Are you ready to negotiate with a union?

Rules on union recognition have recently changed and employers with 21 or more employees are expected to comply with the new rules. From April 2026, unions can request to be recognised and employers have to follow a particular process in responding to the request.

The employer can agree to recognise the union if they want. This means the union is granted the right to access to the organisation, and to engage in 'collective bargaining' on behalf of employees.

The employer can refuse to recognise the union. But, the union can then try to apply for statutory recognition.

Another option is to try to negotiate with the union before deciding, but this again has to follow a particular process.

As it stands, a union should be recognised if 10% of employees within a 'bargaining unit' - which could be the whole organisation or a subset of employees - are part of that union, and a majority of those members would want the union to be recognised. There are plans being discussed to lower this percentage in future.

So, if you employ 21 or more people and an unexpected request appears, asking you to recognise a

trade union, don't just ignore it - you could find yourself in breach of the new rules.

Further information is available on the gov.uk website, and feel free to reach out to us if you would benefit from hands-on HR support navigating this process.