UK government confirms details of trade union right to access workplaces

The Employment Rights Act 2025 gives trade unions a new right to access workplaces to represent, support, recruit and organise workers and support collective bargaining. Last year the government consulted on how the new right will operate in practice. The response to consultation, along with a draft statutory Code of Practice, provide further detail.

Requesting an access agreement

Trade unions can ask any employer with more than 20 employees for physical and/ or digital access to their workers. The union must explain to which workers the request applies, the type of access requested, the purpose of the access, the facilities needed, how much notice the union will give to exercise the right and how frequently access will take place.

Employers must respond within 15 working days. If they agree to the request, either in full or in part, the response should include information about the workers and workplaces to which the access agreement applies and the facilities that the employer will provide to facilitate access.

If the employer does not agree to the access request in full, there is a further 25 working day period for negotiation, although the parties can continue discussions beyond that deadline if they choose.

Role of the CAC

If the union and employer cannot reach an access agreement after negotiation, either can refer the issue to the CAC to decide whether to award access and on what terms. The underlying premise of the legislation is that trade unions are entitled to access that does not unreasonably interfere with the employer’s operations.

The CAC will not award access if an employer would have less than five days’ notice of initial access or if the access agreement will last more than two years. It will not be reasonable for the CAC to award access if the employer already recognises, or has an access agreement with, another trade union.

Access terms

The CAC is more likely to agree access requests containing certain “model terms”, including:

• Weekly access to workers, whether in person or virtually, with at least two working days’ notice of access;
• Reasonable steps by the employer to facilitate access, such as setting up digital calls or providing space for a meeting; and
• Compliance by the trade union with the employer’s reasonable instructions, such as completing health and safety inductions.

How an employer normally communicates with its employees will be the benchmark for union access. For example, if the employer regularly communicates with workers in large meetings, it should make the same facilities available to the union. However, employers will not need to make structural changes to premises or IT systems to facilitate access. Digital access would include providing union information or communications to workers through the usual channels or setting up digital meetings using existing IT platforms.

Meetings or other access should take place during normal working hours but in a way that minimises disruption for the employer. Access should be private and managers or supervisors should attend meetings only if the union invites them to do so.

Disputes

The CAC will hear complaints that either party has breached the terms of an access agreement. If it upholds a complaint, it can direct the steps a party must take to comply.

Second or subsequent breaches can lead to a penalty order, attracting an initial fine of £75,000, increasing to £150,000 and then £500,000 for further penalty orders. The fine’s size will depend on factors such as how serious the breach was, how long it lasted, the reason for it, the number of workers affected and the employer’s size and resources.

Next steps

The draft code of practice is open for consultation until 20 May 2026. This is a further opportunity for employers to engage with government on the detail of the new right.

Authored by Jo Broadbent and Stefan Martin.