Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union

New employer requirement

From 1 January 2027, you must give your workers (including employees) a written statement advising that they have a right to join a trade union and providing other required information.

The government will provide a standardised statement for you to use. You won't be able to allowed to change the wording, but you'll need to add specific workplace information. You'll also need to either include a link to the Certification Officer's list of trade unions within the statement or provide a copy of the list alongside it.

You must give the statement directly to new workers at the same time as providing a section 1 statement.

For existing workers, you may either give it to them directly or make it available for them to access.

If you provide it to existing workers directly, you must do so annually by 5 April.

If you make it available for workers to access, you must ensure it is accessible at all times and send an annual reminder telling them where to find it.

Failing to provide the statement will incur the same penalties as failing to provide a section 1 statement (2-4 weeks' pay, subject to the weekly pay cap).