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Trade Union & Industrial Relations
Expert legal advice, services and strategy for employers on managing trade union and industrial relations.
Our award-winning employment lawyers help employers manage their trade union relationships and develop a clear, proactive industrial relations strategy.
Whether you’re a large national employer, a public sector body or an SME, navigating the increasingly complex industrial relations landscape can be challenging.
To minimise the potential for reputational damage and the risk of operational disruption, employers need to engage early and develop a robust industrial relations strategy.
We have many years’ experience working with HR leaders, in-house legal teams and business owners who operate in a unionised or union-facing environment.
We routinely advise clients of all sectors, including those in manufacturing and supply chain, logistics, healthcare, infrastructure, education, retail (in leisure and hospitality) and professional services. This often includes work on complex, high-profile trade union issues.
Our team will work closely with you to gain a deep understanding of your situation and help you to formulate a bespoke, proactive and commercially-driven strategy.
Talk to our specialist employment lawyers by calling 0333 004 4488, emailing hello@brabners.com or completing our contact form.
Trade unions: what employers need to know
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Helping employers manage trade union relationships
The industrial relations landscape is becoming increasingly challenging. Many employers are facing a renewed wave of trade union activity — demands for recognition, collective bargaining and industrial action.
The Employment Rights Act (ERA) is set to accelerate this trend. It will introduce reforms that lower the threshold for union recognition, expand union access rights in the workplace and extend protections for union members and reps.
This makes a clear, constructive industrial relations strategy all the more important.
You may be facing a recognition request, preparing for collective bargaining or responding to industrial action. Our award-winning team of trade union solicitors provide employers with:
- Advice on trade union engagement, recognition and derecognition
- Support with collective consultation and bargaining frameworks
- Industrial action planning and injunctions
- Representation in industrial action planning, disputes, injunctions and tribunal and CAC claims
- Support with collective redundancy and TUPE consultation
- Training for HR and leadership teams on union rights, obligations and ERA reforms
Our multidisciplinary team may also be able to support you more broadly on HR and employment law, whether that’s on contracts and policies, senior exits, investigations or something else.
“The Brabners team made me feel welcome and understood. Compared to other firms, they acted fast to meet, provide initial assessment and discuss options/strategies.”
Client feedback, The Legal 500
“Nick Campbell listens and understands. He is knowledgeable and gives good advice, but always in a supportive and collaborative manner.”
Client feedback, The Legal 500
“Brabners helped us navigate a complex union recognition request with clarity and confidence. Their advice was strategic, commercial, and always one step ahead.”
HR Director, National Logistics Provider
“The [employment] partners and associates are very ‘down-to-earth’ without being condescending. There's an absence of buzzwords and complexity in their discourse without any loss of substance.”
Client feedback, The Legal 500
“The [employment] team is very in tune with the needs of its clients. They listen and don't impose some pre-set solution. Instead, they provide sensible advice which is generated from their vast collective experience. The team works very well together.”
Client feedback, The Legal 500
“With an ‘outstanding commitment to clients’, Brabners' employment team in Manchester has particular expertise in senior executive work spanning a broad range of sectors, including tribunal claims relating to discrimination and whistleblowing and the negotiation of exit agreements and settlements.”
The Legal 500
“National head of employment, pensions and immigration Nick Campbell is highly experienced in representing senior executives and high-profile figures in complex employment claims and disputes.”
The Legal 500
Award-winning trade union relations solicitors, support and legal advice
Our trade union service offering is led by Nick Campbell. A Partner, our Head of Employment and a ‘Hall of Fame’ lawyer, Nick brings decades of experience advising employers on union strategy, collective disputes and workforce change.
The wider employment law team is one of the largest in the North and one of the country’s most respected. We are routinely recognised in The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, two leading industry directories, and are also members of the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA).
We combine deep employment law expertise with real-world industrial relations insight. You’ll benefit from:
- A dedicated employment team with national reach and sector specialisms
- A collaborative approach that integrates legal, HR and reputational considerations
- A track record of resolving disputes before they escalate
- Clear, practical advice, not just legal theory
Our lawyers are known for their responsiveness. We’re not just reactive — we help clients build resilient, future-proof frameworks for union engagement, with an emphasis on early engagement.
Meet the team
Trade union relationships: FAQs
Trade unions & employment law: expert insights
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Talk to us
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