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Small Businesses: Trade Unions

Asked by Kevin HollinrakeConservativeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 29 April 2025UIN 45644

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the trade union recognition provisions in the Employment Rights Bill on SMEs.

Answered by Justin Madders

The Government has published a final stage impact assessment on strengthening workers’ rights to access, recognition and representation (see paragraphs 61 to 66 in relation to trade union recognition in particular). This is available at: Impact assessment: Strengthening workers’ rights to trade union access, recognition and representation.

The statutory trade union recognition scheme is available to unions where the workplace has 21 or more workers. Therefore the smallest workplaces that have 20 or less workers are not in scope of the scheme.

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