Consultation outcome

Fair Work Charter

Updated 4 February 2026

Fair Work Charter Introduction

This interim Fair Work Charter for offshore wind is a tripartite agreement between unions, business and government. The Charter aims to ensure clean energy jobs are always good jobs as set out by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan. Its scope is set out in the Clean Industry Bonus Allocation Framework, and it will be monitored and enforced in line with the processes set out by DESNZ.

The Charter will set a baseline for the sector in Allocation Round 8, by aligning with the Employment Rights Act 2025 and other relevant legislation, which sets out the government’s goals of improving workers’ rights across the economy.

The Charter also reflects and encourages good practice already being demonstrated by many employers in the clean energy sector; several organisations are already operating at or beyond the standards set out in this Charter including by working with their recognised trade unions.

Currently, industry organisations have enabled input from and interaction with workers via a range of channels such as through staff engagement surveys, forums networks and consultative committees.

The Fair Work Charter commitments aim to support and sustain good quality jobs that contribute to economic growth, deliver benefits to workers and communities, and help grow domestic industry.

Chapter 1: Independent Worker Voice

As parties progress towards implementation of this Charter, signatories commit to enabling worker voice through a combination of channels in addition to the principles and provisions below.

Purpose of Early Operationalisation

Signatories commit to taking practical, early steps to enhance and maintain channels for effective worker voice within organisations as part of the ambition to ensure clean energy jobs are good jobs.

These new steps are intended to prepare workplaces for the new statutory rights and duties anticipated to come into effect in October 2026.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to introduce new obligations including on trade union access and the statutory duty to inform workers of their right to join a union. Any early operationalisation measures adopted under this Charter will be reviewed and, if necessary, amended upon the commencement of relevant provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 and any other relevant legislation.

Principles

Good faith — Employers and trade unions will engage constructively and in good faith to implement the Charter, building relationships based on mutual respect and trust. Relationships between trade unions and employers will be collaborative and cooperative, including where disagreements arise.

Meaningful — Trade union access should be meaningful, practical and in line with any provisions enshrined within the Employment Rights Act 2025 and other relevant legislation and not reduce activity to technical compliance. Arrangements will be tailored by site, as appropriate, taking account of operational realities, safety and security requirements including offshore, and the need to avoid disruption to critical operations.

Information exchange — Employers and trade unions will share, as reasonably practicable, information relevant to planning access (for example, workplace locations, shift patterns and workforce numbers), taking a good faith approach.

Worker benefit — Access should be facilitated without cost or detriment to workers and should, where appropriate, take place during paid time within reasonable limits subject to operational requirements. Access will be scheduled so as not to disrupt operations or compromise safety, security or regulatory compliance.

Pro-active collaboration — Over the period of implementation parties will negotiate voluntary access agreements that cover both physical and digital channels of communication, as relevant. Such agreements may include site-specific schedules describing locations, intervals, notice periods, points of contact and any necessary safety, security and induction requirements.

Beyond minimums — Compliance with statutory requirements of the Employment Rights Act 2025 and associated guidance is a baseline; signatories should pursue good practice that exceeds legal minimums where feasible.

Provisions

1. Early implementation of trade union access rights

Signatories will demonstrate early implementation of the access rights to be introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 and associated guidance, by negotiating and signing one or more voluntary access agreements with relevant trade unions. Voluntary access agreements should:

• Be developed within the early implementation period.
• Enable reasonable and meaningful physical access to speak with workers at intervals at least in line with the frequency specified of the Employment Rights Act 2025, with reasonable prior notice, in agreed areas, subject to health, safety, security and operational requirements.
• Recognise that offshore access will be subject to POB [Persons On Board] limits, marine conditions, emergency priorities and current operations.
• Provide for acceptance of reasonable access requests within a mutually agreed timeframe, at least in line with the notice period laid out in the Employment Rights Act 2025.
• Provide comprehensive digital access where requested by trade unions, such as a digital union noticeboard on company apps or intranets and mechanisms for digital meetings.
• Provide a union slot in staff inductions, with coordination between project leadership and unions to agree frequency.
• Ensure privacy and non-monitoring of attendance for access meetings, including refraining from intrusive monitoring or recording of which workers attend.
• Provide reasonable assistance to unions to overcome practical barriers to access (for example, assistance with security clearance procedures including in ports or Wi-Fi access for digital meetings including on vessels).

