Electronic and workplace balloting becomes available for statutory union ballots on 25 August 2026

From 25 August 2026, statutory trade union ballots may be run by electronic and workplace balloting. The method is available where the employer and the union agree to use it, so agreement between the two sides is the gate on either route.

The change is to the way a ballot is run, not to who may run one. An employer that reaches no agreement with the union is left with the position that stood before the date. Where no agreement is reached, the position that stood before 25 August 2026 is the one that continues.

Employers with a union in the workplace

Employers with recognised or organising unions, any size. No size threshold sits under this one, so a firm of five and a firm of five hundred meet the same position.

Steps to take before a ballot opens

• Record whether a union is recognised at your workplace, or organising in it.
• Settle with the union which balloting method a future ballot will use.
• Put the agreed method in writing before the ballot opens.
• Diarise 25 August 2026 as the point the two new methods become available.
• Keep the record of what was agreed with the union alongside the ballot papers.

Where the Employment Rights Act 2025 system fits

The balloting change sits inside the Employment Rights Act 2025, which carries most of the other UK employment dates in this window.

Verified 19 August 2026.

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