One of the key functions of trade unions is to engage with employers or groups of employers to regulate terms and conditions of employment by collective bargaining. In the United Kingdom, the state historically played a key role in promoting and sustaining collective bargaining procedures on a sector-wide basis. There has since been a decentralization of collective bargaining activity to enterprise level, a process encouraged by the state, giving employers more control and flexibility over working conditions. This chapter examines the statutory procedures that were introduced in 1999 to support trade unions seeking to establish collective bargaining arrangements at enterprise level, and considers the statutory rights which exist to support collective bargaining, whether secured by voluntary or statutory means. Addressing specifically employer union-avoidance techniques, the analysis concludes by assessing the marginal impact of the law in practice, and considers proposals for reform.

Chapter 8 begins a two-chapter discussion of how we accomplish a workplace reimagined. But first, this chapter explores the body of literature discussing other reforms in order to explain why my proposals are different. I then turn to the first part of my reform proposal—tackling time off. This proposal advocates for two weeks of job-protected paid absences for all employees and for any reason.