From 30 October 2026, independent trade unions will be able to request access to workplaces – both physically and digitally – whether or not any of your workers are trade union members, and whether or not you recognise a union. The statutory timetable for responding is short, so you should settle on your approach before a request lands.
Key takeaways
- Wide application: Any independent trade union can seek access to workplaces of employers with 21 or more workers, whether or not there is any existing union presence.
- Tight deadlines: The statutory timetable for responding to an access request and agreeing terms is short. If no agreement is reached, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) can impose terms.
- Significant enforcement liabilities: Repeated breach of an access agreement can attract escalating penalties of up to £500,000 a breach, and the name of the employer can be made public.
- A pathway to union recognition: Unions will use access as a route towards formal recognition and collective bargaining. Employers should decide in advance what role, if any, they want a union to play in their workplaces.
Brief overview of the access framework
From 30 October 2026, any independent trade union can request access to an employer’s premises and to its digital communications channels, whether or not the union has a single member in that workplace. Employers with 21 or more workers are affected by this, with some limited exceptions (for example where the workplace is a private residence).
The timetable is short. Employers have 15 working days to respond to a union access request, stating whether access is accepted in whole or in part, or declined, and why – including whether they are willing to negotiate. The parties then have 25 working days to agree terms. If they cannot, the matter can be referred to the CAC, which will decide whether access should be granted and on what terms. The CAC’s starting position is that access should be granted. Employers are expected to take reasonable steps to accommodate access, and any refusal must be reasonable in all the circumstances. A refusal of access may be reasonable where, for example, another union is already recognised, where too little notice has been given or the frequency requested is excessive, or where union officials will not comply with the employer’s policies for visitors.
Why this matters now
The right of access is one of a series of reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA), aimed at increasing trade union involvement in the workplace. Alongside access rights, the ERA has already simplified the statutory recognition process - once recognised, unions have the ability to negotiate terms and conditions on behalf of workers. Further, from 30 October 2026, the ERA introduces a requirement on employers to tell workers about their right to join a trade union. Taken together, these reforms make it substantially easier for a union to establish itself in a workplace that has never had one.
The purpose of access is for unions to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers – whether or not they are union members – and to facilitate collective bargaining. It does not extend to organising industrial action. Access is therefore best understood as a first step towards recognition rather than an end in itself.
Until now, many employers without a recognised union have been able to keep unions at arm’s length. Without existing members in the workforce, a union had no practical route in. The access right removes that obstacle. Employers most affected include those with no existing union presence – these employers are least likely to have a protocol for dealing with an access request.
An employer that fails to comply with an agreed or imposed access agreement faces real financial and reputation risks. Disputes go to the CAC, which can order steps to secure compliance and, for repeated breach, impose escalating penalties rising to up to £500,000 a breach. The CAC can also publish details of any penalty, including the name of the employer.
Employers who prefer to keep a direct relationship with their workforce should be reviewing the effectiveness of their existing worker consultation arrangements now.
What employers should do now
There is limited time before the new regime takes effect. The following steps will put you in a considered rather than a reactive position:
- Audit your worker voice mechanisms: Workers who feel heard rarely look elsewhere for representation. Understand current sentiment across your workforce and assess the quality of your existing engagement and worker representation arrangements. Where those arrangements exist, ensure that staff know of them and buy in to them. Where those arrangements are weak or absent, you have an opportunity to build them now. If you would prefer to keep the relationship with your workforce direct, credible worker voice arrangements of your own are far more effective preparation than resisting access once a request has arrived.
- Develop an access strategy: Decide now what access you could offer - which rooms, how often, and what digital channels. Access during breaks or at the end of the working day tend to be practical in most workplaces. The aim is to have your position ready before a union request arrives, rather than making concessions under the pressure of tight negotiation deadlines.
- Assess the practical risks of access: Permitting third-party access to your workplace raises issues beyond industrial relations. Employers will, for example, need to ensure they comply with health and safety obligations towards visiting union representatives. Similarly, employer will want to manage the risk of liability for third-party harassment of their workforce by union representatives, as well as managing the risk of confidential and business-sensitive information being compromised. You should address these sorts of issues in the access agreement and also review your existing policies and procedures to ensure they remain fit for purpose.
- Set up and train an access request team: Allocate responsibility and authority for responding to access requests to a specific team who have been suitably prepared to deal with the employer's response. More generally, line managers and HR need to understand what the access request framework requires and who to cascade queries and issues to.
How Mishcon de Reya can help
If you would like more information or support on the new union access right or on other changes being introduced by the Employment Rights Act, please get in touch with your usual Mishcon de Reya contact or with a member of the Employment team.