Employers must give every worker a written statement setting out their right to join a trade union from 1 January 2027, following the government’s response to its consultation published on 25 September 2026. The duty to inform workers of trade union rights was originally expected to start on 30 October 2026, but that date has been pushed back, giving agencies and umbrella companies a little longer to prepare.
The measure sits under the Employment Rights Act 2025, which inserts a new section 136A into the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. It applies to all employers, regardless of size, and covers all “workers” — not only employees.
What the Duty to Inform Workers of Trade Union Rights Requires
From 1 January 2027, every worker starting employment must receive a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union, provided alongside their written particulars of employment. Existing workers must receive the statement by 5 April 2027.
The government will supply the wording, and employers will not be permitted to alter it or add their own material — for example, to promote an internal employee forum. The statement is expected to cover:
- a brief, neutral overview of what trade unions do;
- details and contact information for any union the employer recognises;
- details of any statutory access agreements in place;
- a link to, or copy of, the Certification Officer’s public list of trade unions;
- a factual summary of the worker’s statutory rights, including the right to choose whether to join and information on membership fees.
The statement must remain continuously available and reasonably accessible, and be re-issued within one month if a recognised union, an access agreement, or union contact details change.
How the Statement Must Be Delivered
New joiners must receive the statement directly — by email, post or in person — when they start, together with their employment particulars. Employers cannot simply point new starters to an intranet page.
For existing workers, delivery can be direct or indirect. A direct method means issuing the statement and repeating it with an annual reminder by 5 April each year. An indirect method means holding the statement somewhere accessible, such as a staff handbook or intranet, backed by a written reminder each year by 5 April confirming where it sits and that it remains available.
Why the Government Is Acting Now
Union membership has fallen to its lowest recorded level. Trade union density in the UK stood at 22% in 2024, with the private sector at just 11.7% against 49.9% in the public sector, according to the government’s consultation material.
Awareness is a large part of the problem. YouGov polling cited in the reform proposals found that one in five workers had not heard of unions or did not know what they do, rising to one in three among workers aged 18 to 24. The consultation, which closed on 18 December 2025, was designed to make collective rights visible to workers who may never have been told they exist — a gap felt most acutely in temporary and agency work.
What Happens If an Employer Gets It Wrong
Enforcement mirrors the existing regime for failing to provide a section 1 statement of employment particulars. There is no standalone tribunal claim for breaching the new duty; a worker can only be compensated if they succeed in a separate claim, at which point the tribunal can award two to four weeks’ pay, capped at the current statutory maximum of £751 per week.
The Fair Work Agency has not been assigned a direct enforcement role for this duty. That does not make it optional — the statement is part of the written particulars a worker is entitled to receive, and getting it wrong is a documentation failure, not a minor slip.
What This Means for Recruitment Agencies and Umbrella Companies
Agencies and umbrella companies issuing contracts to temporary workers will need to build the statement into onboarding once the duty takes effect. For a sector already producing Key Information Documents and section 1 statements at volume, the challenge is operational: updating templates, wiring the statement into onboarding, and ensuring existing workers are covered by 5 April 2027.
One practical point matters. The government has confirmed a statutory instrument is expected to be laid before Parliament in November 2026, with detailed guidance and the final wording to follow. Employers should not draft their own statements now — the wording is prescribed, and the government has said it will provide it. Prepare the process; wait for the text.
FCSA Members are independently assessed against the FCSA Codes, which cover exactly this kind of statutory, worker-facing documentation. That assessment is the mechanism that catches template and onboarding failures before a worker or a tribunal does.
Conclusion
The duty to inform workers of trade union rights is confirmed policy, in force from 1 January 2027 for new starters and 5 April 2027 for existing workers, with the wording set by government. Businesses that keep their worker documentation current, and can evidence it, will have the least to do when the duty lands. Search the FCSA Members register to see which agencies and umbrella companies are already independently assessed against these standards.
