Trade unions and industrial action: UK employment law

Essential points

• Trade unions are organisations formed by, or comprised primarily of, members who will protect the interests of workers.  
• Industrial action is where workers take measures (as part of a union or individually) as a means of expressing dissatisfaction. The legal protections for industrial action are greater when the action taken is organised by a trade union. 
• Access to trade unions and the law around industrial action and worker protections focuses on the legal rights and responsibilities of both workers, trade unions, and employers (in respect of collective bargaining), industrial action and employee protections. 
• When trade unions are recognised in a workplace they negotiate at a collective level on behalf of the workforce (or part of it). More than one trade union can be recognised in a workplace for the same, or different, groups of workers.
• Recognition arrangements may be voluntary, or may be imposed on an employer by a body similar to a court, known as the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).
• Collective bargaining (ie negotiation of terms and conditions for certain workers) can be undertaken by unions only if they are recognised by an employer. In instances where bargaining arrangements break down and a dispute arises, a trade union may ask its members to take industrial action, including a strike.  
• There are significant changes to trade union law under the Employment Rights Act 2025, with changes expected to come into force in 2026 and 2027, following changes that took effect when the act received Royal Assent in December 2025. CIPD Members can monitor the progress of these changes on the ERA 2025 tracker. The content below addresses the current law, and it will be updated when any legal changes come into force.  
• Trade union and industrial action law is devolved (transferred) in Northern Ireland. The CIPD offers an employment law page specifying which areas of employment law differ in the UK.