The Trade Union Act 2016 is now available in final form from the legislation.gov site using the link below:

Trade Union Act 2016

The Act received Royal Assent on 4 May but no date has been set for commencement and some parts will require further legislation before they can come into force.

The Act, among many other changes:

* introduces a new 6 month time limit (which can be increased to 9 months if the union and employer agree) for industrial action following a vote for industrial action * imposes more stringent requirements for the description of the dispute and the planned industrial action on the ballot paper, * gives more powers to the Certification Officer to ensure new and existing rules are always followed by unions