"The great unknown" is how one of the attendees described the ERA trade union-related changes. This might seem an odd phrase to use about legislation that is already on the statute book, but a lot of detail is still awaited in relation to the union reforms. This will be published in the form of regulations and statutory instruments as successive phases of legislation are introduced across the coming year and more.
Another reason for participants referring to the legislation's "many imponderables" and expressing uncertainty about "what's coming over the hill" is the difficulty of assessing how much impact the reforms will have, not least on workplaces that are not currently unionised.
As attendees noted, the ERA envisages a thoroughgoing reset of labour relations. Some wondered, in light of the Government's present difficulties, what the Act's likely shelf life might be. It was noted that the current administration had reversed much of the Trade Union Act 2016, which was introduced by a previous Conservative Government. As such, some argued, it was possible that a future non-Labour Government might do something similar and repeal significant parts of the ERA. How might that affect HR's attitude to the new legislation? Should organisations simply do the minimum or, more proactively, think of the changes as heralding a cultural shift, whatever the future might hold for some of the measures in law?
