United-Kingdom

At present under a quarter 22.0%) of UK employees are union members, although union density is much higher in the public sector (49.9%) than the private sector (11.7%). There is only one union confederation in the UK, the TUC, and individual unions are fully independent. More than half of trade unionists in the TUC are in the three largest unions, which have grown through mergers.

Union density and structure

There are 6,900,000 union members in the UK, according to figures for 2022-23 provided by the unions themselves. 1 Figures from the annual official survey, which excludes non-working members, show a total of 6,672,000, union members in employment in the UK in 2024, of whom 6,378,000 were employees. 2 The closeness of the two sets of figures reflects the fact, first, that the vast majority of union members are in employment – there are relatively few retired or unemployed members in UK unions – and second, that unions’ own membership records are accurate. Legislation passed in 2014 requires unions with more than 10,000 members to have their membership numbers certified by a qualified independent person. 3

These membership figures mean that just under a quarter (22.0%) of all UK employees were union members in 2024. The widely used OECD figures are taken from the same source but are for 2019, when density was 23.5%. 4

The vast majority – 5,241,102 in 2024 – belong to the 48 unions affiliated to the TUC, 5 the only trade union confederation in Britain, covering the whole country and the full range of unions. 6 However, the TUC does not operate in Northern Ireland, so unions operating in Northern Ireland, including those also operating, in Britain are normally affiliated to the Irish trade union confederation, the ICTU (see Ireland) through the Northern Ireland Committee of the ICTU. In total the ICTU had 213,843 members in Northern Ireland on 31 December 2024. 7

There are also some unions in the UK which are outside the TUC. Most are small, but there are two large non-TUC unions representing nurses and doctors (see Individual unions).

British unions are organised in a variety of ways. Some organise particular occupations such as pilots (BALPA), train drivers (ASLEF), or nurses (the RCN, which is not in the TUC). Some are concentrated in specific industries or sectors, like postal services and telecommunications (CWU), the civil service (PCS) or transport (RMT). And some, particularly in the finance industry, just organise in a single company, such as Aegis, which covers the insurance and pensions group Aegon, the NGSU for the Nationwide Building Society. However, around half of all union members are now in large unions, formed by mergers, which have members in many sectors of the economy.

This variety of organisational approaches means that in many industries there are several unions, most of which belong to the TUC, which are in competition for members.

Individual unions

The largest union in the UK is UNISON with 1,403,792 members in in the UK in 2023, based on figures declared to the Certification Officer, the head of the government agency responsible for monitoring union compliance with union legislation. (The Certification Officer figures are also used for the other unions mentioned in this section.) The TUC figures for UNISON, which do not include membership in Northern Ireland, and may also differ in other ways, show it with 1,186,500 members in 2024. 8 UNISON organises primarily in the public services, although, because of privatisation and the outsourcing of services, it has substantial membership in private companies.

The second largest union in the UK is Unite, a union formed in May 2007 through the merger of two large unions, Amicus and the T&G. It had 1,142,854 members in 2023. Unite’s members work in almost every sector of the economy, including motor manufacturing, printing, finance, road transport, and the health service. It is stronger in the private than the public sector, but it has at least 200,000 members in public services.

GMB is the third largest, with 576,072 members in 2023. Like Unite it is a general union with members in several industries and in both the public and private sectors, although they are more likely to be manual workers.

These three unions account for 47% of total union membership in the UK and, based on the figures they report to the TUC, 53% of TUC membership.

The fourth largest union is the NEU teaching union, although it organises some school support staff as well as teachers. It was formed by a merger of two education unions, the NUT and the ATL in 2018 and had 485,393 members in 2024.

The next group of TUC affiliated unions by size are smaller and are more linked to specific industries and occupations. There are six each with more than 100,000 members: USDAW with (360,394), which primarily organises shop workers but has members in other areas; another teaching and education union, the NASUWT (281,406); PCS (189,268), which primarily organises civil servants in central government; the CWU (170,324 ), which covers postal and telecommunications workers, although not management grades; Prospect (151,719), which organises specialists and managers, many in central government; and the UCU (118,097), whose membership is academic staff in higher education and vocational colleges.

The remaining 38 TUC unions range in size from the RMT rail and transport union, with 78,574 members, to the miners’ union, the NUM, which was once one of the most powerful UK unions but now has just 196 members. There are 14 TUC affiliates with between 80,000 and 20,000 members, 11 with fewer than 20,000 but more than 5,000 members and 12 with fewer than 5,000 members. BECTU, which organises technical and front-of-house staff in film, theatres and broadcasting, is also listed as a TUC affiliate, but without members, as it is part of Prospect.

Individual unions affiliated to the TUC are independent in terms of their decision-making, although the TUC remains a key channel for discussions with government.

The 48 TUC affiliates are among 128 unions operating in Britain in 2024, according to figures from the Certification Officer. 9 The remaining 80 union are mostly very small: 40 non-TUC unions have fewer than 1,000 members and another 14 have 1,000 or more but fewer than 2,500.

Many of these small unions represent workers in a specific employer, like the Currys Trade Union (2,590 members in the UK in an electrical retailer), or a very specific occupation, like the Rugby Players’ Association (590 members). However, there some which, because that they represent precarious workers who are often migrants and have supported important legal cases about their employment status, have had a wider impact. These so-called “indie unions” include the IWGB (6,626), the IWW (3,076), the CAIWU (1,830) and the UVW (3,521).

However, although most non-TUC unions are small, there two large unions, which are not affiliated to the TUC – or any other body. These are the RCN, which organises nurses and has 565,966 members, making it the fourth largest union in the country, and the BMA, which organises doctors and has 192,347.

Police officers, who by law are prohibited from joining a trade union or taking industrial action, are organised in different staff associations based on rank and geography. The largest is the Police Federation of England and Wales for rank-and-file police, which has around 145,000 members. 10

Political position

Unions played a key role in the creation of the Labour Party, the UK’s centre-left party, at the start of the twentieth century, believing that working people and their unions needed political representation in parliament. These links have remained. Around half the membership of the TUC belongs to unions that are affiliated to the Labour Party, although the TUC itself is not affiliated. The exceptions are largely among unions representing professional staff, such as teachers, some health staff and civil servants.

Affiliated unions are present and vote at Party conferences and are represented on the executive committee of the Labour Party as well as being the single largest source of Labour Party funds. However, because of rule changes, unions now have much less formal influence on Party policy than in the past.

Political spending is also tightly regulated. Unions must set up a separate fund if they wish to spend money for political purposes, which include some political campaigning as well as financially supporting a political party, and union members must be able to decide whether they wish to contribute to this fund.

The leadership of the unions that are not affiliated to the Labour Party is also broadly supportive of the party. Several of the MPs elected in 2025 previously worked for or were active in non-affiliated unions like PCS, Prospect and the UCU, as well as the TUC itself. 11

Legal framework

Unions in the UK are subject to extensive regulation, parts of which were introduced with the aim of limiting trade union influence. The key legislation is the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which consolidated earlier legislation, and has itself been amended on several occasions. 12

The principal regulator is the Certification Officer, who maintains a register of trade unions (and employers’ associations) and ensures that they comply with the appropriate legislation.

There is no legal obligation on unions to register with the Certification Officer, but registration brings important practical benefits. For example, it is a precondition for an assessment that a union is independent. This gives unions access to important rights, including statutory recognition rights and rights to time off (see The role of unions) .

Unions must meet a series of administrative requirements including keeping a register of all the union members’ names and addresses, and proper financial records, which must be audited. They must provide audited accounts to the Certification Officer each year, which should also include the salaries paid to senior officials, information on the number of members and details of any expenditure from the union’s political fund.

Unions are required to conduct elections for key posts within the union (general secretary, president and members of the executive committee) at least once every five years, with union members voting individually. These elections must be conducted by post, although a proposal to allow electronic rather than postal balloting is being considered by the Labour government elected in 2024.

These regulations are in addition to the regulations relating to industrial action (see Industrial action).

Membership trends

Trade unions lost membership heavily during the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. However, from 1996 until the financial crisis of 2008 union membership among employees in the UK was broadly stable at around 7 million. It dipped again, and since 2010 it has been around 6.5 million. The figure for 2024 was 6,378,000. 13

Growing numbers of employees meant that union density, which was 31.4% in 1996 had fallen to 27.5% in 2008. It has declined slowly since then and it was 22.0% in 2024.

Trade union density is much higher in the public sector (49.9% in 2024) than in the private sector (11.7% in 2024), and, as a result, there were 3.9 million union members in the public sector in 2024, compared with 2.5 million in the private sector. This is despite the fact that the private sector employs four times as many people as the public sector.

Since the 1990s, the TUC and individual unions have devoted greater resources to recruiting and organising new members. One example was the creation of the TUC Organising Academy in 1998, which hoped to “encourage unions to invest more heavily in organising activity and to attract new people to work in the trade union movement as organisers, policy makers and officials”. The Academy trained 400 specialist organisers, although its courses are now only offered to trade union officials, with 56 being trained on courses in 2023-24. 14

Other examples at the level of individual unions include: Unite’s “100% campaign” aimed at maximising membership in workplaces where Unite already negotiates with employers; Unison’s network of local organisers, whose job description includes encouraging non-members to join a “powerful collective voice”; and material from the University and College Union (UCU), which included organising as the first section in its guide for representatives published in 2021. 15

Women

The majority (57%) of trade union members in the UK are women. There were 3.8 million women trade unionists in employment in 2024 compared with 2.9 million male union members. Women also have higher union density: a quarter (25.1%) of female employees were union members in 2024, compared with just a sixth (18.8%) of male employees. 16

A key reason for this is women are more likely to be working in the public sector, with its higher union density than men. Broken down by sector, however, the position is less clear. In the private sector, men have a higher density figure (12.4%) than women (10.8%) but in the public sector, the position is reversed, with male density at 46.7% compared with 51.6% for women. However, it still seems that occupational segregation is the main reason for the differences in union density.

Collective bargaining sets the pay and conditions for around four in ten of employees in the UK, although those working in the private sector, where the key bargaining level is the company or the workplace, are much less likely to be covered than those working in the public sector, where industry level bargaining predominates.

Collective bargaining coverage and structure

Collective bargaining sets the pay and conditions far around four in ten (40.2%) employees in the UK. These figures (for 2024) come from the annual Trade union statistics report, published by the Department for Business and Trade. 17 This report now bases its figures for collective bargaining coverage on the employer-based survey, ASHE earnings and hours survey, as the UK’s official statistical agency, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), considers that the results of the ASHE survey “more accurately records the proportion of workers whose pay is set by collective agreements”.

