Trade unions and industrial relations

This briefing describes the rules and regulations that govern trade unions and industrial relations in Great Britain, including the rights of union members, collective bargaining and industrial action.

Most trade union law for Great Britain is contained in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA 1992), which consolidated a large amount of prior trade union legislation dating from the 1870s up to the 1980s.

The 1992 Act has been amended a number of times, most recently and significantly through the Employment Rights Act 2025.

How have trade union membership and strike activity changed in recent years?

Trade union membership in the UK has declined over the past four decades, though the fall has slowed in recent years. In 2024, 6.67 million employees were members of a trade union. As a proportion of all employees, this is a fall from 28.8% in 1995 to 19.9% in 2024.

Membership among women was 3.81 million in 2024 (an increase of 161,000), while men’s membership was 2.87 million in 2024 (an increase of 169,000).

Public sector membership stood at 3.9 million in 2024 (49.9% of employees) compared with 2.5 million in the private sector (11.7% of employees).

Industrial action also decreased sharply in 2024. 733,000 working days were lost due to strikes, compared with 2.67 million in 2023, which was the highest since 1989. Historically, strikes in the public sector, rather than in the private sector, have accounted for most days lost. This is likely due to the higher level of trade union members who work in the public sector.

Collective bargaining and union recognition

One of the primary functions of trade unions is to represent the workforce in negotiations with employers over issues such as pay, terms and conditions or redundancies – a process known as collective bargaining.

To collectively bargain on behalf of a particular group of workers (known as the ‘bargaining unit’), unions need to be ‘recognised’ by the employer. This can be by voluntary agreement, or unions can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee for statutory recognition if agreement cannot be reached.

Recognition grants unions rights to certain information and consultation.

How are trade union activities regulated?

A public official called the Certification Officer oversees the registration, annual returns, mergers and finances of trade unions and determines any complaints about elections, as well as some other ballots and union rules.

Trade unions are primarily funded by their members and there are restrictions on both their collection and spending of funds. ‘Check-off’, the process of an individual’s union membership fees being deducted from their salary by the employer and paid to the union, can only be carried out with their written agreement. Unions wanting to spend any money on political activities must set up a political fund, authorised by a majority vote in a ballot of their members.

Trade unions are also required to elect certain senior officials. Chapter IV of TULRCA 1992 sets out detailed requirements for how these elections must be run, including the appointment of an independent person to supervise the election process.

Rights of union members and representatives

Trade union representatives have a statutory right to paid time off work to undertake certain duties (‘facility time’), while all union members have a statutory right to unpaid time off to take part in trade union activities such as attending meetings. These rights are outlined in a statutory Code of Practice issued by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).

As outlined by GOV.UK guidance on Joining a trade union, trade union members are protected against ‘detriment or dismissal’ by their employer for being members of trade unions or taking part in union activities. Workers are also protected against unlawful inducement – offers made by their employer to induce them to become or not become members of a trade union.

Employers are also prohibited from compiling or exchanging information on workers’ union membership with a view to discriminating against them in employment – a practice known as ‘blacklisting’.

Regulation of strikes and industrial action

Industrial action is the withdrawal of labour as part of industrial dispute. A total stoppage of work is known as a strike, but other kinds of industrial action short of a strike are also possible.

While Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights has been held to include the right to take collective action, in Great Britain unions effectively have a freedom to do so only in circumstances protected by domestic law – otherwise unions could potentially be sued for committing torts (civil wrongs).

To gain protections against action in tort, unions must comply with all the statutory requirements for industrial action, including:

• Having a trade dispute with the employer in question
• Holding ballots with at least 50% turnout and a majority voting in favour of industrial action. The Employment Right Act 2025 will remove the turnout requirement (in August 2026 or later)
• Notifying employers, usually 10 days before taking action
• Complying with rules around peaceful picketing

As long as a union complies with these requirements, section 238A of TULRCA 1992 (as amended by the Employment Rights Act 2025) gives employees automatic protection from dismissal on the grounds of taking part in protected industrial action. Before 18 February 2026 this protection only applied for up to 12 weeks.

Employees are not protected during unofficial ‘wildcat’ strikes that lack union endorsement.