Lords Grand Committee
13 October 2026
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Chamber Actual start House of Lords
15:22 - 15:32
Speaker 1
The first item of business is the Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices during the Recognition and Derecognition Process. Lord Leong.
15:32 - 17:35
Speaker 2
My Lords, I beg to move that the Committee consider the Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices during the Recognition and Derecognition Process. My Lords, I'd like to start this debate by sharing with the House why we are introducing this code for your consideration today. The plan to make work pay included a commitment to simplify the process for trade union recognition.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 updates the legal framework for statutory trade union recognition, ensuring workers have a meaningful right to organize through trade unions. Last April, the requirement was removed for unions to demonstrate likely majority support at the application stage and to have at least 40% of the workforce supporting union recognition. The 2025 Act also makes changes to improve access arrangements for unions and aims to deal more effectively with unfair practices during the recognition and derecognition processes. The government is therefore updating the 2005 version of this code to ensure that all parties, including employers, workers, unions, understand how the legislative change on access and unfair practices affect them.
My Lords, we consulted on the revised code from 4th February to 1st April 2026. The consultation asked for feedback on the clarity of updates to the legal framework, structural amendments from the Employment Rights Act and other changes to the code, including updated guidance to reflect modern work practices. A number of revisions to the existing 2005 code have been made following consultation. Previously, the 2005 version applied only to the recognition or derecognition ballot phase.
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