Before 2019 the ONS based its figures on the Labour Force Survey, which is a survey of individuals). However, since 2019, it has accepted that the ASHE survey, which was completed by more than 180,000 employers in 2019, “may give a more accurate picture of the coverage of such agreements.” 18

Unfortunately, the widely quoted the OECD figures, which show collective bargaining coverage at 26.9% in 2019 are still based on the Labour Force Survey figures. 19 This is substantially below the current 40.2% estimate from the UK national statistical body.

However, this proportion is not constant across the economy, with a big difference between the public and private sectors. While nine out of 10 jobs in the public sector (89.2%) were covered by collective bargaining in 2024, this was the case for only one in five in the private sector (20.1%). With the private sector accounting for 82% of UK employment, this brings the overall average down to 40.2%.

This difference in coverage is primarily explained by the differing bargaining structures in the two sectors, with large national agreements in the public sector, covering tens or hundreds of thousands working in multiple organisations, while private sector agreements are typically either based on a single company or workplace, and generally much smaller.

The Table below sets out the proportion of employees in the private and public sectors covered by differing levels of collective bargaining and indicates the differences in the structure of bargaining.

Proportion of employee jobs covered by different levels of collective bargaining: 2024

* Includes sub-national (for example regional) agreements – (0.1% in total)

Source: Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2024

In the private sector, where employees are covered by collective agreements – and they are a small minority (20.1%), these agreements are typically signed for a single company or a single workplace, and there can also be separate agreements for different sections of the same company’s workforce. `

Some of those covering a single company can involve large numbers of staff. The Sainsbury’s retail agreement covers 80,000 staff and the agreement at the NatWest Group (a bank) covers around 40,000. However, most bargaining units are much smaller, particularly those for companies operating from a single location. 20 Many companies operating in engineering and food manufacturing have separate agreements for each of their production sites.

National agreements setting the pay framework for multiple companies in the private sector are rare, although there are still some. They include the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) which sets terms and conditions for hourly-paid engineering construction workers, and the agreements signed by the Society of London Theatres (SOLT), which set minimum rates both for performers and backstage and front-of-house staff.

The situation in the public sector in the public sector is almost exactly the reverse. Nine out of 10 (89.2%) employee jobs in the public sector are covered by collective bargaining, and, for a majority of employees – 67.9% of the total – that bargaining is nationwide at industry level.

Many are covered by very large national agreements, such as:

• the Agenda for Change agreement in the National Health Service (NHS), which applies to all non-medical staff directly employed by NHS organisations, with the exception of very senior managers – around 1.3 million workers;
• the agreement, known as the “Green Book”, signed in the National Joint Council (NJC), the negotiating body for local government, which covers the pay and conditions for 1.4 million local authority employees, from lawyers to cleaners; and
• the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document, which directly sets the pay of some 200,000 teachers in schools run by local authorities and will from 2026 formally be extended to another 300,000 teachers working in partially autonomous “academies”.

In all these examples, the pay framework is the same, irrespective of where the employee is working in England, although there are differences on some issues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Not all public sector pay is set through national agreements. In some cases, organisations set their own pay. Examples include:

• individual ministries and agencies in central government, where, despite being covered by the same pay guidance from the Treasury (ministry of finance), pay rates vary;
• bodies like the broadcaster BBC and some state-owned companies, which now include some rail companies; and
• a handful of local authorities, like Buckinghamshire and Kent, which have withdrawn from the national Green Book (see Allowing local variations .

Eight groups in the public sector are covered by pay review bodies. 21 They are:

• doctors and dentists;
• NHS staff;
• school teachers;
• senior civil servants, senior military staff and judges;
• prison staff;
• the police;
• the National Crime Agency; and
• the armed forces.

These pay review bodies make recommendations on pay to the government, although they do so based on guidance (a remit) from government which sets out the economic constraints the government is facing, and therefore what can be afforded. The unions make their own submissions, and the pay review bodies, after examining the evidence, make their recommendations, which are then normally approved. However, this is not always the case. In 2014-15 a pay review body recommendation on pay in the health service was not accepted by government, resulting in industrial action. 22 There have also been other more recent examples. 23

Some aspects of bargaining are common across both the public and private sectors. For example, sometimes there are separate agreements for different grades of worker, most typically for manual and non-manual workers. However, there is no requirement for this, as there are no differences between the two groups in terms of their legal status or their social security contributions, and the practice has become less frequent. For example, the Agenda for Change agreement for the health service, listed above, brought manual and non-manual jobs into a single grading structure 2004. 24

Finally, it is important to emphasise that, unlike in some other countries, there is no legal requirement in the UK for the employer to negotiate with the union, except where there has been a legally binding decision that the unions should be “recognised” for bargaining (see The role of unions). These cases are rare and generally it is the balance of forces between union and employer at the workplace that determines whether bargaining takes place.

Variations in collective bargaining coverage

As stated above, there is a big difference between the private and public sectors in terms of collective bargaining coverage. While 20.1% of private sector employee jobs are covered by collective bargaining, in the public sector the figure is 89.2%. 25

This difference is reflected in the differences between individual industries. Coverage is highest in three industries, which are largely in the public sector: public administration and defence, where 93.1% of jobs have their terms and conditions set by bargaining; education, where collective bargaining coverage is 76.6%; and human health and social work, where coverage is 60.5%.

In the rest of the economy, bargaining coverage is highest in water supply, sewerage and waste management at 59.3%, in transportation and storage at 58.6%, and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply at 58.6%.

Everywhere else, collective bargaining covers less than one third of all employee jobs. In the retail and wholesale trade, including vehicle repair, the largest industry in employment terms other than health and social security, just a quarter (25.2%) of the 4.5 million employee jobs are covered by collective bargaining.

Extending agreements

The lack of industry level agreements in most of the private sector means that there is little scope for their extension beyond the original signatories. There is also currently no legal process allowing their extension.

This may change slightly in the future as the Labour government, elected in 2024, has proposed that unions and employers should negotiate what it calls “Fair Pay Agreements” in the social care industry. These would be negotiated between relevant employer representatives and trade unions and set minimum pay and other conditions.

Although this would not be extending an existing agreement, its impact would be similar, as agreements reached in this way would be binding across social care. The precise details, such as who would be involved in the negotiations, remain unclear, and the process has a long way to run. Public consultation on the mechanism is only expected to start late in 2025.

Allowing local variations

As with extending agreements, the fact that there are very few industry agreements in the private sector, means that there is little need to make special provisions for local variations. Most employers in the private sector negotiate their own agreements.

In any case, collective agreements are generally presumed to be not legally binding, unless the parties have specifically stated in writing that this is the case. 26 Most collective agreements do not include a statement of this type.

In the public sector, where industry level agreements are much more common, there may sometimes be variations in how national agreements are applied. In addition, organisations that are formally autonomous can choose to opt-out of the industry agreement that applies to them. This is the case with local authorities, like Buckinghamshire and Kent, which have chosen not to be covered by the terms of the national NJC agreement the “Green Book”. However, it is not possible for organisations that are part of the National Health Service to opt-out of their equivalent agreement, Agenda for Change.

Who negotiates

Bargaining is conducted by trade unions and employers. The union side may be made up of full-time officials, workplace representatives or a mix of both, and the extent to which full-time officials are involved will often depend on the number of workers involved. Negotiations for a single workplace or company may be carried out entirely by local union representatives, with full-time officials only becoming involved if there are difficulties. The union or unions will normally be negotiating with an individual employer. Only in rare cases in the private sector will negotiations be with an employers' association.

In some organisations the process will be more formal with an agreed joint committee, sometimes called a Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), providing a forum for negotiations.

There may be several unions represented on the union side, and they normally will have agreed their position together in advance. For example, the main agreement in the health service, Agenda for Change, has nine signatory unions and many agreements in manufacturing are signed by two general unions Unite and the GMB. However, often there will be only one union present, because past union mergers have resulted in a single union representing the whole workforce.

There is no legislation on who is entitled to negotiate, other than in the rare cases where a union has been granted recognition through a statutory procedure, which involves establishing the extent of support a union has in the “bargaining unit” (see The role of unions).

Unions will often take the results of the negotiations back to their members for a vote on approval or rejection. They may issue a recommendation whether the deal should be accepted or rejected but do not always.

At national level, the TUC has not been involved in negotiations about pay since the end of the 1970s, when there were a series of national deals. There is also no tradition of negotiations between the TUC and the national level employers’ body, the CBI, on other issues, although there have been rare occasions when the two bodies have issued joint statements. 27

Industrial action

There is no “right to strike” in the UK or take other forms of industrial action. Instead, workers taking industrial action are given “immunity” against claims for damages for breach of contract from employers and others. However, these immunities are limited, and industrial action is only protected against civil claims if it follows very precise rules. 28

First, industrial action is only granted immunity if it is “in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute”, essentially a dispute about workers’ terms and conditions. Action for political reasons is therefore not protected. There are also some reasons for action which specifically mean that the action is not protected. These include:

• secondary or solidarity action in support of workers elsewhere;
• action intended to require that the employer only employs trade union members; and
• action in support of someone who has been dismissed because they took part in “unofficial” action (action that has not been authorised by the union).

However, even if the action is for a purpose which the law permits, it will still not be protected unless a series of other conditions have been met. These are:

• that there has been a ballot, which must currently be postal and must include everyone being called on to take industrial action but no-one else;
• that a majority of those voting are in favour of action; and
• that the employer is given notice of the action the union proposes to take.

Legislation introduced by the Conservative government in (Trade Union Act 2016), imposed more restrictive balloting conditions, requiring not just a majority of those voting to back action but that a majority of those entitled to vote had voted, and that in “important public services”, like health and education, at least 40% of the trade union membership had voted in favour of action. However, these requirements will be removed by the Employment Rights Bill introduced by the Labour government, which is expected to become law by the end of 2025. The Employment Rights Bill also reduces the notice to be given to the employer from 14 to seven days and will allow the government to permit electronic rather than postal balloting.

Legislation requiring workers in six key sectors, including health, transport and education, to provide “minimum service levels” during strikes was introduced by the Conservative government in 2023. However, faced with strong union opposition, it was not used, and it will be repealed by the Employment Rights Bill.

Length and timing of agreements

Collective agreements do not have to run for a specific period although the most common pattern is that they run for a year.

A study of the Payline database of collective agreements, maintained by the Labour Research Department, showed that in April 2025 29% of the 926 deals recorded as current (with a settlement renewal date in 2025 or later) had multiple stages. This included 4%, which had several stages in a single year, 2% which lasted for 13 to 23 months, 14% which lasted for two years, 7% which lasted for between two and three years, and 2% which lasted for more than three years. The remaining 71% lasted a year. There are, however, indications that longer deals are becoming less frequent. 29

Around a fifth (21%) of the agreements lasting for two years or more had some form of inflation protection, and this was slightly more common among longer-term deals.

