Trade unions in the United Kingdom

Most British unions are members of the TUC, the Trades Union Congress (founded in 1867), or where appropriate, the Scottish Trades Union Congress or the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which are the country's principal national trade union centres.

History

Trade unions in the United Kingdom were first decriminalised under the recommendation of a Royal commission in 1867, which agreed that the establishment of the organisations was to the advantage of both employers and employees. Legalised in 1871, the Trade Union Movement sought to reform socio-economic conditions for working men in British industries, and the trade unions' search for this led to the creation of a Labour Representation Committee which effectively formed the basis for today's Labour Party, which still has extensive links with the Trade Union Movement in Britain.

Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, first elected in 1979, saw trade unions as an obstacle to economic growth and passed legislation of the sort the Conservatives had mostly long avoided.

As factories closed, membership declined steeply in the 1980s and 1990s, falling from 13 million in 1979 to around 7.3 million in 2000. In September 2012 union membership dropped below 6 million for the first time since the 1940s. Union membership declined in parallel with the reduction in size of many traditional industries which had been highly unionised, such as steel, coal, printing, and the docks.

In 2016, the Conservative government passed a new Trade Union Act, which proposes stricter ballot thresholds for industrial action, further restraints on picketing and a requirement that union members contributions to political funds would only be via an 'opt-in'.

Union membership has since begun rising gradually again, reaching 6.6 million in 2025. The Employment Rights Act 2025, introduced by the Labour government, strengthened union rights. It repealed many parts of the 2016 Trade Union Act, strengthened protections against unfair dismissal for engaging in legal strike action. As of 2026, no date was set for when the repeal of the minimum 50% turnout for strike action would come into force, or when electronic voting would be allowed.

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Law

Much like corporations, trade unions were regarded as criminal until the Combination Act 1825, and were regarded as quasi-legal organisations, subjected to the restraint of trade doctrine, until the Trade Union Act 1871. This Act abolished common-law restrictions, but took an abstentionist stance to unions' internal affairs. The Trade Disputes Act 1906 exempted trade-union funds from liability in action for damages for torts, and this freedom gave future union pickets a great deal of power.

Democratic organisation

The principle that the common law enforced a union's own rules, and that unions were free to arrange their affairs, is reflected in the ILO Freedom of Association Convention and in Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, subject to the requirement that regulations "necessary in a democratic society" may be imposed. Unions must have an executive body and that executive must, under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 sections 46 to 56, be elected at least every five years, directly in a secret, equal postal vote of union members.

Union constitutions

The structure of the unions was based in contract, and the rights of members depended on being able to show some proprietary interest to be specifically enforced. This meant that the express terms of the union rule book can, like any contract, be supplemented with implied terms by the courts as strictly necessary to reflect the reasonable expectations of the parties, for instance, by implying the Electoral Reform Service's guidance to say what happens in a tie break situation during an election when the union rules are silent. If there are irregular occurrences in the affairs of the union, for instance if negligence or mismanagement is not alleged and a majority could vote on the issue to forgive them, then members have no individual rights to contest executive decision making. However, if a union's leadership acts ultra vires, beyond its powers set out in the union constitution, if the alleged wrongdoers are in control, if a special supra-majority procedure is flouted, or a member's personal right is broken, the members may bring a derivative claim in court to sue or restrain the executive members. So in Edwards v Halliwell a decision of the executive committee of the National Union of Vehicle Builders to increase membership fees, which were set in the constitution and required a two-thirds majority vote, was able to be restrained by a claim from individual members because this touched both a personal right under the constitution and flouted a special procedure.

Discipline and expulsion

ASLEF v United Kingdom [2007] ECHR 184
McVitae v UNISON [1996] IRLR 33
Roebuck v NUM (Yorkshire Area) No 2 [1978] ICR 676, Templeman J
Esterman v NALGO [1974] ICR 625, Templeman J
Radford v NATSOPA [1972] ICR 484, Plowman J

Dispute resolution

Hamlet v GMBATU [1987] ICR 150, Harman J
Longley v NUJ [1987] IRLR 109

Union members' rights

Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ss 28–31, true and fair view of accounts, member's right to inspect, and complaints to Certification Officer.
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ss 62–65, right to require a ballot before industrial action, and no detriment may follow
Knowles v Fire Brigades Union [1997] ICR 595
Edwards v Society of Graphical and Allied Trades [1971] Ch 354
Cheall v APEX [1983] 2 AC 180
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 s 174
ASLEF v United Kingdom [2007] ECHR 184
Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants v Osborne [1910] AC 87, political donations
Trade Union Act 1913
Birch v National Union of Railwaymen [1950] Ch 602
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 s 72–73 and 82
Paul v NALGO [1987] IRLR 413
Weaver v NATFHE [1988] ICR 599 EAT

Structure and major unions

International affiliations

European Trade Union Confederation
International Trade Union Confederation