The first major wave of measures from the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) comes into force on 18 February. In the face of this complete overhaul of trade union laws, there’s plenty for SMEs to get to grips with in order to remain compliant.

One major change that small businesses (SMEs) need to be prepared for is the removal of the legal “safety nets” that previously delayed or complicated industrial action. With these barriers falling away, the balance of power during disputes is shifting, requiring a total rethink of how to manage workplace tensions before they escalate.

Why the Strategy for SMEs Has Changed

Even if there isn’t currently a union presence in your workplace, these changes matter. 

As Simon Obee, Head of HR Advisory & Senior Legal Counsel for Employment Hero notes:

“The Employment Rights Act will make a number of changes that make it easier for unions to organise strikes and other industrial action, plus a new obligation on all employers to tell employees they can join a union. If you’ve never had union involvement in your workplace before, that could all change soon.”

As well as the changes that will come into effect in February, the ERA will introduce a new duty for all employers to inform their workers of the right to join a union in October, which could lead to increased admin for smaller workplaces and industries that haven’t traditionally been unionised. 

In the immediate term, that means SMEs have to make contingency planning far more agile. With the buffer of long notice periods and technical barriers removed, the days of relying on legal technicalities are over. Instead, employers should lean toward earlier engagement with staff, with a goal to resolve issues as swiftly as possible.

Shorter Notice Periods and Longer Mandates

The most significant change under the measures introduced this month is the reduction in the notice period for industrial action. Previously, unions had to give 14 days’ notice before a strike could begin. From 18 February, that window drops to just 10 days. For a small business, losing those four days can lead to difficulties in finding temporary staff, moving delivery dates, or negotiating last-minute settlements.

The mandate for a successful strike ballot – the period where a union has the legal right to strike following a vote – is also doubling. Once members vote for action, that legal window will now last for 12 months instead of six. That means a single dispute could potentially hang over a business for an entire year without the union needing to go back to its members for a fresh vote.

Simplifying the Ballot Process

The ERA also makes it much harder for employers to challenge strikes on technical grounds. Under the old rules, unions had to provide a complex breakdown of exactly which categories of workers were being balloted. The new rules simplify these notices, removing the need for such granular data and reducing the chances of a strike being blocked by a paperwork error.

Removal of Requirement to Appoint a Picket Supervisor

Another change taking effect on 18 February is the removal of the requirement for unions to appoint a picket supervisor when a picket is formed at a workplace. While the measure may not seem particularly disruptive, it will lessen the administrative burden of organising a picket for unions, which could lead to more commonplace – and potentially unruly – picketing.

The Removal of the 12-Week Dismissal Limit

Under previous legislation, employees had a 12-week window of automatic protection from unfair dismissal during lawful strike action. From 18 February, that time limit will cease to exist entirely. Participating in protected industrial action will now be an automatically unfair reason for dismissal, no matter how long the strike lasts.

For employers, this means the “12-week countdown” – which was often used as a tactical point to encourage a return to work before protections lapsed – is no longer an option. Because strike protection now remains in place indefinitely, disputes must be settled through genuine negotiation rather than simply waiting for legal windows to expire.

Simon notes that “the removal of the 12-week limit for dismissals connected with industrial action removes a key tool in an employer’s arsenal for when strikes become protracted.”

He adds: “Prevention is now the best cure: try and ensure you engage constructively with unions and employees to ensure that strikes don’t happen in the first place”

Moving from Reactive to Proactive

The shift in trade union law marks the end of an era where SMEs could rely on procedural delays to manage industrial relations. As these legal hurdles fall away, the focus must shift from “winning” a legal argument to maintaining a stable workplace culture. 

By staying ahead of compliance and fostering open communication with staff now, SMEs can ensure that a shift in the law doesn’t lead to a shift in their business stability.

How Businesses Can Prepare

Even if there’s no union presence in a workplace, the law will soon require all employers to provide staff with a written statement about their right to join and be represented by a union. While the final regulations aren’t live yet, SMEs can get ahead by building a roadmap for implementation.

Even if there’s currently no union presence in a workplace, SMEs must be ready. 

Tips From Simon Obee On Preparing For New Trade Union And Industrial Action Rules:

• Businesses should take initiative to make sure that they understand the new rules. 
• SMEs must be prepared for the fact that changes in the ERA make it easier for union involvement (and in particular for industrial action such as strikes or picketing) to be organised.
• If your business already has union involvement, try to engage constructively with union officials in order to avoid any industrial action being taken, given the relaxation of the rules around this under the ERA.

All employers, even those who have never had any involvement with a union, will need to keep a close eye on the regulations which will specify the exact details about giving a written statement to all employees about their rights to join a union, and make sure that their onboarding processes are set up for this when the new duty comes into effect in October 2026.

Summary of Rule Changes Effective 18 February 2026