Anniversary dates are spread throughout the year, although clustered in January and April.

Usually, union representatives will seek to negotiate on pay every time there are negotiations, but may negotiate over other improvements, for example, holidays, sick pay and so on, less frequently.

Subjects covered in agreements

Some negotiations cover all aspects of pay and conditions, but others are limited to only a few areas, principally pay, with the employer refusing to negotiate about many terms of employment. Even where pay is subject to negotiations, many agreements, particularly for non-manual workers, give employers considerable flexibility by linking pay increases for individual employees to a subjective assessment of their performance.

On the other hand, some of the agreements covering large numbers of employees are very detailed and cover a wide range of topics. The Green Books for local government staff, for example, is 252 pages long, and, as well as pay and grading, it covers equalities, training and development, health, safety and welfare, working time, leave, part-time and temporary employees, sickness pay and absence, maternity leave, car allowances, notice arrangements, grievance and disciplinary procedures and trade union facilities.

Trends in collective bargaining

The coverage of collective bargaining has fallen by around 10 percentage points over the last 20 years. While half (50.1%) of employee jobs were covered by collective bargaining in 2005, the earliest date from which the figures in the current format are available, by 2024 this had fallen to 40.2%. Collective bargaining coverage has fallen most in the private sector, from 32.0% in 2005 to 20.1% in 2024, with a smaller fall in the public sector, dropping from 92.3% in 2005 to 89.2% in 2024 (see Table).

Proportion of employee jobs covered by collective bargaining

Source: Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2024

This fall in collective bargaining coverage in the private sector reflects the decline in union density (the proportion of employees who are union members) in the private sector, which fell from 16.9% in 2005 to 11.7% 2024. In the public sector, the decline in density was proportionately less, from 58.2% in 2005 to 49.9% 2024. 30 In addition, the structure of bargaining in the private sector, where company and workplace agreements dominate, make it more vulnerable to a loss of union members at local level, as these are the members unions rely on to negotiate agreements.

Minimum wage

The UK has a national minimum wage which is set annually by the government on the advice of the Low Pay Commission, which is made up of representatives of the employers, the unions and independent academics, although they “serve in an individual capacity”. This advice takes account of the government “remit” (guidance) it receives. In 2019, the government remit, which from 2016 had aimed at a rate set at 60% of median earnings by 2020 ,was changed to a rate set at two-thirds (66.7%) of earnings by 2024. In July 2024, following the election of the Labour government, the remit was changed with the requirement “to take account of the cost of living, including inflation to March 2026,” added to the existing requirements to maintain the rate at two-thirds of median earnings and take account of the impact of the rate on business and the economy.

As a result, the main rate (known as the National Living Wage), which applies to those aged 21 and older, was increased by 6.7% in April 2025, while the rate for 18 to 20-year-olds went up by 16.3%.

Joint employer/union body at national level

The UK does not have a joint employer/union body like the economic and social councils found in many European states.

There is no common structure for employee representation in the UK and in many workplaces it does not exist. Unions are the most common way that employees are represented, and since 1999 they have been legally able to compel employers to deal with them, but only if they have sufficient support. Most non-union workplaces have no employee representation, and the regulations implementing the EU directive on information and consultation have only had a limited impact.

The basic structure

There is no formal legal mechanism providing for on-going workplace representation in the UK. In contrast to some EU countries, there is no structure of works councils elected by all employees, and there is also no legislation or system of legally binding collective agreements which give wide ranging powers to local union organisations to represent all employees, although they have limited rights if they are “recognised” (the employer negotiates with them).

This means that the structure of employee workplace representation is very varied. The position has not been fundamentally changed by the legislation, implementing the EU information and consultation directive, which came into effect for organisations with more than 50 employees in April 2008, as it also does not set out a format for employee representation (see The impact of the EU information and consultation directive).

In most cases, the structure of employee representation at work depends on a combination of the strength of the union at the workplace and the wishes of the employer.

In many workplaces, the only representation will be through the union, and, where the union is recognised, this may involve bargaining on pay and conditions, as well as a union role in disciplinary and grievance procedures and health and safety, and consultation with the union on issues like redundancies and business transfers.

In other workplaces, employers may have decided to set up their own structures for employee representation, which are likely primarily to have a consultative role, but may also deal with staff grievances. These bodies have a variety of names, such as staff or colleague forum, company council or consultative committee, and they are likely to discuss issues such as training, pay, health and safety, performance appraisal and staffing arrangements.

In some workplaces these structures may coexist, with both union and non-union representatives present. This may be because the employer deals with the union for some members of staff, and with a non-union structure for the others, but it may also mean that there is a structure, often called a joint consultative committee, which involves both union and non-union members. (A study of joint consultative committees in 2014 found that their “incidence … is strongly associated with both the presence of union members in the workplace and trade union recognition”. 31)

However, in many workplaces there will be no employee representation at all.

The extent of workplace representation

The most recent substantial UK survey of employee representation is the Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS11), which examined workplaces across the economy with five or more employees. Unfortunately, the information it provides is now dated, as it was carried out in 2011 and 2012.

The WERS11 figures show the proportion of employees covered by various forms of on-site employee representation:

• only union representatives present on site (28%);
• both union and non-union representatives present on site (7%);
• only non-union representatives present on site (9%); and
• no employee representatives on site (55%). 32

These figures show that, where employee representation exists, it is most likely to be provided by the union.

This is in line with the annual figures from the trade union membership report from the Department for Business and Trade, which asks whether union members are present at the workplace (a wider question than whether there are union representatives). In 2024, almost half (48.7%) of all employees stated that this was the case, only slightly down on the 52.7%, who reported a union presence in 2012. 33

The predominant role of unions in providing employee representation is also shown in the annual Good Work Index survey produced by the professional body for Human Resources (HR) specialists. Its 2025 report finds that 22% of 3,642 companies responding to the survey dealt with unions, but only 6% had a non-union staff association or consultative committee.

However, a separate and smaller survey of HR managers carried out by the CIPD in 2022, which looked at information and consultation arrangements, pointed to a bigger role for non-union bodies. It reported that 40% of organisations had both union and non-union representatives, 39% only non-union representatives and 18% only union representatives. 34

Both the 2024 trade union membership report and the WERS11 figures make it clear that there is a substantial difference between the private and public sectors. The trade union membership figures show that almost nine out of 10 (87.9%) of employees in the public sector worked in workplaces, where unions were present in 2024, but only under a third (31.0%) of employees in the private sector. The WERS11 figures show that union recognition, the most effective form of union representation (see The role of unions) was much more likely in public sector (92% of workplaces) than in private manufacturing (9%) or private services (12%). 35

The fact that there is no legal obligation to set up employee representation at the workplace in the UK, is reflected in the results of Eurofound’s 2019 European Company Surveys.

In 2019, 20% of establishments in the UK with at least 10 employees had employee representation, either recognised union representation or a joint consultative committee. This was well the EU27 average of 29%. 36

As elsewhere in Europe, larger organisations are more likely to have such a structure than smaller ones. The 2019 survey shows that 58% of establishments with more than 250 employees had employee representation, and that in those with between 50 and 249 employees, the percentage of workplaces with representation was 30%. In smaller workplaces in the UK, those with between 10 and 49 employees, the survey indicates that only around one in six (17%) had employee representation.

The impact of the EU information and consultation directive

The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (ICE), which implemented the EU information and consultation directive (2002/14/EC), gave UK employees in undertakings with more than 50 employees the right to be informed and consulted on developments in the business in particular in relation to employment.

However, the regulations do not require employers to establish a structure for information and consultation if one does not exist. The process must be either initiated by the employer or by a request of 2% of the workforce, with a minimum of 15 employees. (This threshold was reduced from 10% of the workforce in April 2020.) Once this has happened, the employer and employee representatives are required to start negotiations on an agreement on information and consultation, with fallback arrangements on setting up a committee if no agreement is reached. But these negotiations can be blocked in some cases if there is already a valid pre-existing agreement on information and consultation in place. They will also never start unless either the employer or 2% of the workforce ask for an information and consultation mechanism to be set up.

The evidence so far is that the regulations have not produced major changes in quantitative terms in employee representation at the workplace. In fact, the WERS 2011 survey showed a very slight fall in the proportion of workplaces and employees covered by on-site joint consultative committees compared with seven years earlier. The proportion covered dipped from 9% of workplaces and 38% of employees in 2004 before the regulations came into effect to 8% and 37% of employees in 2011, by which time they had been in effect for three years. 37 A later academic study said that the ICE regulations had had a “disappointingly limited impact”, and stated that “the initiative to establish or relaunch consultation bodies was almost invariably management’s”. 38 There is no indication that the reduction in the threshold required to initiate the process from 10% to 2% of the workforce, which happened in 2020, has changed the situation.

The role of unions

Unions play a crucial role in workplace representation in the UK, and they are most effective where they are “recognised”. Union recognition means that the employer has agreed to consult or negotiate with the union or unions over issues affecting the workforce. (It normally means that the employer will negotiate with the union on pay and conditions but there are some cases where unions are only recognised by the employer for individual grievance and disciplinary cases.)

Until 1999, union recognition was a matter of the balance of power between the unions and the employer, with the employer legally able to refuse to recognise a union, no matter how many members the union had. However, legislation passed in that year provides a legal mechanism which can compel employers to recognise unions. Unions must prove to an independent body, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) that a majority of employees in a “bargaining unit”, which can be a workplace, several workplaces, or part of a workplace, want a union to represent them. Unions can do this either by showing that more than half the employees are union members, or by winning the support for recognition of a majority of employees in a ballot, although this must currently also be equivalent to at least 40% of all employees in the bargaining unit. (The Labour government is planning to use the Employment Rights Bill, currently going through parliament, to replace the requirement that 40% of all employees must vote in favour with a majority of those voting.) The legislation only applies to employers with 21 or more employees, although the bargaining unit may be smaller.

In the 25 years since the procedure started, unions have submitted 1,471 cases to the CAC, with 437 resulting in recognition (191 involving a successful ballot). 39 However, this may be an underestimate of the impact of the legislation, as often, where unions sought recognition and had substantial membership, they were able to achieve it on a voluntary basis, as the employer was aware that the legal avenue was open to the union if recognition were refused.

