Employment Rights Act 2025: duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union delayed until January 2027

The Government has announced that the new duty on employers to inform workers of their right to join a trade union will not now take effect on 30 October 2026 as originally planned. Instead, implementation has been postponed until January 2027. 

The Government has also published its response to the consultation on how the new duty will operate, giving employers more detail about what they will need to do. The Government’s response to the consultation can be found here: Government response - Make Work Pay: Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union

What will employers need to do?

Employers will be required to give workers a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union. The Government intends to prescribe a standardised statement in regulations. Employers will not be able to amend that statement, although they will be able to add specified information relevant to their workplace. 

The statement will include:

• clear neutral information on the right to join a trade union;
• a brief explanation of the functions of trade unions;
• information about any trade unions recognised by the employer and/or any statutory access agreements which apply;
• a summary of relevant statutory rights; and
• either a link to the Certification Officer’s list of trade unions or a copy of that list. 

For new workers, employers will need to provide the statement directly at the same time as the worker receives their written statement of employment particulars. This means employers will need to build the new requirement into their onboarding processes. 

What about existing workers?

Employers will also have to provide the information to their existing workforce. This can be done directly or indirectly, provided that the statement is reasonably accessible. 

Where employers provide the statement directly, it will need to be reissued annually by 5 April. Where employers instead make it available indirectly, for example through an intranet or other accessible location, it must remain continuously available and workers must receive an annual reminder telling them where they can find it. Workers must also be informed directly if the location changes. 

Employers will additionally need to reissue the statement within one month if there is a change to the identity of a recognised trade union or to a statutory access agreement. 

What should employers do now?

Although the postponement gives employers some additional time, organisations should prepare for the January 2027 implementation by reviewing their onboarding arrangements and deciding how the statement will be made available to existing workers. Employers should also consider who will be responsible for the annual notification and for ensuring that the information remains up to date.

The Government will provide the standardised statement as part of its regulations so employers should look out for those regulations and any further updates, finalising their processes.