Election results 2024: What changes can employers expect?

Trade unions and industrial action

Labour says it will allow industrial action ballots to be conducted electronically (instead of postal ballots required currently) and will repeal the Trade Union Act 2016 which introduced restrictions on the organisation of lawful industrial action, including longer notice periods, higher ballot thresholds, restrictions on picketing and the expiry of industrial action mandates after six months.

It will also repeal the Minimum Service Levels legislation which came into force in 2023. This relaxation of the rules could see employers facing more industrial action.

Labour will also simplify the statutory recognition process (making it easier for unions to obtain recognition by employers), give unions a reasonable right of access to workplaces and introduce a new duty on employers to inform workers of their right to join a trade union.