There is also some indication that, after a period where there were relatively few cases, unions may again be taking more recognition claims to the CAC. The CAC’s 2023-24 annual report notes that the number of cases brought during the year was 53% higher than in 2022-23 and 76% higher than in 2021-22. 40 One of these was a claim by the general union GMB for recognition at a warehouse owned by the e-commerce giant Amazon, which employed around 3,000 people. The claim failed when only 49.5% of those voting backed the proposal for the union to be recognised. 41

Where there are no unions, there is no general right or requirement to have employee representatives, although there are specific EU directives which require employee representatives to be informed or consulted, as on redundancies, business transfers and health and safety. In addition, in some cases, employers are required to consult employees and their representatives about changes to pension schemes.

In workplaces without unions, UK legislation implements these directives by requiring the employer either to inform and consult existing employee representatives, if these are present, or to inform and consult representatives specially elected for that purpose. It is important to emphasise that in none of these cases are there any precise rules in the legislation as to how this representation should be structured.

As stated above, the legislation implementing the EU information and consultation directive (2002/14/EC), also does not require the setting up of a specific form of employee representation and its impact has been very limited (see The impact of the EU information and consultation directive).

Numbers and composition

There are no legal rules or guidance on the number of workplace union representatives who should be appointed. Unions aim to have at least one union representative – who may be known as shop stewards, workplace representatives, workplace stewards or staff representatives – in each workplace and department, with more in larger departments and where members work shifts. Unions are also increasingly trying to have workplace union representatives with specific roles, covering safety, equality, learning and, in some unions, the environment. Safety representatives and learning representatives also have some statutory time-off rights, and the Labour government elected in 2024 is planning to extend these rights to equality representatives in the Employment Rights Bill.

In larger workplaces, union representatives may come together as a shop stewards' committee (SSC) and elect a spokesperson, often known as a convenor or senior shop steward. Where there is more than one union at the workplace, representatives from different unions may come together to form a joint committee. This is sometimes known as a joint shop stewards' committee (JSSC) but also has many other names such as office or works committee. The structures are informal and can vary greatly from workplace to workplace.

There may also be a joint committee with the employer, which, as already noted, is often called a joint consultative committee. This can exist both in workplaces where unions are recognised and those where they are not. However, where there is such a body, there are no rules or guidance as to its size.

There are also no rules on the number of members of non-union representative structures, where these exist. However, a recent study by the CIPD, which included four case studies of organisations with non-union representative bodies, indicated the extent of possible variation. The cases ranged from the DIY retailer, B&Q, which has multi-tiered “People’s Forum” with store-level, region-level and national forums, covering 22,000 staff, to the “Innovation Forum” with five to seven members for the 50 staff employed at WorldSkills UK, an organisation providing careers advice. 42

The only specific rules on numbers and structures are in the ICE regulations, introduced to comply with the EU information and consultation directive (2002/14/EC). These regulations apply to all undertakings, provided they have at least 50 employees, calculated on the basis of the average number of employees over the previous 12 months. All employees are included in this calculation, irrespective of their position in the company (senior managers are not excluded), but agency workers are not included as they are not employed by the undertaking (Regulation 4, ICE). Employees who work 75 hours a month or fewer (approximately 3.5 hours a day) can be counted as half an employee, if the employer wishes.

As already noted, these regulations only come into effect at the request of either the employees or the employer, and the intention is that all arrangements, including the size of the body, should be negotiated. However, where the fall-back arrangements are used, they state that there should be one representative for every 50 employees or part thereof, with a minimum of two members and a maximum of 25 (Regulation 19, ICE).

The operation of the employee representative body

There is no legislation setting out how often the workplace union body or other form of employee representative body should meet, or how their operations should be structured. Acas, the official conciliation and arbitration body provides separate guidance for union and non-union representatives. It also does not say how often meetings should take place, stating for both types of representation that “the frequency, length and location of the consultation meetings, and the range of topics discussed, will vary from one organisation to another”, although it recognises that different types of meetings will be needed. 43 These are:

• regular meetings;
• special meetings to deal with complex issues or major changes;
• meetings associated with the handling of individual grievance and disputes; and
• for (union bodies only) meetings related to the operation of dispute procedures (the mechanism for avoiding conflict between the employer and the union).

The guides also suggest that it may make sense to identify a senior representative and the arrangements for the body should be set out in a written agreement with the employer.

Unions have also drawn up their own model arrangements setting out how representation should work. 44

Election and term of office

The methods for electing union representatives, who, of course, must be union members, vary from union to union.

The rules of the biggest public sector union, UNISON, provide for annual election for one or more stewards “for each work group or workplace by the members in that work group or workplace. However, the rules do not go into details on how this should be done. 45

Unite, the second largest, provides in its rules for an election of union representatives at the workplace every three years. 46

The rules of the GMB, the third largest union, provide for a four-year period of office and include more details on how the choice can be made:

• by a show of hands or a ballot by members at the workplace;
• by a show of hands at a branch meeting (a meeting of union members which may cover more than one workplace); or
• by appointment by a senior paid official (regional secretary) provided all the members concerned agree. 47

As these rules indicate, there are few formal procedures around the choice of union representatives, although the rules of all three unions make it clear that once local representatives have been chosen their names must be passed on to higher levels in the union – to the regional offices in Unite and the GMB, and to the branch in UNISON.

The situation in other unions is similar with the union representative more typically being chosen by a show of hands rather than a secret ballot. They are normally chosen for a particular office or workshop, and where there is shift working there may be different shop stewards for different shifts. They are usually elected by the members in the area in which they work rather than by the workforce as a whole. Elections typically take place every year. In practice individuals may hold office for long periods. In some unions, the choice of the membership at the workplace must not just be passed on to a higher level in the union but must be endorsed by it. One reason for this is unions can also be held liable actions by their elected or appointed workplace representatives or shop stewards when carrying out union business, as a case in 2018 made clear. 48

The method for choosing non-union representatives and their period of office will normally be decided by the employer, although election is the most frequently used method. 49

Where representatives are being chosen for the purposes of information and consultation, under the information and consultation regulations implementing the EU directive, the fallback arrangements state that they should be elected by a ballot of all employees (ICE Regulation 19). An independent ballot supervisor must be appointed to ensure that the ballot is fair, and the employer should consult employees’ representatives (in many cases this will be the union) on the arrangements for the ballot (ICE Schedule 2). The ballot will normally be of all employees together, but the employer can decide to split the workforce into separate constituencies, if it “would better reflect the interests of the employees as a whole”. All employees, including senior managers, can vote in this election and all employees, again including senior managers, can stand. There are no nomination requirements, and no period of office is prescribed in the legislation.

Tasks and rights

There is no legal document setting out the tasks of employee representatives at the workplace, whether they are union or non-union, although they do have rights in some circumstances, particularly union representatives, where the union is recognised.

The TUC trade union confederation lists the following tasks for workplace union representatives:

• supporting and advising members on workplace issues
• representing workers with problems and accompanying them to grievance or disciplinary hearings
• recruiting members
• negotiating with employers
• acting as a link between the workplace and the union. 50

The references in this list of tasks to internal union tasks reflects the fact that these are union structures. The obligations of workplace union representatives are limited to union members. They have no responsibility for other employees.

In practice, a survey carried out for the TUC in 2019 and 2020 found that supporting individual union members in disciplinary and grievance procedures was the task that workplace union representatives spent most time on, and that almost half the respondents (47%) said this was their most important issue. 51

The workplace union representative will normally be the first port of call for a union member facing problems at work. They are usually responsible for pursuing grievances and complaints on behalf of members of the union. They will also act as an advocate for members who are facing disciplinary action by the employer, although often, if they are unsuccessful, the employer’s procedures will allow for the involvement of a full-time officer of the union.

Employees invited by their employer to attend a disciplinary or grievance hearing have a legal right to be accompanied either by a full-time union official (an employee of the union) or by a certified lay official (someone the union has trained to accompany individuals to such hearings), or by a fellow employee. This right to be accompanied by a full-time or lay union representative applies irrespective of whether the union is recognised at the workplace (Employment Relations Act 1999 Section 10).

The WERS11 survey also found that discipline and grievance was at the top of the list of issues union representatives spent time on, with 78% saying they spent time on this. It was followed by health and safety (69%), rates of pay (61%), pension entitlements (55%) staffing levels and hours of work (both tied on 54%). 52

These are average figures, and there are differences in the balance of tasks carried out by workplace union representatives depending on the circumstances of the workplace. In many private sector workplaces negotiating on pay and conditions will be an important element of their activities, reflecting the importance of company workplace bargaining in the private sector. (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure). In the public sector, local union representatives are less likely to be directly involved in pay bargaining, although they may deal with the local implementation of industry-level deals.

However, it is important to recognise that there is no legal requirement for the employer to negotiate with the union except where there has been a legally binding decision that the unions should be “recognised” for bargaining (see The role of unions ).

Where unions are recognised, not just where there is a legally binding decision to recognise the union, the employer is obliged to inform and consult them on collective redundancies (20 or more employees being made redundant over the course of 90 days) and the business transfers (Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA). 53 Both these obligations are the result of EU directives, on redundancy (98/59/EC) and the transfer of undertakings (2001/23/EC).

In the case of collective redundancies, the employer must provide the union with the following information in writing:

• reason(s) for the redundancies;
• number and descriptions of employees proposed to be made redundant;
• total number of employees of any description;
• proposed selection procedure;
• proposed method for carrying out redundancy dismissals including timescale;
• proposals for calculating redundancy pay, if it is to exceed the legal minimum;
• the number of temporary agency workers working for the employer;
• where those agency workers are working; and
• what types of work they are carrying out.

Comparable information must be provided in the case of business transfers.

For both collective redundancies and business transfers, the information must be sufficient to allow effective consultation to take place. Consultation must begin “in good time” and for larger collective redundancies (100 or more employees) it must begin at least 45 days before the redundancies take effect; for redundancies involving between 20 and 99 employees it must start at least 30 days beforehand. There is no minimum period for consultation in the case of business transfers, but unions must be involved as early as practically possible, and for business transfers the requirement to consult begins when just one employee is affected.

The consultation must be meaningful and must be undertaken by the employer “with a view to reaching agreement” with the union. However, there is nothing in the legislation that requires the two sides to reach agreement, and the final decision lies with the employer.

Other consultation rights exercised by recognised unions include the right of union safety representatives to be consulted on health and safety issues (Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Section 2) (see Health and safety representation), and to be consulted on some limited issues related to pensions (The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Consultation by Employers and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2006 Regulation 12).

