Committee publication · Correspondence · 15 July 2026

Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to code on time off for trade union duties and activities, 6 July 2026

Summary

Minister Kate Dearden informs the Business and Trade Committee that the government has laid an updated Acas Code of Practice before Parliament on time off for trade union duties and activities. The Code reflects changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, which strengthened rights for union representatives to take reasonable paid time off, expanded rights for equality representatives, and requires employers to provide facilities. Subject to parliamentary approval, the revised Code will come into force in October 2026.

Key findings

The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthened existing rights to reasonable paid time off for union representatives by shifting the burden to employers to demonstrate in tribunal claims that proposed time off was unreasonable.
New rights established for trade union equality representatives to take reasonable paid time off for specified equality purposes and related training.
Employers must now provide union representatives with access to accommodation and facilities where reasonable to enable them to carry out duties.
The revised Acas Code provides practical guidance to employers, trade unions and representatives on implementation of these rights, with commencement targeted for October 2026.
The Code requires approval by both Houses of Parliament before coming into force.

Tone

Procedural

Topics

employment-rightstrade-unionsworkplace-relationslabour-law

Key actors

Kate Dearden MP, Liam Byrne MP, Department for Business and Trade, Acas, Trade unions, Employers

Notable line

“Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) is a major milestone in delivering this …”

Key Quotes

“… the government has today laid before Parliament an Acas Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities”
— Kate Dearden MP · Informing the committee of the laying of the Code

“The ERA introduced legislative changes that strengthened rights for trade union representatives to take time off to fulfil their duties.”
— Kate Dearden MP · Explaining the scope of the Employment Rights Act 2025

“The Code has been updated to reflect the changes made by the ERA. It explains the new law and provides practical guidance for employers …”
— Kate Dearden MP · Describing the purpose and content of the revised Code

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