scanner and our Employment Horizon Scanner for Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands as well as our Employment Rights Act 2025 Tracker by visiting the resources section of our website page here.