In the relatively few cases where unions have used the information and consultation provisions resulting from the EU directive on information and consultation (transposed in the UK through the ICE Regulations), the unions can reach agreement with the employer on the issues on which they wish to be informed and consulted. However, the standard provisions, which apply if no agreement is concluded, state (ICE Regulation 20) that representatives must be:

• informed about the recent and probable development of the undertaking’s activities and economic situation;
• informed and consulted about the situation, structure and probable development of employment within the undertaking and on any planned measures, particularly, where employment may be threatened; and
• informed and consulted about decisions likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation or in contractual relations.

In addition to consultation rights, in workplaces where unions are recognised, union representatives have the right to information from their employer which is needed for collective bargaining (TULRCA Section 181). This is information:

• without which representatives would be impeded in carrying out collective bargaining; or
• which, in accordance with good industrial relations practice, should be disclosed.

In practice, this typically involves details of pay rates and pay structures.

In workplaces where unions are not recognised, and employee representation is through non-union structures, the tasks and rights of the representatives will be as decided by the employer, although non-union representatives may have a legal right to be consulted on redundancies and business transfers, where they occur. However, it must be clear that they are authorised to negotiate with the employer, and, if this is not the cases, special representatives must be elected from among those affected to deal with the redundancies or business transfer.

If an agreement has been reached with the employer on information and consultation, using the ICE Regulations (see above) non-union representatives may benefit from these rights.

Where there is no recognised union, employers must still consult employees on health and safety issues. This can either be done directly or through elected representatives. If representatives are to be elected, the employer must make arrangements for elections of “representatives of employee safety” (ROES) by the group of employees with whom they work (Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 Regulation 4) (see Health and safety representation).

In practice, the WERS 2011 survey found that training was the issue on which the largest number of non-union representatives were involved – 58% said they had spent time on this in the previous year. This was followed by rates of pay (52%) and health and safety (50%), performance appraisal (49%) and staffing levels (46%). Non-union representatives were much less likely to have been involved in disciplinary and grievance issues than union representatives. Only 44% of non-union representatives had spent time on this in the previous 12 months, compared with 78% of union representatives. 54

Protection against dismissal

Other than when they are acting in relation to specific statutory rights – primarily redundancy or business transfers (see below) – union representatives have no specific protection against dismissal, although dismissal and other forms of victimisation for trade union membership or activity are unlawful. This protection is set out in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA) in Section 146, which relates to “detriment” (worse treatment), and Section 152, which relates to dismissal. 55

However, the Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures from Acas, the official conciliation and arbitration body, indicates that employers should consider an individual’s position as a union representative, when taking disciplinary action. The Code recommends in paragraph 30 that “the normal disciplinary procedure should be followed” when considering disciplinary action against a trade union representative but it adds that, “depending on the circumstances, however, it is advisable to discuss the matter at an early stage with an official employed by the union, after obtaining the employee’s agreement”. 56 However, there is no legal requirement to do so.

In any case, failure to follow the Code does not, in itself, make a person or organisation liable to proceedings, but the labour courts (Employment Tribumals) will take the Code into account in reaching their decisions.

Employee representatives, both union and non-union do, however, have specific protection against dismissal and victimisation, where they are acting in relation to specific statutory rights – primarily redundancy or business transfers. Section 47 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 covers detriment and Section 103 covers dismissal. 57 If an employee is dismissed because of, or primarily because of, their activities as representatives in these issues, that dismissal will be seen as automatically unfair by the labour court (Employment Tribunal) and the court can order the employer to either re-instate the employee or pay compensation. In fact, an employer cannot be compelled to take back an employee, but the compensation is increased if the court has ordered reinstatement, but the employer has refused.

Representatives appointed under the information and consultation regulations similarly have specific protection against their dismissal or detriment, if linked to the performance of their functions or the exercise of their rights (ICE Regulations 30 and 32).

Time off and other resources

Workplace union representatives, where unions are recognised, have a legal right to paid time off which is “reasonable in all the circumstances” to carry out their duties as representatives and to receive appropriate training (TULRCA Section 168).

These duties relate to negotiations with the employer over terms and conditions or physical conditions of employment, recruitment, suspension, dismissal, work allocation, discipline, union membership, time off facilities and the machinery of negotiation and other procedures (set out in TULRCA Section 178 (2)). They also have a right to paid time off for statutory information and consultation duties concerning collective redundancies and TUPE transfers.

The law does not specify what is considered “reasonable” and the employer may refuse time off either if it is considered too frequent or too inconvenient at the time of the particular request. However, a code of practice from Acas, the official conciliation and arbitration body, sets out the issues that both sides should consider, such as the number of workers, the need to maintain a service to the public and the difficulties facing trade union representatives and members in ensuring effective representation and communications with different groups of workers, such as those working shifts, part time or in different locations. 58

The Acas codes states that it would be reasonable to provide paid time off to:

• prepare for negotiations, including attending relevant meetings;
• inform members of progress and outcomes; and
• prepare for meetings with the employer about matters for which the trade union has only representational rights.

It suggests that this should be dealt with through a formal “facilities agreement” setting out union rights to paid time, working facilities and training, and there are many examples of agreements of this sort.

The Employment Rights Bill, introduced by the Labour government elected in 2024, will strengthen union representatives’ rights in this area. It does not set a fixed amount of time off, but it includes the presumption that the representatives’ view of the amount of time off they are entitled to, should be the starting point. It places the burden of proof on the employer stating that “it is for the employer to show that the amount of time off which the employee proposed to take was not a reasonable amount of time off”, if the issue comes to the labour court (Employment Tribunal).

The expectation is that the Employment Rights Bill will have become law by the end of 2025.

The WERS 2011 survey provides some information on what happens in practice, although as the information relates to the most senior union representative in each workplace, the results do not reflect the position for all union representatives. The survey, which was carried out in 2011 and 2012, found that, on average, 17% of senior union representatives were fully freed from their normal duties and that senior union representatives spent an average of 13 hours a week on their role, although around half (49%) spent fewer than five hours a week. 59

Paid time off for union duties, often called facility time, came under pressure from the Conservative government, which introduced new reporting requirements for all employers in the public sector (Trade Union Facility Time Publication Requirements Regulations 2017). This requires public sector employers, among other things to provide details of the total number of union representatives (both head count and full time equivalent), and the total amount of time representatives spent on facility time. However, the Labour government, elected in 2024, is removing these requirements through the Employment Rights Bill.

All trade union members, not just workplace union representatives are entitled to reasonable time of to take part in union activities, other than industrial action in workplaces where the union is recognised (TULRCA Section 170). However, this is not paid. Such activities could include attending union workplace meetings or meeting union officials to discuss workplace issues.

In workplaces with no union recognition there is no legal right to time off either for duties or for training, except in relation to specific statutory rights – such as in cases of redundancy or business transfers or under the regulations on information and consultation. The WERS11 Survey shows that non-union representatives spent an average of three hours a week on their duties.

The right of access to other facilities, both for union and non-union representatives, is limited to specific circumstances – dealing with health and safety, redundancy and business transfers. Currently, union representatives have no general right to facilities to enable them to do their work and depend on reaching agreement with the employer for any facilities they have.

However, an Acas guide suggests that “employers should, where practical, make available to union representatives the facilities necessary for them to perform their duties efficiently and to communicate effectively with their members, other representatives and full-time officers.” Where resources permit the code states that these should include:

• accommodation for meetings;
• access to a telephone and other communication media used or permitted in the workplace such as email, intranet and internet;
• the use of noticeboards;
• an office, if the volume of work makes this necessary;
• confidential space where employees involved in a grievance or disciplinary matter can meet their representatives;
• access to members who work at a different location; and
• access to e-learning tools where computer facilities are available. 60

Union representatives’ rights in this area will also be strengthened by the Employment Rights Bill, as a right to have adequate facilities is now included in the text of the legislation, not just left as a suggestion in the code. The Employment Rights Bill states that an employer providing time off for trade union duties must also “provide the employee with such accommodation and other facilities for carrying out the duties or undergoing the training for which the employee takes time off, as is reasonable in all the circumstances”.

The WERS 2011 survey indicates what happens in practice – at least in 2011 and 2012. Around three-quarters of senior union representatives had use of an office (74%), a telephone (76%), meeting rooms (78%) and a photocopier (77%). More than two-thirds had use of a computer (69%).

For non-union representatives, all the figures were higher: office (84%), telephone (81%), meeting rooms (84%), photocopier (85%) and computer (84%). 61

Since 2002, there has been the possibility of having a new union representative at the workplace – a union learning rep. In a workplace with a recognised union, union learning reps are entitled to a reasonable amount of paid time off to carry out their duties (TULRCA Section 168A and Employment Act 2002 Section 43). These duties include addressing employees’ learning or training needs, providing information and advice and promoting the value of learning and preparing and consulting with the employer. They also have the right to time off for drawing up learning plans and working with employers to promote the value of learning. To be appointed a union learning representative, the individual concerned must have had sufficient training to undertake this role, although this can be undertaken in the first six months after being appointed.

The Employment Rights Bill adds the right for the union to have an equality representative at the workplace. Their duties include promoting the value of equality, arranging learning or training on matters relating to equality, providing information advice or support on equality issues to union members, consulting the employer on matters relating to equality, obtaining and analysing information relating to equality and preparing for any of these issues.

As with learning reps, the employee concerned must undergo sufficient training to take on these responsibilities, and like learning reps they must be given sufficient time and appropriate facilities to carry out their duties.

Training rights

Workplace union representatives also have a right to paid time off for training which is:

• relevant to the carrying out of union duties (see above), and
• approved by the TUC or by the union to which the representative belongs.

Currently, as with time off for union representatives more generally, the amount of training permitted is not specified but must be “reasonable in all the circumstances having regard to any relevant provisions of a Code of Practice issued by Acas” (TULRCA Section 168 (3)).

The official Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has issued a Code of Practice on the issue. 62 Like other Acas Codes, the provisions of the Code can be taken onto account in cases brought before an Employment Tribunal (the labour court) relating to time off for trade union duties and activities but are not directly binding.

The Code states that, “union representatives are more likely to carry out their duties effectively if they possess skills and knowledge relevant to their duties”. It goes on to suggest that “in particular, employers should be prepared to consider releasing union representatives for initial training in basic representational skills as soon as possible after their election or appointment”. It also points to other reasons why employees should be given paid time off for training, such as developing their skills, dealing with specific circumstances affecting the workers they represent or where legislation has changed.

The Code also recommends that employers and unions should reach formal agreements on time off which can:

• provide clear guidelines against which applications for time off can be determined;
• establish realistic expectations on the part of union representatives and managers;
• avoid misunderstanding;
• facilitate better planning; and
• ensure fair and reasonable treatment.

