Trade Union Representative Time Off in the UK 2026/27: Duties, Training and Pay

Recognised trade-union representatives may have a statutory right to reasonable paid time off during working hours for specified duties and relevant training. The right depends on the representative’s role, the union’s recognition and the type of work or training. It is separate from time off for public duties, jury service, emergencies involving dependants and ordinary union activities.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland have parallel but separate statutory provisions. In Great Britain, the main duty and training rules are in sections 168 and 168A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. In Northern Ireland, Articles 92 and 92A of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 apply. Do not use a GB section as the law for a job in Northern Ireland.

Which statutory route applies?

For England, Scotland and Wales, section 168 covers an official of an independent trade union recognised by the employer. It permits time during working hours for specified collective-bargaining and employee-representation duties, including qualifying redundancy and transfer consultations, and for relevant industrial-relations training approved by the TUC or the union. Section 168A contains a separate right for qualifying union learning representatives. Check the current statutory wording and Acas guidance for your specific role.

For Northern Ireland, Articles 92 and 92A provide the corresponding routes. Article 92 covers recognised-union officials’ specified negotiation, consultation and transfer duties, with relevant training approved by the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions or the union. Article 92A deals separately with union learning representatives. Article 93 sets the remuneration rule for time off under Articles 92 and 92A.

The Acas preview of its updated advice says certain representative roles can have rights to time off, relevant training, facilities and protection from detriment. It also says the preview will replace its older booklet on 30 October 2026. The 2025 Act added a GB right to request reasonable accommodation and other facilities for qualifying duties or training; section 168(3A) and the complaint route were brought into force for specified purposes from 6 January 2026. This guide keeps that GB facilities provision separate from the NI duties/pay provisions; confirm the final Acas publication and any further commencement detail before relying on it.

What work and training can qualify?

The duty must be carried out in the representative’s recognised role and relate to the statutory matters. Examples include collective-bargaining negotiations, agreed employee-representation functions, and information or consultation duties for collective redundancies or qualifying transfers. A representative should explain the workplace matter and their role; being a union member alone does not make every union task a statutory paid duty.

Relevant industrial-relations training can qualify when it relates to the specified duties and has the required union or TUC approval in the applicable jurisdiction. The statutes do not set a universal number of training days. Training time should be reasonable in light of the role, responsibilities, course content and workplace arrangements.

Agree dates, notice and reasonable time

There is no standard yearly allowance. The employer, union and representative should agree a practical arrangement, ideally in writing. Acas advises representatives to give as much notice as possible and tell the employer the purpose of the time off, its intended location, when it is needed and how much time is requested. Follow any collective agreement or local notification process and update the employer if a request changes.

Reasonableness depends on the circumstances, including the duty’s urgency and complexity, the representative’s role, prior and expected time off, workplace cover, safety and service needs, number of representatives, travel and the scale of a consultation. Some work, such as collective redundancy or TUPE consultation, may create an intense period rather than a predictable weekly pattern. The employer must consider a reasonable statutory request; this is not an unlimited right to choose any date or amount without discussion.

How the time is paid

For qualifying time under the GB duty and learning-representative provisions, the employer pays the representative’s usual pay or an amount calculated using average hourly earnings where pay varies with work done. Section 168A has its own remuneration provision. Northern Ireland Article 93 likewise requires pay: where normal remuneration does not vary with work done, pay as if the employee had worked; where it varies, use average hourly earnings or a fair comparable/reasonable figure where the employee’s own average cannot be fairly estimated. Contractual remuneration may be more generous, subject to the statutory interaction rules.

This is employer-paid time off, not a weekly welfare payment and not a DWP, Social Security or DSP claim. Ask payroll how the payment is calculated if shift premiums, commission or variable hours affect ordinary earnings. Do not assume the statutory duty-time pay rule applies to all union activities: section 170 in Great Britain and Article 94 in Northern Ireland cover a separate category with different conditions.

Facilities, refusal and disputes

In Great Britain, section 168(3A) allows an employee taking qualifying statutory time off to request reasonable accommodation and other facilities for the duty or training. The employer’s response must follow the statutory and relevant Acas Code framework. Northern Ireland’s Article 92 text does not mirror that GB subsection, so ask the union or the Labour Relations Agency about the applicable NI facilities route rather than applying section 168(3A) automatically.

If the employer refuses time off, training or a facilities request, ask for the reason in writing and compare it with the statutory role, the request and any workplace agreement. Raise a grievance and involve the union. In Great Britain, section 168 provides an Employment Tribunal complaint route for the relevant failures; in Northern Ireland, Article 95 provides the industrial-tribunal complaint route. Check the current claim process and deadline for your exact claim before deciding whether to file.

This right is distinct from the unpaid or contract-paid time that may be available for union activities, statutory public duties, jury service or emergency time off for dependants. For those separate processes, see the UK public duties guide, the dependants emergency guide, and the relevant Great Britain or Northern Ireland jury-service guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources

• Acas: Rights of trade union representatives
• Acas: Time off for duties
• Acas: Time off for training
• Acas Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities
• GOV.UK: Employment Rights Act 2025 implementation timeline
• Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, section 168
• Employment Rights Act 2025, section 64
• Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Article 92
• Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Article 93
• Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Article 94