The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA2025) introduces a statutory right for independent trade unions to access workplaces for the purposes of meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting or organising workers and facilitating collective bargaining. The underlying policy objective is to support fair, modern and effective industrial relations by enabling unions to communicate directly with workers in their workplaces.

1. Background and Context

Section 59 ERA 2025, inserts new provisions into the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The primary legislation establishes the overarching framework, while two sets of secondary legislation — the Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 and the Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) (Required Information) Regulations 2026 — provide the procedural and operational detail.

Alongside these regulations, the government consulted between 8 April and 20 May 2026 on a draft statutory Code of Practice, which is the principal source of practical guidance on how to navigate the new statutory access framework. The Code is intended to provide the relevant parties with greater clarity on how access requests should be made, negotiated and implemented across a range of workplaces. It is a statutory code, meaning that while it does not impose legal obligations of itself, it is admissible in evidence and must be taken into account by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) when relevant.

On 6 July the government published its response to the consultation. The government expects the right of access framework to come into force by October 2026.

2. Key Proposals and Consultation questions

The consultation was structured around substantive areas of the draft Code.  For more information on the consultation please see our previous post: Trade Union Access to Workplaces: What Employers Need to Know About the New Draft Code of Practice | Global Workplace Insider.  In particular it covered the following areas:

Section B — Establishing an access agreement. This covered how trade unions should submit access requests; how employers should respond; the negotiation process and expectations of good-faith engagement; referral to the CAC where negotiations are unsuccessful; the CAC’s decision-making framework and access principles; the circumstances in which access must not be granted or may reasonably be refused; model terms for access agreements; and the process for joint applications by two or more unions.   

Section C — Operation of an access agreement. This addressed where and when access can take place; the use of workplace facilities; health and safety and security requirements; the use of off-site or digital alternatives; privacy of access meetings and the attendance of managers; operation of access where the employer does not control the premises; arrangements for workers with non-typical working patterns; digital access including consent and data-sharing requirements; amendment and revocation of access agreements; and interaction with the statutory trade union recognition process.

Section D — Resolving disputes and enforcement. This covered encouraging early dialogue between employers and unions before formal action; the complaints process to the CAC; the CAC’s powers on upheld complaints (including altering agreements, compliance orders and penalties); the determination of financial penalties including factors to be considered; and the appeals process to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Section E — Standardised templates. This covered templates for access requests, employer responses, notification to the CAC of an access agreement, and notification to the CAC of a variation or revocation.

Overall assessment. Respondents were also asked whether the Code as a whole was clear, practical and workable for use in real workplace settings.

The most prominent themes across the consultation were concerns about proportionality and impact on smaller employers, whether the refusal grounds were sufficiently broad, the cumulative administrative and operational burden of the framework, and the need for clearer practical guidance on how the Code would operate in diverse workplace settings.

3. Responses to the Consultation and Changes to the Code of Practice

Following, responses to the consultation, the government has made targeted changes to the Code in response to consultation feedback while retaining its overall purpose and structure. The key areas of change are as follows.

Practical operation of access. The Code now explains more clearly the relationship and differences between voluntary arrangements and the statutory framework, the forms of access that may be sought, the information that should accompany a request, and the role of standardised templates. The government has improved drafting on practical issues raised during the consultation, including paid time, digital access and minor administrative errors. In particular, the Code now makes clear that minor clerical or administrative errors should not, by themselves, justify rejection of an application.

Refusal of access. The Code provides a clearer explanation of the circumstances in which access may reasonably be refused, and how existing arrangements should be taken into account. The government has strengthened the Code’s explanation of the access principles the CAC must apply, including a fuller explanation of those principles, clearer signposting to the relevant legislation, and improved drafting on when access must not be granted or may reasonably be refused.

Access agreements across multiple workplaces.    It now includes clearer guidance on how access agreements should operate across multiple workplaces and in different workplace settings. This extends to multi-site workplaces, overlapping arrangements and more complex or atypical cases.

Negotiation and referral to the CAC. The Code now provides clearer drafting on when the negotiation period begins, what constitutes good-faith engagement, and the circumstances in which a matter may be referred to the CAC. A summary table has been added setting out the key stages and time limits.

Model terms. The Code has been revised to provide greater clarity on how model terms operate, including on frequency of access, multiple workplaces and safeguarding.

Joint applications Guidance on joint applications by two or more unions has been strengthened to provide more detail on how such arrangements operate in practice.

Where and when access takes place:  The Code has been revised to provide greater clarity on how access should operate in practice in different workplace settings. This includes clearer guidance on where access may take place, the use of workplace facilities, and the need to take account of relevant operational, health and safety, security and safeguarding considerations within the workplace concerned.

Privacy, oversight and digital access. Clearer guidance has been added on how privacy should be protected in the context of both in-person and digital access, and how existing surveillance and monitoring systems interact with access arrangements.

Enforcement framework. The Code now provides stronger and clearer drafting on the enforcement framework, including on the operation of penalties and how breaches may be treated in practice.

Templates. Templates have been reformatted to include checkboxes, simplified language, and a structure aligned to the statutory instruments to make them easier to follow. Employers are not required to repeat information previously provided for repeat applications.

It is important to note that these changes do not alter the purpose of the Code or introduce new policy beyond the statutory framework. Rather, they are described by the government as clarificatory and intended to support consistent and proportionate application.

4. Practical Implications for Employers and HR Teams

The new statutory right of access represents a significant shift in the industrial relations landscape and will require employers to put in place new internal processes and, in many cases, update existing policies. The following practical implications should be considered:

  • Access request handling procedure. Employers will need an internal process for receiving, logging and responding to access requests within 15 working days.
  • Negotiation readiness. Once an employer responds to an access request, a 25-working-day negotiation period follows during which the parties must seek to agree terms. Employers should have in place the individuals to respond to such requests and be prepared to negotiate constructively and in good faith, with awareness that failure to engage may lead to a referral to the CAC.
  • Workplace logistics and facilities. Employers will be expected to make available such existing accommodation and other facilities as is reasonable to enable access to take place.
  • Privacy arrangements. Access agreements must include a term providing that the employer must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that direct communications between workers and union officials are private. Processes should be put in place to ensure that this will occur.
  • Digital access. The framework contemplates access by means not involving physical entry — including digital or indirect communication with workers. Employers should consider how digital access requests might be managed, including data protection, cyber-security and consent issues.
  • Penalty exposure. Non-compliance with the framework carries escalating financial penalties: a maximum of £75,000 for a first order, £150,000 for a second, and £500,000 for a third or subsequent order by the CAC in relation to the same access agreement. The CAC must have regard to the gravity of the failure, its duration, the reason for it, the number of workers affected, and the size and resources of the party. Employers should be aware of the financial implications of non-compliance.
  • Scope and threshold. The right applies to employers with 21 or more workers.  Employers close to the threshold should maintain accurate headcount records.
  • Interaction with existing recognition arrangements. The Code addresses how access arrangements interact with statutory recognition processes and existing recognition agreements, which may give rise to overlapping obligations.