Trade Union Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes Trade Union Act

Report from Daniel Barnett

The Trade Union Bill received Royal Assent today and becomes the Trade Union Act.

Key provisions are:-
requirement for at least 50% turnout in votes for industrial action
in certain public services, including in the health, education, transport, border security and fire sectors, an additional threshold of 40% of support to take industrial action from all eligible members must be met for action to be legal
setting a 6 month time limit (which can be increased to 9 months if the union and employer agree) for industrial action so that mandates are always recent
requiring a clearer description of the trade dispute and the planned industrial action on the ballot paper, so that all union members are clear what they are voting for
creating a transparent process for trade union subscriptions that allows new members to make an active choice of paying into political funds
ensuring that payroll deductions for trade union subscriptions are only administered where the cost is not funded by the public

The commencement date is not known; it will be brought into force by a statutory instrument in due course.