Trade union representatives’ rights to training are also being strengthened by the Employment Rights Bill, because, as with time off more generally, the assessment of the union on the amount of time off that is reasonable becomes the starting point of the discussion. It is up to the employer to show that what the union is proposing is unreasonable. The same approach will also be taken in relation to time off for training for union learning reps and the planned equality reps.

In addition to the general right for union representatives to have paid time off for training, other types of union representatives also have training rights. Union health and safety representatives have a right to undergo training in aspects of their functions that is “reasonable in all the circumstances” under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 Regulation 4(2)(b) (see Health and safety representation). 63 And union learning reps, who are intended to promote learning in the workplace, are also entitled to some time off for relevant training, under the Employment Act 2002 Section 43, although the legislation does not specify how much. 64 In both cases these rights only apply where the union is recognised.

Non-union representatives do not have the same rights to paid time off for training. Paid time off for training is only a right for representatives elected in relation to health and safety, the transfer of undertakings (TUPE) and larger collective redundancies (20 or more employees over 30 days).

Non-union representatives dealing with health and safety are known as Representatives of employee safety. Under the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996, Regulation 7 (1) they are entitled to paid time off for “such training … as is reasonable in all the circumstances (see Resources and time off). 65

Non-union representatives elected in relation to collective redundancies and TUPE also have a right to “take reasonable time off during the employee’s working hours” to undertake training for this representative role (Employment Rights Act 1996 Section 61 (1)). 66

Representation at group level

Just as there is no statutory structure for employee representation at workplace level so there is no structure at group level. Meetings of employee representatives at group level are on a voluntary basis at the initiative either of the union or the employer. In some cases, the union may bring its representatives in the company together and sometimes the company itself may wish to do so.

Figures from the WERS 2011 survey show that at that point 20% of workplaces and 27% of employees were covered by a joint consultative committee at a higher level than the individual workplace. Under the WERS definitions, this could include a European Works Council. Higher-level consultative committees were much more frequent in the public sector, where 56% of workplaces were covered, than in the private sector where only 15% of workplaces reported them. 67

UK employees have no statutory right to representation at board level. However, following a revision of the UK Corporate Governance Code, which came into effect in 2019, having employee directors is a specified method of improving “workforce engagement” in listed companies. There are now a handful of employee representatives at board level.

The extent of board-level employee representation

In the UK, there is no legal obligation to have employee representatives at board level, in either private sector or public sector companies. UK companies have single-tier boards, and their directors are chosen by the shareholders.

However, in 2018, Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which draws up the UK’s Corporate Governance Code, produced a new edition of the code, which came into effect in 2019. For the first time, this included the possibility of a director being chosen from the workforce. 68 More precisely it stated that, “For engagement with the workforce, one or a combination of the following methods should be used:

• a director appointed from the workforce;
• a formal workforce advisory panel;
• a designated non-executive director.” 69

Like many parts of the code, this does not place an obligation on companies to comply. They can “comply” or “explain” why they have not done so. However, it does make it more likely that UK companies will choose to have an individual from the workforce as a member of the board.

The UK Corporate Governance Code applies to companies listed on a UK stock exchange, regardless of where they are incorporated. It covers most of the largest companies operating in the UK, but not private companies.

The UK Corporate Governance Code has been updated since 2018, but the latest (2024) version continues to offer a "director appointed from the workforce" as one of the options for workforce engagement. 70

However, this option has rarely been taken up. A study undertaken on behalf of the Financial Reporting Council in 2021 found that “only one firm has appointed a new worker director (in fact, two of them) following the issuing of the revised Code, adding to the three firms that had appointed worker directors over the past few years (one of which involves a German-style supervisory board) and the one firm with a very long-standing worker director”. This brought the number of companies with board-level employee representation to five. 71

The report found that appointing a designated non-executive director with responsibility for workplace engagement, had been the most common response to the new code, with 112 out of the 280 companies examined (40%) taking the route. Another 89 (32%) had not changed their existing methods of engaging with the workforce, although this included the four companies which already had a director appointed from the workforce.

A later FRC report produced in 2023 found that there had been “no increase in companies appointing a workforce director”. 72 The FRC report produced in November 2024, which was based on a random sample of 100 companies, did not include any with directors from the workforce, although it “found that some investors support workforce-nominated directors on boards”. 73

Nomination and election of employee representatives

The Corporate Governance Code says nothing about how many employee directors there should be or how they should be chosen.

An examination of the four UK-based companies with employee directors found that, in three of the four cases, there was only a single employee director, with two employee directors (out of a board of 11) at the fourth. (The fifth company identified in the FRC reports is the German travel company TUI, which is incorporated in Germany and has employee representatives on its supervisory board. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as well as in Germany but it ended its UK listing in 2024. 74)

Only one of the four companies had a purely employee-based selection procedure – with the individual indirectly chosen by elected representatives in the group’s subsidiaries. In the three other companies, the employee directors were: selected by the non-executive directors, elected by the workforce out of a shortlist of three chosen by management or elected after interviews with senior management. 75

The rights of employee representatives

Directors from the workforce have the same rights and responsibilities as other directors.

The UK withdrawal from the EU (Brexit) has changed the position of UK representatives in relation to both European Works Councils and employee representatives within the European Company. In effect, existing representatives continue to be protected and have rights under UK law, but UK employees cannot be used as the basis for creating new bodies.

European Works Councils

The UK withdrew from the EU on 31 January 2020, with the transition period ending on 31 December 2020, and as a result UK employees ceased to be fully covered by the legislation establishing European Works Councils (EWCs).

UK employees are no longer included in the calculation to determine whether a company is required to begin negotiations on setting up a works council, and companies which set up their EWC using UK law have been required to transfer the legal basis for their EWC agreement to an EU state. 76 European Works Councils (EWCs) continue to be able to include UK employee representatives, but only if the agreement provides for it, as some agreements have always done for other countries outside the scope of the legislation, like Switzerland.

UK legislation has continued to provide protection and rights to UK employee members of EWCs. For example, under the amended legislation they continue to have a right to “reasonable time off” to perform their functions, and they are protected against dismissal. 77

This approach means that, while UK legislation has now removed provisions linked to setting up agreements – there are no regulations on UK members of the special negotiating body (SNB) – there are regulations on the election of UK members in an EWC set up under the fallback provisions of the annex to the directive.

They must be chosen either:

• by an existing employee representative body, which can either be
  • a union recognised by the employer as representing all employees, or
  • an elected consultative committee representing the whole workforce (rare); or
• by a ballot of all employees

UK members of an EWC set up under the fallback provisions must be employees.

European Company

The UK’s withdrawal from the EU has had a similar impact on the representation of UK employee within a European Company (Societas Europea). European Companies (SEs) must have their head office in an EU member state, and, as a result, SEs that have their registered office in the United Kingdom no longer enjoy the status of an SE. UK companies cannot participate in the formation of an SE, although SEs that were formed with the involvement of UK company before the withdrawal date can retain SE status, provided their head office is in an EU state.

As with EWCs, UK law continues to provide UK members of the SE representative body with a right to “reasonable time off” and protection against dismissal. 78

However, the provisions for choosing the UK members of the special negotiating body have been removed from the legislation, as the UK will not in future be involved in the creation of an SE or an SE representative body.

Even in the original legislation there were no specific UK rules on the choice of UK representatives for an SE representative body set up under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive, with the issue left entirely to the special negotiating body. This fallback procedure has now been entirely deleted.

In workplaces where they negotiate with the employer, unions have the right to appoint safety representatives to represent the health and safety interests of employees. In non-union workplaces the employer decides whether employee representatives for health and safety should be elected, or whether employees should be consulted directly. Non-union health and safety representatives have fewer powers than those appointed by the union. Union safety representatives, but not non-union ones, can also require the employer to set up a safety committee.

Employee health and safety bodies

Recognised trade unions (those with whom the employer negotiates – see The role of unions) have the right to appoint workplace safety representatives, often known as safety reps. With the exception of actors and professional musicians, the safety representative must be an employee in the organisation whose employees he or she represents. Officials of the musicians’ and actors’ unions are the only union officials who can represent their members in workplaces where their unions are recognised but where they themselves do not work.

In organisations where there is no recognised union, the employer must consult employees either directly or through elected representatives. It is the employer who decides which route to take. These elected representatives are known as representatives of employee safety (ROES). This situation may also arise in parts of an organisation which are not covered by a recognised union.

In addition, two or more safety representatives can insist that the employer establishes a safety committee, normally a joint employer/employee body. ROES do not have the right to call for the setting up of a safety committee.

Numbers and structure

The legislation does not state how many safety reps should be appointed, leaving this to negotiation between unions and employers. However, guidance notes to the regulations on safety representatives say that it would be appropriate to take into account:

• the number of people employed;
• whether there are different occupations;
• the size of the workplace and variety of workplace locations;
• shift systems; and
• the kind of work and degree and character of the hazards.

There is no indication in the legislation of the number of ROES it would be appropriate to elect.

A safety committee should be set up if an employer receives a written request from at least two safety representatives asking for one. It must be established within three months of the request being received and the employer must consult the representatives making the request and representatives of recognised trade unions in workplaces covered by the committee.

The legislation does not specify the composition of the safety committee but the guidance to the regulations recommends that, where safety advisers, a works doctor and other health and safety professionals are present, they should be members. The guidance also suggests that the number of members coming from management should not exceed the number of employee representatives. In any case employees should be informed of the composition of the committee and the areas it covers.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in 2019 found that 72% of workplaces in the UK had health and safety representatives and 37% had a health and safety committee. These are both above the EU27 averages, which are 56% for health and safety representatives and 22% for health and safety committees. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.) 79

Tasks and rights

Safety representatives’ functions, as set out in the regulations, are to:

• investigate potential hazards and dangerous occurrences and examine the causes of accidents;
• investigate members’ complaints;
• make representations to the employer;
• carry out inspections at least every three months and after a serious accident, dangerous occurrence or the contraction of certain specified diseases (Additional inspections can be made if work conditions have changed substantially, or if the health and safety authorities have published new information, provided the employer has been consulted.);
• consult with and receive information from health and safety inspectors and other enforcement officers on behalf of members; and
• attend meetings of the safety committee (where one exists).

In order to carry out these functions, the official code of practice accompanying the regulations states that safety representatives should take all reasonably practical steps to keep themselves informed of:

• the legal requirements relating to health and safety at work, particularly those of the group of workers they directly represent;
• the particular hazards in their workplace and measures to eliminate those risks; and
• the employer’s health and safety policy.

