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The Code of Practice (Electronic and Workplace Balloting for Statutory Trade Union Ballots) Order 2026, laid before Parliament on 28 July 2026, confirms that the Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Balloting for Statutory Trade Union Ballots will come into force on 25 August 2026.

Various provisions included in the Employment Rights Act 2025 will need secondary legislation to bring them fully into force. To proceed, the Government has launched two consultations, applying to England, Scotland and Wales, to seek comments on the details in two specific areas.

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, led her Spring Statement in Parliament with four proud statements: inflation is down, borrowing is down, living standards are up and the economy is growing.

Among the important changes, dismissal for taking part in protected industrial action is now “automatically unfair”, removing the previous 12-week limit for claiming unfair dismissal and extending it through the whole period of industrial action.

In its election manifesto, Labour promised that it would remove the age bands on the minimum wage rates which currently see a worker aged 21 and over earning £12.21 per hour while an 18-year-old colleague is paid £10 per hour.

The January 2026 labour market statistics, released by the Office for National Statistics, show that one in three unemployed adults aged between 16–64 want to work (35.7%).

Described as the most significant reforms of trade union laws in a generation, a number of sections of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) came into force on 18 February 2026, with the Government advising unions to review their internal policies and processes to ensure they are compatible with the new legislation.

Employers can currently reclaim 92% of employees’ statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, parental bereavement, neonatal care and shared parental pay.

The Government has launched a consultation on improving access to flexible working as part of its Plan to Make Work Pay.

The Government has announced plans to pilot a university clearance-style system where “near miss” applicants who have failed to secure their top choice apprenticeship will be re-directed to similar opportunities in their area.

The Government has published an updated timeline of its planned implementation dates for the changes on the way under the Employment Rights Act 2025. This includes the latest timetable for measures being introduced in 2026

The Equalities Minister, Seema Malhotra, has confirmed that the Government is committed to its manifesto pledge to make the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority people