# The Code of Practice (Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers) Order 2026 S.I. 2026/220 · made 4 March 2026 This Order appoints 5th March 2026 as the day upon which the revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers, which has been issued by the Secretary of State under section 205(4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (c. 52) (“the 1992 Act”), will come into effect. Article 3 makes transitional and saving provisions in relation to its coming into effect. Made under: Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Section 205) PDFs: Printed copy https://openlegislation.uk/code-of-practice-industrial-action-ballots-and-notice-to-employers-order-2026/pdf/uksi_20260220_en.pdf ## Introductory text TRADE UNIONS Made 4th March 2026 The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 205(4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”). In accordance with section 205(1) of the 1992 Act, the Secretary of State proposed to revise the Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers which first came into operation on 11th April 1990, for the purpose of bringing it into conformity with subsequent statutory provisions by the making of consequential amendments and the omission of obsolete passages. In accordance with section 205(2) of the 1992 Act, the Secretary of State laid before each House of Parliament a draft of the revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers. Neither House of Parliament resolved within the period of 40 days beginning with the day on which the draft was laid that no further proceedings should be taken on the draft revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers. In accordance with section 205(4) of the 1992 Act, the Secretary of State has issued the revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers in the form of that draft. ## 1 Citation, extent and interpretation (1) This Order may be cited as the Code of Practice (Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers) Order 2026. (2) This Order extends to England and Wales and Scotland. (3) In this Order, “the revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers” means the revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers issued by the Secretary of State which was laid in draft before each House of Parliament on 7th January 2026. ## 2 Appointed day for the Code of Practice The revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers comes into effect on 5th March 2026. ## 3 Transitional and saving provisions (1) The revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers does not apply— (a) to the extent that it is relevant to a question arising in proceedings relating to section 226 (requirement of ballot before action by trade union), section 229 (voting paper), section 231 (information as to result of ballot) or section 234 (period after which ballot ceases to be effective) of the 1992 Act, to a ballot opened before the appointed day; (b) to the extent that it is relevant to a question arising in proceedings relating to section 226A(1)(b) (sample voting paper for employers) or section 229 of the 1992 Act, to a ballot where, before 18th February 2026, the trade union had complied with section 226A as it had effect before that date in respect of the sample voting paper (specified in subsection (2F) of that section) for that ballot; (c) to the extent that it is relevant to a question arising in proceedings relating to section 234A of the 1992 Act (notice to employers of industrial action), to any industrial action in relation to which the employer receives a relevant notice before the appointed day. (2) In this article— “the 1992 Act” means the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; “the appointed day” means 5th March 2026; “relevant notice” has the same meaning as in section 234A(3) of the 1992 Act. (3) For the purposes of this article, a ballot is “opened” on the first day when a voting paper is sent to any person entitled to vote in the ballot. ## Signature Kate Dearden Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Department for Business and Trade 4th March 2026 ## Explanatory note (This note is not part of the Order) This Order appoints 5th March 2026 as the day upon which the revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers, which has been issued by the Secretary of State under section 205(4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (c. 52) (“the 1992 Act”), will come into effect. Article 3 makes transitional and saving provisions in relation to its coming into effect. The Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers has been revised for the purpose of bringing it into conformity with amendments made by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36) (“the 2025 Act”) to section 226 (Requirement of ballot before action by trade union), section 226A (Notice of ballot and sample voting paper for employers), section 229 (Voting paper), section 231 (Information as to result of ballot), section 234 (Period after which ballot ceases to be effective) and section 234A (Notice to employers of industrial action) of the 1992 Act. Those amendments came into force on 18 February 2026 subject to transitional and saving provisions in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/3). A full impact assessment has not been prepared for this Order or for the revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers because the revision of the Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers is consequential on the amendments made by the 2025 Act. The impacts of the 2025 Act on trade unions and other relevant bodies have been considered in the impact assessment produced in relation to the 2025 Act, which is available at https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3737/publications. A copy may also be inspected by contacting the Department for Business and Trade, Old Admiralty Building, Admiralty Place, London SW1A 2DY. --- Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/220 (the official version) Page: https://openlegislation.uk/code-of-practice-industrial-action-ballots-and-notice-to-employers-order-2026 Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.