Employers’ Duty to Inform Workers of Their Right to Join a Union

Key points from the consultation:

• Employers may be required to provide a written statement to workers about their right to join a union.
• The statement could include details such as recognised trade unions and a link to GOV.UK for further guidance.
• The Government is considering whether the statement should be standardised and whether employers should issue reminders annually.

Bira’s response supports measures that ensure any compliance is simple and minimises administrative burden and cost for employers.

Our key recommendations are:

• Standardised statement: This should be provided by the Government and hosted on GOV.UK, ensuring consistency and minimising any unnecessary complexities and legal or administrative costs for employers.

1. 1. Employers should have a choice to inform employees of their right to join a trade union in their contract of employment, or within a company’s staff manual.
   2. Employers should confirm any trade unions they formally recognise.
   3. Employers should provide a link to the Government’s guidance on trade unions.

• Delivery: Employers should have flexibility to include the statement in a staff handbook or employment contract for new workers, and deliver it directly or indirectly to existing workers.
• Annual reminders: Much like employers are under no legal obligation to provide employees with an annual reminder of their contract terms, we do support the need for employers to provide annual reminders of their right to join a trade union, as this would create unnecessary administrative burden.
• Consistency: If a frequency requirement is introduced, it should apply uniformly across all sectors and sizes.

This consultation is not yet Government policy. 

For further information on this and any other elements of the Employment Rights Bill, please visit our Employment Rights Bill Hub.