The regulations require the employer to provide safety representatives with the information they need to carry out their functions, although there are exceptions. These include information relating to an individual, or information that would damage the employer’s business. The code of practice sets out in greater detail the information that should be disclosed:

• any proposed changes that may affect health and safety;
• technical information about hazards and necessary precautions, including information provided by manufacturers and suppliers;
• information and statistical records on accidents, dangerous occurrences and certain specified industrial diseases;
• any other information specifically related to matters affecting the health and safety at work of employees, such as measures to check the effectiveness of health and safety arrangements; and
• information on articles and substances provided to those working at home.

In addition, safety representatives are also entitled to receive information from health and safety inspectors regarding their visits to the employer’s premises.

The functions of the ROES – the representative elected where there is no union – are more limited. In relation to the group of employees they represent they are to:

• make representations to the employer on potential hazards and dangerous occurrences at the workplace which affect, or could affect, employees;
• make representations to the employer on general matters affecting the health and safety at work, in particular where the employer is undertaking a consultation; and
• represent employees in consultations at the workplace with health and safety inspectors.

The ROES does not have a right to undertake inspections – a crucial right for the union-appointed safety representatives – or to require that a safety committee should be set up. There is also no official code of practice for ROES, equivalent to that for safety representatives, setting out the information they should be given by the employer.

The consultation requirements, however, apply to both types of representative. Where safety representatives and/or ROES are present, there is a general requirement for employers to consult with them on health and safety issues. More specifically, they should be consulted in good time about:

• the introduction of any measure at the workplace which may substantially affect health and safety;
• arrangements for appointing competent people to assist with health and safety and implementing procedures for serious and imminent risk;
• any health and safety information the employer is required to provide;
• planning and organisation of health and safety training; and
• the health and safety implications of the introduction (or planning) of any new technology.

There is no specific right for safety representatives or ROES to interrupt work, but employee cannot be penalised if they take appropriate steps to protect themselves and others from a serious and imminent danger.

The regulations say nothing about the functions of the safety committee. Guidance from the health and safety authority (HSE) suggests that its regular agenda should include:

• statistics on accident records, ill health, sickness absence;
• accident investigations and subsequent action;
• inspections of the workplace by enforcing authorities, management or employee health and safety representatives;
• risk assessments;
• health and safety training;
• emergency procedures; and

changes in the workplace affecting the health, safety and welfare of employees. 80

Frequency of meetings

There is nothing in the regulations stating how often the safety committee should meet. Guidance from the health and safety authority suggests that it should meet “regularly” and that the frequency will depend on the specific circumstances of the business.

Election and term of office

The legislation does not specify how unions should appoint safety representatives in organisations where they are recognised. However, the regulations state that, where reasonably practicable, safety representatives should have at least two years’ employment with their present employer or two years’ experience in similar employment. Exceptions to this include cases where the employer or the workplace is newly established, where the work is of a short duration, or where there is a high labour turnover. There is no term of office specified in the regulations, although they make clear that the union that appointed the safety representative can end his or her appointment by writing to the employer to this effect.

There is no legislation specifying how ROES should be elected or how long their term of office should be. It is also the employer who decides whether they should be elected at all. Direct consultation with all employees is always an alternative.

Resources and time off

Union appointed safety representatives have the right to paid time off to carry out their functions, as set out in the regulations (see above), although the legislation does not specify how long this time off might be. They also have a right to sufficient paid time off for training “as may be reasonable in all the circumstances”.

The official code of practice says that as soon as possible after their appointment they should be given paid time off to attend basic training approved by the unions and that further training should be undertaken, where necessary. While the code of practice says that the length of training required “cannot be rigidly prescribed”, it also states that basic training should provide an understanding of the role of safety representatives, of safety committees, and of trade unions’ policies and practices in the area of health and safety.

ROES, the representatives for employee safety, who may be chosen where there is no recognised union, also have a right to paid time off to carry out their functions and for “such training … as is reasonable in all the circumstances”. However, for ROES there is no code of practice spelling out what this means in detail. Both safety representatives and ROES have a right to receive from the employer the “facilities and assistance” that they reasonably need in order to carry out their functions.

Protection against dismissal

Both safety representatives and ROES have some protection against dismissal as general employment legislation states that employees should not suffer a detriment or be dismissed or made redundant for carrying out legal functions as “a representative of workers on matters of health and safety at work or member of a safety committee”.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

UK health and safety legislation is not prescriptive on the support that employers need to meet their health and safety obligations. The 1999 management regulations state that, “every employer shall … appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions”. However, the regulations do not set out the qualifications necessary, stating only that a competent person is someone with “sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities”, although they also say that “a competent person in the employer’s employment” is to be preferred to “a competent person not in his employment”

This approach is reflected in guidance from the key UK health and safety body, the HSE, which states that an employer must “appoint someone competent” to help him or her meet their health and safety duties, but that that person could be the employer or one or more of the workers. The guidance goes on to say that “if you run a low-risk business, health and safety is something you can manage without needing to buy in expert help”. Only “if you are not confident of your ability to manage all health and safety in-house, or if you are a higher-risk business” may there be a need for “some external help or advice”. 81

There are certainly no set thresholds above which certain types of health and safety experts, either internal or external, are required. As a EU-OSHA report on workers’ participation in health and safety in the UK noted in 2017, “the use of such practitioners by employers is not subject to detailed regulatory requirements, unlike in many other EU Member States”, and it points out that there is also no legal obligation on employers to provide access to an occupational health service except where workers are exposed to specific risks. 82 This does not mean that there are no health and safety experts. As the report adds, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, the professional health and safety body in the UK, has more than 44,000 members and is the largest such body in Europe.

National context

The key body dealing with health and safety in the UK is the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is one of the agencies of the Department for Work and Pensions. There is a separate The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), which is an agency of the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland. As well as developing health and safety policy, the HSE is one of the main enforcement bodies for health and safety legislation in the UK, with most of the rest of the enforcement undertaken by local authorities. The HSE deals with potentially more hazardous environments, such as factories, farm, building sites and mines, as well as schools and colleges, hospitals and nursing homes and government offices. Local authorities cover most other premises, such as offices, shops, hotels and restaurants. There are separate bodies for railway and maritime safety, civil aviation and nuclear facilities. Unlike labour inspectorates in many European states, the HSE does not enforce compliance with other aspects of labour law.

Trade unions and employers have an influence health and safety policy through their membership of the board of the HSE. In the past, the main employers’ organisations and the main union confederation, the TUC, have each had three representatives on the board. However, the legislation (the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974) states only that the minister “shall appoint three members after consulting such organisations representing employees as he considers appropriate” and, in recent years, the government has chosen to appoint individuals who have not been proposed by the TUC.

The UK does not have specific legislation on psychosocial risks, although there is legislation on harassment. Despite union pressure the HSE has not produced a so-called “Approved Code of Practice” on stress, which would place tighter controls on employers in this area. However, it has produced “Management Standards” on stress, which group together the principal causes of work-related stress and make proposals on how they can be tackled.

Key legislation

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977: SI 1977 No. 500

Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996: SI 1996 No. 1513

Employment Rights Act 1996

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

• 1

  This is a combination of the 5,493,720 members for Great Britain recorded by the Certification Officer https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/671f93eea85de589558d5dc5/2_10_24_CO_Annual_Report_final.pdf, the 208,672 members in Northern Ireland recorded by the Northern Ireland Certification Officer https://www.nicertoffice.org.uk/files/nicertoffice/2025-05/2023-24%20ANNUAL%20REPORT%20OF%20THE%20CERTIFICATION%20OFFICER%20FOR%20NORTHERN%20IRELAND.pdf and 1,197.696 members in Unite the Union, who were not included in the Certification Officer’s report, see Footnote 2 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2024/trade-union-membership-uk-1995-to-2024-statistical-bulletin#further-information 

• 2

  This and the UK figures for union density in this section come Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2024

• 3

  Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014

• 4

  OECD (2024), "Trade Unions: Trade union density", OECD Employment and Labour Market Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00371-en

• 5

  Figures for TUC are from the TUC Union listing website in June 2025 https://www.tuc.org.uk/unions

• 6

  There are also more limited trade union groupings, the Scottish TUC (https://www.stuc.org.uk/) covering unions in Scotland, and the GFTU (https://gftu.org.uk/), largely made up of small unions, but the unions affiliated to these groupings are almost all also affiliated to the TUC.

• 7

  ICTU BDC Report of Executive Council 2023-2025, Irish Congress of Trade Unions

  June 13, 2025 https://www.ictu.ie/sites/default/files/publications/2025/BDC%20Report%20%28FINAL%29.pdf

• 8

  Current trade unions, Certification Officer, 2025 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-list-of-trade-unions/current-trade-unions and TUC Union listing website in June 2025 https://www.tuc.org.uk/unions. One reason for the differences between these figures is that the figures provided to the Certification Officer provide details of membership in Northern Ireland, which have been included in these figures, but are not included in the TUC figures. The Certification Officer figures are generally a year earlier, and there may also be differences depending on how unions choose to declare their figures to the TUC.TUC figures for the other unions listed in this section are: Unite, 1,123,317; GMB, 497,488; NEU, 497,488; USDAW, 356,652; NASUWT, 284,062; CWU,168,005; PCS, 185,984; Prospect, 132,644; UCU, 115,975; RMT, 81,543; and NUM 194.

