It has been confirmed by government that a number of Trade Union measures within the Employment Rights Act will come in to force on 18th February.
These measures were marked within the implementation roadmap as coming into force within two months of the Bill receiving Royal Assent, which happened at the end of the last year.
The changes coming into force include:
- Automatic opt-in to contributing to a union's political fund
- Removal of 40% support threshold for industrial action ballots 'in certain important public services'
- Reducing information unions must provide to employers in the case of industrial action
- The extension of the industrial action mandate period from six to twelve months
- Reducing notice period for industrial action to 10 days from 14 (and reducing the amount of information that notice must include)
- Introducing protection against dismissal for taking industrial action
DBT have published guidance aimed at employers, unions and workers to understand how the implementation will work in practice and where transitional periods will be necessary. You can find this here.
Details will be shared shortly on a HR Technical call we will be hosting with our partners Bird & Bird next month, focusing on upcoming areas of implementation and how your business can prepare for the changes.