Voluntary access agreements should be proportionate to the operational context of the signatory, consistent with the principles set out in this charter, consistent with legal and safety requirements for the workplace, and could follow the basis of a model agreement.

2. Supply-chain and contractor engagement

Signatories will take a proactive role in supporting trade union access across projects by:

• Providing trade unions with information identifying major contractors and supply-chain companies across the breadth of the supply chain operating within the UK and UK EEZ, insofar as reasonably practicable, lawful and consistent with confidentiality obligations.
• Raising awareness with and facilitating introductions to contractors and subcontractors working within the UK and UK EEZ on signatory projects about trade unions, where reasonable and practicable, to encourage and facilitate positive engagement and positive industrial relations for project delivery.

These measures do not remove the legal responsibilities of contractors and subcontractors, but seek to encourage and facilitate positive engagement across the supply chain.

3. Early implementation of the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union

Signatories commit to early operationalisation of the upcoming statutory duty to regularly inform workers of their right to join a trade union. Early operationalisation should include:

• Regular joint information, with trade unions where appropriate to workers on their right to join a union. Employers making available information to their workforce, including at inductions, about all unions they have agreements with.
• Making clear that the decision about whether and which union to join rests solely with workers.

Communications should be accessible and delivered in ways that reach the workforce (for example, face-to-face briefings, digital notices, and inclusion within new-starter information packs).

Chapter 2: Health, Safety and Welfare

High health and safety standards are an imperative for workers, employers and trade unions and it is accepted that signatories of the Fair Work Charter commit to striving for best practice Health and Safety across their offshore wind operations.

Signatories commit to the following principles:

• Good practice: Trade unions, employers, and industry recognise that legal minimums and statutory requirements are not the extent of health and safety. Industry seeks continuous improvement to the standards of health and safety in offshore wind to ensure risk is as low as is reasonably practicable and the UK takes a lead, setting standards for other geographical jurisdictions.
• Pro-active communication: Communicate that health, safety and welfare are strengthened through collaboration between employers and workers, across industry, and with independent trade unions, where such relationships exist.
• Pro-active collaboration:  Support health and safety representatives that have been elected / nominated from the workforce (including those covered by relevant trade union agreements) to undertake their role, including:
  • Reasonably involve them in existing, relevant H&S processes, relevant inspections, significant accident and incident investigations and H&S committees,
  • Consulting them on new H&S plans and materials relevant to the workforce
  • ensuring they have the access to appropriate H&S information required to undertake their role and to attend health and safety committee meetings
  • ensuring they have paid time required to undertake their role, with their usual workload appropriately adjusted
• Support inspections: Ensure that UK HSE Inspectors have access to sites and vessels, subject to operational needs and constraints, utilising the asset’s normal means of personnel transfer, where these exist, and support to carry out their statutory duties.
• Breadth of sector: Broaden trade union representation in H&S forums, and ensure industry and trade unions engage collaboratively with Global offshore wind health and safety organisations (including, for example, G+) to deliver best practice across the breadth of activity required to deliver offshore wind in UK EEZ, including manufacturing, installation, maritime and shipping contractors and supply chains within the maritime regions covered under the provisions of the Fair Work Charter or UK Employment law jurisdiction.
• Sub-contracting risks: Recognise the increased potential for risk in each tier of sub-contracting, particularly when these are carried out offshore. As there are often many sub-contractors involved in offshore wind, ensure processes are in place to engage all parties in best practice health and safety.

Closing Statement

The Fair Work Charter aims to support constructive, practical arrangements that strengthen worker voice and prepare workplaces for the statutory changes ahead. Signatories pledge to work collaboratively to implement these measures in good faith and in a way that benefits workers, employers and communities.

Legal Notice

While this Charter itself creates no legal obligations and confers no rights on third parties, it does not preclude legal obligations resulting from its implementation.

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Charter affects statutory rights or fetters any party’s position in any statutory recognition or bargaining process. All engagement under this Charter will be conducted consistently with applicable law and with due regard to health and safety, site security, data protection and operational continuity.