As per our last update, 18 February 2026 marked three months since the ERA received Royal Assent and the commencement date for various sections of the ERA. Considering the furore which accompanied the passing of the Act, the date passed without much fanfare of either support or alarm.  

The changes related to trade unions and lawful industrial action and so apparently lacked the appeal of unfair dismissal or compensation caps. But they are important for organisations with trade union presence, especially when they are facing potential industrial action. Here are the changes that came into force:

• Simplification of information that a union must give to an employer of its intention to hold a ballot for industrial action, in the voting paper, in notifying the employer of the ballot result and in the notice of the industrial action (more details in s68-71 of the ERA 2025)
• Removal of 40% support threshold in ballots for workers engaged in ‘important public services’  (s69 ERA 2025)
• Minimum period of notice of industrial action reduced from 14 to 10 days (s74 ERA 2025)
• Effectiveness of ballots increased to 12 months - industrial action can now take place up to 12 months after a ballot (s72 ERA 2025)
• Requirement for unions to supervise picketing removed  (s75 ERA 2025)
• Protection from dismissal for taking industrial action extended to the duration of the lawful strike (s77 ERA 2025)
• Secondary legislation can be introduced to strengthen protection against blacklisting  (s67 ERA 2025)
• Requirements on public sector employers, when providing a check off service, removed  (s63 ERA 2025)
• Repeal of changes to facility time requirement that public sector employers publish time off taken by trade union officials and the power to make further regulations were repealed  (s66 ERA 2025)

If you would like specific advice on union issues within your organisation, or on the impact these changes may have (or the simplification of trade union recognition in force from April 2026), please get in touch.  

*check off is a system where union membership payments are deducted from union members' salaries by their employers and paid to the unions