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Trade Union Recognition

Question for Department for Business and Trade

UIN 21053, tabled on 18 December 2024

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether (a) his Department and (b) the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service issue guidance on exemptions to trade union recognition.

Answered on

8 January 2025

Guidance on the trade union recognition scheme is at Gov.UK. This sets out that the scheme is available to unions where the workplace has 21 or more workers. Therefore the smallest workplaces that have 20 or less workers not in scope of the scheme.

The Central Arbitration Committee has also published detailed guides to the parties to enable both unions and employers to understand the recognition process.