Since Friday 30 October 2026, independent trade unions have had a statutory right to request physical and digital access to workplaces under the Employment Rights Act 2025, supporting regulations and a statutory Code of Practice.

What is the new right of access?

Any trade union holding a certificate of independence can request access to a workplace for the purposes of meeting, recruiting, organising, supporting or representing workers, and facilitating collective bargaining.

The right does not extend to organising industrial action.

Importantly, a union does not need to be recognised by the employer before making a request. Nor does it need to demonstrate that it already has members working for the business.

Access may be physical, digital or both. An employer cannot simply offer one form of access instead of the other if both are reasonably requested.

Which employers are affected

The new regime applies to employers with 21 or more workers, including those employed by associated employers and agency workers.

Headcount is assessed both on the date of the request and by reference to average worker numbers over the preceding 13 weeks.

How does the process work?

Once a request is received, the employer has 15 working days to issue a written response.

A further 25-working-day negotiation period then follows, allowing the parties to negotiate the access terms.

If agreement cannot be reached, or if the employer fails to respond, the dispute can be referred to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).

The CAC begins from a presumption that access should be granted and can decide whether access should be granted and on what terms.

For that reason, employers are generally better served engaging constructively with requests rather than adopting a blanket refusal.

What does a typical agreement look like?

The regulations contain model terms which are presumed to be reasonable.

In practice, this could include:

• weekly access
• at least five working days’ notice of the first visit and two working days’ notice for later visits
• use of existing rooms and facilities
• meetings during meal breaks or before and after shifts
• the use of internal communication channels, such as email or intranet systems
• private conversations between workers and union representatives
• union officials following reasonable instructions, such as signing in.

Employers are not required to create new facilities or install new IT systems.

However, they are expected to facilitate reasonable access using existing facilities where possible. The Code also says that workers should be paid in full for time spent attending meetings.

What are the risks of getting it wrong?

The new regime is backed by significant enforcement powers.

Where an employer fails to comply with its obligations, the CAC may make an order requiring it to do so.

Repeated breaches can result in substantial financial penalties, reaching up to £500,000 for third and subsequent breaches. Requests for union access must therefore be treated seriously and escalated promptly.

Practical steps to take now

Much of the preparation can be undertaken before any request is received.

We suggest the following steps:

Audit your workforce numbers

Review worker numbers across all sites, including agency labour and associated businesses, to establish whether the business falls within scope.

Set up a clear point of entry

Nominate a named person to receive and answer requests, and publish a contact email address on your website. Requests can be posted or hand-delivered to your registered office, head office or main place of business, so make sure reception and site managers know what a request looks like and where to send it straight away.

Prepare for the 15 working day deadline

Diarise it on receipt. Have the standard CAC response template ready, and decide in advance who can approve a response. If you disagree with any part of a request, say which parts and explain why in as much detail as possible. Do not reject a request over minor clerical errors. If you miss the deadline, the union can go straight to the CAC.

Identify suitable locations for meetings

Consider in advance where union representatives could reasonably meet workers without disrupting production. Note any genuine security, safeguarding or health and safety constraints, and raise them in your first response rather than later.

Review monitoring and privacy practices

Union communications must remain private. Make sure line managers understand that they should not attend union meetings unless invited, question staff about discussions with union representatives, discourage attendance at meetings or otherwise obstruct agreed access arrangements. Employers should also avoid monitoring attendance at union meetings or tracking engagement with union communications.

Consider a voluntary arrangement

If you already have access arrangements that work, the Code encourages you to keep them. If not, consider what reasonable access would look like for your business, including frequency, notice, locations, and a dispute resolution process, so you can propose it from the start. A workable agreement is usually better than terms imposed by the CAC.

Maintain good records

Keep a clear audit trail of requests received, responses issued, negotiations undertaken, access arrangements agreed and any operational concerns raised. These will be important if a dispute later reaches the CIC.

Contact our employment law solicitors today

If you have any questions or concerns about the updates provided above, please contact a member of our Employment Law team. You can use our online enquiry form or call 0330 191 5713.

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This article is a general overview and does not constitute legal advice. The regime is new and the government has committed to reviewing it in 2027.