Trade Union and Employment Forum

This Forum brings together academics, trade unionists, employers and the media to examine the historic context of trade union and labour policies and identify lessons that can be learnt for today and the future.  The Forum also marks key events that have shaped the workplace and business world such as the 1984 Miners’ Strike, the Health and Safety Act, the introduction of employment tribunals and the anniversary of the 1926 General Strike.

Regular seminars and conferences bring together interested parties and provide the opportunity to hear from key players and experts in a wide range of topical employment issues. From time to time the forum also produces opinion pieces to be found on this website.

The Forum is part of the History and Policy Group based in the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London, connecting historians, policy makers and the media.


  • Employment Tribunal Conference October 30th

    On October 30th, the History & Policy Trade Union Forum welcomed around 30 guests to attend a well timed conference marking 60 years since Industrial/Employment Tribunals were introduced. As the current Employment Rights Bill ping pongs back and forth between the Commons and Lords, it offered an opportunity to look back at how the tribunal…

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  • The Next judgment: a landmark in the history of equal pay?

    The employment tribunal case of Ms M. Thandi and others v. Next Retail Limited and Next Distribution Limited, announced on 5 August 2024, has been hailed as a landmark in the long struggle for equal pay, as the first major case to find evidence of unjustifiable pay disparities between predominantly female and male groups of workers in the…

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  • Dame Judith Hackitt reflects on forthcoming Health and Safety conference

    On Monday 25 November, the History & Policy Trades Union and Employment Forum will be hosting a conference entitled ‘Health & Safety At Work Act – 50 Years On Still fit for purpose?’ See here for details of the conference and registration.

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  • European Works Councils: The Effects of Brexit

    Join Catherine Barnard: Brexit and the Legal Challenges facing European Works Councils & Jonathan Hayward: Brexit and the Practical Challenges facing European Works Councils, for this online event on 23 January 2024.

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  • Democracy at Work: 150 years of the TUC

    In October this year, to celebrate the TUC’s 150th anniversary, the History and Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum held a conference in King’s College, London at which a series of experts and practitioners presented a picture of key figures during that time and discussed past and current roles of the TUC.

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About Us


H&P is based at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London.

We are the only project in the UK providing access to an international network of more than 500 historians with a broad range of expertise. H&P offers a range of resources for historians, policy makers and journalists.