The Conservative Party has pledged to scrap the legal requirement for employers to offer paid time off for union representatives. Tory shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith will announce the policy on Monday, which he says will free up taxpayer cash to be spent on cutting NHS waiting lists and filling
Felix Armstrong
Monday 27 April 2026 5:00 am | Updated: Sunday 26 April 2026 4:54 pm
The Conservative Party has pledged to scrap the legal requirement for employers to offer paid time off for union representatives.
Tory shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith will announce the policy on Monday, which he says will free up taxpayer cash to be spent on cutting NHS waiting lists and filling potholes.
Union reps are currently entitled to take paid time off to receive training and carry out work for their unions, which includes attending pay negotiations and union meetings.
Employers are required to allow “reasonable” time off as long as the worker’s union is independent and officially recognised by their employer.
Griffith will appear at the Margaret Thatcher Conference run by conservative think tank the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) on Monday.
#mc_embed_signup { background: #fff; clear: left; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial,sans-serif; width: 100%; max-width: 600px; margin: 20px 0; } #mc-embedded-subscribe-form { margin: 20px 0 !important; } .newsletter-form-flex { display: flex; gap: 0; align-items: center; margin-top: -10px; } .newsletter-form-flex input[type=”email”] { flex: 1; padding: 2px 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(18, 22, 23) !important; border-radius: 12px 0 0 12px !important; } .newsletter-form-flex input[type=”submit”] { padding: 4px 10px !important; margin: 0 !important; background-color: rgb(18, 22, 23) !important; color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; border: 1px solid rgb(18, 22, 23) !important; border-radius: 0 12px 12px 0 !important; } .newsletter-banner-content { margin-bottom: 15px; } .newsletter-banner-content h2 { margin: 0 0 10px 0; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 600; } .newsletter-banner-content p { margin: 0 0 10px 0; line-height: 1.5; } .newsletter-banner-content ul, .newsletter-banner-content ol { margin: 0 0 10px 20px; } .newsletter-banner-content a { color: #0073aa; text-decoration: none; } .newsletter-banner-content a:hover { text-decoration: underline; } .newsletter-banner-content img { max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 10px 0; } #mc_embed_signup #mce-success-response { color: #0356a5; display: none; margin: 0 0 10px; width: 100%; } #mc_embed_signup div#mce-responses { float: left; top: -1.4em; padding: 0; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; margin: 0; clear: both; } ‘Taxpayer money should not be spent on unions’
The shadow business secretary will say the right for paid time off for union reps has “got to go”.
He will say: “If businesses want to offer it, they are of course free to do so, but we will no longer use the force of law at a cost to jobs and competitiveness.
Read more Businesses brace for costs as new workers’ rights kick in
“In the public sector we have a responsibility to go one step further. Every penny of taxpayer’s money should be spent on cutting waiting lists, helping children learn, fixing potholes and public services for taxpayers. Not on trade unions.”
The Tories claim this policy will save £100m a year, totalling £500m across the course of the next parliament.
Kemi Badenoch’s party says it will allow trade union reps to accompany workers to employment meetings, but it will also expand this right to other “qualified representatives” in instances where these meetings become a “closed shop”.
Griffith attacks union pamphlet rule
Griffith has previously attacked Labour for a proposal which would require employers to hand their workers union pamphlets.
A rule included in the Employment Rights Bill, which came into force in December, mandates employers to tell their staff about what unions do and how they can join one.
Griffith said the rule would result in the “colonisation” of the private sector by trade unions, and cause the “collapse of British productivity and trade growth”.
“It’ll be Christmas every day for trade unions if this sinister proposal becomes law. Every employer in the land will be compelled to promote trade unions using government-dictated propaganda,” the shadow business secretary said.
Read more ‘Disgraceful’: Khan and RMT in tube strike deadlock ahead of disruption
Similarly tagged content: Sections Categories People & Organisations
