Employers will be mandated to tell workers about the option of joining trade unions under new rules coming into force with the Employment Rights Bill.
In one of several changes to workers’ rights to be made, bosses will have to inform new hires about what unions do and how they can join one.
The change, backed by union bosses but criticised by business leaders, could saddle bosses with more red tape,
Responding to the pro-union measure, Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said: “It’ll be Christmas every day for trade unions if this sinister proposal becomes law. Every employer in the land will be compelled to promote trade unions using government-dictated propaganda.
“Alongside the ‘right to roam’ for unions into firms, it will result in the colonisation of the private sector by trade unions and the collapse of British productivity and growth.”
Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB union, said: “The least every worker should expect is to be told about their legal right to join a union.
Craig Beaumont, executive director of the Federation of Small Businesses, raised concern on how information shared with workers risked disrupting the relationships between unions and employers.
“Misinformation putting a positive sales gloss on trade unions should not take the place of objective information about what a union actually achieves,” Beaumont said.
“Obviously it would be the definition of pointless red tape for this to apply at any other time than at the start of an employment and when a contract changes.”
Employment Rights Bill’s return to parliament
The bill is set to return to the House of Commons on Monday. Changes to unfair dismissal buffer time periods are expected to be brought forward with the approval of ministers.
Workers were slated to be able to sue bosses for unfair dismissal from their first day in the job, though economists and industry chiefs raised concerns over how it would slow down hiring and the cost added to payroll budgets would also add to pressures faced by directors.
Union bosses and business leaders agreed to a six-month time period for the right to claim unfair dismissal, though the compensation cap will be lifted in return.
It is understood that business leaders did not agree to the full abolition of the £118,223 or 52 week’s pay compensation cap, though a partial removal was a part of the agreement.
It would add to several other rules in the bill, with City AM also recently revealing that union chiefs will have weekly access to company offices, with fines worth up to £75,000 for firms which choose to not comply.
Day one rights for parental leave and sick pay will go ahead.
The sweep of changes has sparked an all-out lobbying war between unions, which make up significant portions of donations to Labour, and business chiefs.
The skills minister Baroness Smith of Malvern has argued that negotiations have taken “careful consideration” of ensuring fair rights are offered to both employers and workers.