• 9

  Annual Report 2023-24, Certification Officer for Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations, November 2024 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/671f93eea85de589558d5dc5/2_10_24_CO_Annual_Report_final.pdf

• 10

  Police Federation website https://www.polfed.org/about-us/

• 11

  Who are the new Labour MPs, Labour Research, August 2024

• 12

  Trade unions and industrial relations, by Patrick Brione and Isabel Buchanan, House of Commons Library, January 2024 https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9785/CBP-9785.pdf 

• 13

  Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025 

• 14

  10 years on: the impact of the Organising Academy on the union movement by Jane Holgate and Melanie Simms, TUC General Council Report 2011 and 2024https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/general-council-report-2024?page=2#section_header

• 15

  Unite leaflet https://www.unitetheunion.org/media/1743/organising-campaigns.pdf; Greater London Region – Local Organiser x 2, UNISON https://www.unison.org.uk/about/jobs/2024/09/greater-london-region-local-organiser-x-2-2/ and Building power in workplace: an introduction, UCU June 2021  https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/11564/Building-power-in-workplace-an-introduction/pdf/Building_power_in_workplace_June21.pdf

• 16

  Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025

• 17

  Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2024 

• 18

  Trade Union Membership, UK 1995-2019: Statistical Bulletin, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, May 2020, this largely relies on the Labour Force Survey data but also includes the ASHE figures  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2019  (Accessed 08.01.2021)

• 19

  OECD (2024), "Collective Bargaining Coverage", OECD Employment and Labour Market Statistics (database), https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?lc=en&df[ds]=DisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_TUD_CBC%40DF_CBC&df[ag]=OECD.ELS.SAE&df[vs]=1.0&dq=..&pd=2000%2C&to[TIME_PERIOD]=false&vw=tb

• 20

  Collective bargaining: still key for pay, Workplace Report, July 2025, Labour Research Department

• 21

   About Pay Review Bodies, UK Government website 20203 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-review-bodies-and-police-boards-introduction/an-introduction-to-pay-review-bodies-and-police-boards 

• 22

  NHS staff strike in dispute over pay, Nick Triggle, 13 October 2014, BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29560083

• 23

  Pay review bodies, Institute for Governance, September 2022 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-review-bodies-and-police-boards-introduction/an-introduction-to-pay-review-bodies-and-police-boards

• 24

  The history of pay in the NHS, NHS Employers, 8 April 20205 https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/history-pay-nhs

• 25

  This and the other figures in this section come from Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025

• 26

  Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, Section 179

• 27

  Agency workers: joint declaration by government, the CBI and the TUC, 2008 https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/agency-workers-joint-declaration-government-cbi-and-tuc CBI issues joint statement with HSE and TUC on safe working, 2020

   https://www.cbi.org.uk/articles/cbi-issues-joint-statement-with-hse-and-tuc-on-safe-working/

• 28

  See Trade unions and industrial relations, by Patrick Brione and Isabel Buchanan, House of Commons Library, January 2024, and Law at Work 2025, by Sally Buffard, Labour Research Department 2025

• 29

  Around a third of deals are staged each year – but are they dying out? Workplace Report, Labour Research Department, May 2025

• 30

  Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025

• 31

  Joint consultative committees under the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations: A WERS analysis by Duncan Adam, John Purcell and Mark Hall, ACAS 2014 Tables 2.1, 2.2 and page 24

• 32

  Figures from WERS 2011 survey provided to the Labour Research Department October 2014. The figures do not add up to 100% because of rounding.

• 33

  Trade union membership, UK, 1995 to 2024: statistical bulletin, Department for Business and Trade, May 2025 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2024

• 34

  Collective Employee Voice: Recommendations for working with employee representatives for

  mutual gain, CIPD, June 2022

• 35

  The 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study: First Findings by Brigid van Wanrooy, Helen Bewley, Alex Bryson, John Forth, Stephanie Freeth, Lucy Stokes and Stephen Wood, BEIS, 2013 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/336651/bis-14-1008-WERS-first-findings-report-fourth-edition-july-2014.pdf 

• 36

  European Company Survey 2019 - Workplace practices unlocking employee potential, by Gijs van Houten and Giovanni Russo, Eurofound 2020, Figures for Table 72 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/system/files/2020-11/ef20001en.pdf

• 37

  Employment relations in the shadow of the recession: Findings from The 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study by Brigid van Wanrooy, Helen Bewley, Alex Bryson, John Forth, Stephanie Freeth, Lucy Stokes and Stephen Wood, 2013, Table 4.5

• 38

  Reforming the ICE regulations – what chance now? by Mark Hall, John Purcell and Duncan Adam

  Warwick Papers in Industrial Relations, September 2015 https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/research/irru/wpir/wpir102.pdf (Accessed 08.01.2021)

• 39

  Statistics at CAC: Monthly breakdown of applications for trade union recognition June 2025 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/683d65aefd325db61c5ff286/25_06_02_Progress_Chart_at_2_June_2025.ods

• 40

  Central Arbitration Committee 2023/24 Annual Report, October 2024, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6729fa4440f7da695c921b38/CAC_Annual_Report_2023-24.pdf

• 41

  CAC Outcome: GMB & Amazon UK Services Limited (3) Recognition Decision, CAC 25 July 2024 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cac-outcome-gmb-amazon-uk-services-limited-3/recognition-decision 

• 42

  Collective Employee Voice: Recommendations for working with employee representatives for

  mutual gain, CIPD, June 2022

  https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledge-hub/reports/collective-employee-voice-case-studies-july22_tcm18-110239.pdf 

• 43

  Trade Union Representation in the Workplace, Acas, March 2014 https://www.acas.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/trade-union-representation-in-the-workplace.pdf and Non-Union Representation in the Workplace, Acas, March 2014 https://www.acas.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/non-union-representation-in-the-workplace.pdf

• 44

  See for example Seeking recognition and achieving the best terms, UNISON, September 2023 https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2023/10/Seeking-recognition-and-achieving-the-best-terms-0923-v2.pdf and Trade Union Recognition Template, Unite, July 2016 https://www.unitetheunion.org/media/1245/trade-union-recognition-template-word-version.docx

• 45

  2024 UNISON Rulebook https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2024/08/456_UNISON_Rulebook_2024_fv.pdf

• 46

  Unite the union rule book, amended March 2024 https://www.unitetheunion.org/media/4wvbk32a/final-unite-rule-book-amended-march-2024-v-1.pdf

• 47

  GMB Rulebook 2024 https://www.gmb.org.uk/assets/media/documents/gmb-rulebook-2024.pdf 

• 48

  Unite the Union v Nailard [2018] EWCA Civ 1203

• 49

  Joint consultative committees under the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations: A WERS analysis by Duncan Adam, John Purcell and Mark Hall, ACAS 2014, page 28

• 50

  TUC website, Guide to union reps https://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace-guidance/organising-and-bargaining/union-reps

• 51

  General Council Report 2020 Section 6.6, TUC Congress 2020 September 2020 https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-09/Congress_2020_General_Council_Report_AW_Digital%20%281%29.pdf

• 52

  The 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study: First findings by Brigid van Wanrooy, Helen Bewley, Alex Bryson, John Forth, Stephanie Freeth, Lucy Stokes and Stephen Wood, 2013 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/336651/bis-14-1008-WERS-first-findings-report-fourth-edition-july-2014.pdf (Accessed 08.01.2020)

• 53

  TULRCA 1992, Section 188 onwards for redundancy and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) Regulations 13 and 14 for business transfers)

• 54

  The 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study: First findings by Brigid van Wanrooy, Helen Bewley, Alex Bryson, John Forth, Stephanie Freeth, Lucy Stokes and Stephen Wood, 2013

• 55

   https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/52/contents

• 56

  https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-for-disciplinary-and-grievance-procedures/html#the-code-of-practice 

• 57

  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents

• 58

  Code of Practice - Time off for trade union duties and activities, Acas, January 2010 https://archive.acas.org.uk/media/274/Code-of-Practice---Time-off-for-trade-union-duties-and-activities/pdf/11287_CoP3_Time_off_Union_Activities_v1_0_Accessible.pdf (Accessed 08.01.2021)

• 59

  The 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study: First findings by Brigid van Wanrooy, Helen Bewley, Alex Bryson, John Forth, Stephanie Freeth, Lucy Stokes and Stephen Wood, 2013 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/336651/bis-14-1008-WERS-first-findings-report-fourth-edition-july-2014.pdf (Accessed 08.01.2021)

• 60

  Trade Union Representation in the Workplace, Acas, 2014 https://archive.acas.org.uk/media/2307/Advisory-booklet---Trade-union-representation-in-the-workplace/pdf/Trade-Union-Representation-in-the-Workplace.pdf (Accessed 08.01.2021)

• 61

  Worker representation in Great Britain 2004 - 2011: An analysis based on the Workplace Employment Relations Study by Andy Charlwood and Dave Angrave, ACAS 2014, Tables 4.2.1 and 4.2.2

• 62

  Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities including guidance on time off for union learning representatives, Acas, 2010 https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-time-off-for-trade-union-duties-and-activities/html 

• 63

  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1977/500/regulation/4/made 

• 64

  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/22/section/43

• 65

  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1513/regulation/7/made

• 66

  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/61

• 67

  Joint consultative committees under the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations: A WERS analysis by Duncan Adam, John  Purcell and Mark Hall, ACAS 2014 Tables 2.1 and 2.2

• 68

  This followed the statement in 2016 by Theresa May, as part of her successful campaign to be elected as leader of the Conservative Party and thus prime minister, that she wished to see workers on company boards.

• 69

  The UK Corporate Governance Code, Financial Reporting Council, July 2018 https://www.frc.org.uk/documents/5167/UK_Corporate_Governance_Code_2018.pdf

• 70

  The UK Corporate Governance Code, Financial Reporting Council, January 2024   https://media.frc.org.uk/documents/UK_Corporate_Governance_Code_2024_a2hmQmY.pdf

• 71

  Workforce Engagement and the UK Corporate Governance Code: A Review of Company Reporting and Practice, by Chris Rees and Patrick Briône , FRC, 2021 https://media.frc.org.uk/documents/FRC_Workforce_Engagement_Report_May_2021.pdf

• 72

  Review of Corporate Governance Reporting, FRC, November 2023 https://media.frc.org.uk/documents/Review_of_Corporate_Governance.pdf

• 73

  Review of Corporate Governance Reporting, FRC, November 2024 https://www.frc.org.uk/documents/7817/Review_of_Corporate_Governance_Reporting_2024.pdf 

• 74

  TUI AG (UK): Nationality Change, London Stock Exchange, May 2024,  https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/market-news/tui-ag/16493843

• 75

  Board-level employee representation in the UK by Lionel Fulton, IMU November 2019, https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/213356/1/168892261X.pdf 

• 76

  See The Status of European Works Councils in UK Law Post-Brexit: A Commentary on EasyJet PLC v EasyJet European Works Council and Olsten (UK) Holdings Limited v Adecco Group European Works Council, by Rebecca Zahn, Industrial Law Journal, December 2024   https://academic.oup.com/ilj/article/53/4/746/7749915

• 77

  Regulations 25 and 25 of The Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999, as amended https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3323/contents 

• 78

  Regulations 26 and 29 of The European Public Limited-Liability Company (Employee Involvement) (Great Britain) Regulations 2009, as amended https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/2401/regulation/17

• 79

  Third European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER 2019): Overview Report How European workplaces manage safety and health, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/esener-2019-overview-report-how-european-workplaces-manage-safety-and-health

• 80

  Health and safety committees, HSE Website https://www.hse.gov.uk/involvement/consult/hscommittees.htm 

• 81

  http://www.hse.gov.uk/business/competent-advice.htm and http://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/decide.htm

• 82

  Worker participation in the management of occupational safety and health — qualitative evidence from ESENER-2: Country report – United Kingdom, by David Walters, Emma Wadsworth and Claire Evans, EU-OSHA 2017 https://osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/UK_country_report.pdf