Employment Law Guide 2026: Trade unions and workplace access

The ERA 2025 makes wide-ranging changes to laws affecting trade unions and industrial action, including removing many of the current restrictions on industrial action and picketing, increasing the rights of trade union representatives, simplifying the statutory trade union recognition process and modifying blacklisting laws. It also increases protections by extending the scope of unfair dismissal protections for employees taking part in industrial action (expected to come into force soon after the Act received Royal Assent) and introducing a new right for workers not to be subjected to a detriment for taking part in industrial action (expected to be in force from October 2026).

Of particular interest to all employers will be a new obligation to provide workers with a written statement setting out their right to join a trade union and a new right for trade unions to access the workplace to meet with workers.

Statement of right to join a trade union

The Government wishes to raise workers’ awareness of their right to join a trade union. From October 2026, employers will have to give all workers a statement of their right to join a trade union. They will have to provide this to new joiners at the same time as providing the section 1 statement of employment particulars. They will also have to provide this at other prescribed times during employment. Regulations will also prescribe the information that must be included in the statement, the form the statement must take and the manner in it must be given.

The Government has consulted on these issues. In terms of content, it considers that the statement should include a brief overview of the functions of a trade union, a summary of the statutory rights trade union members have (such as the right not to suffer a detriment based on their decision to join or not join a trade union), a list of all trade unions the employer recognises (if any) and a signpost to a GOV.UK page with a list of current trade unions. As regards the form of the statement, the Government has indicated that its preference is that it should provide a standard form statement for employers to use, with employers adding only workplace-specific details such as which trade unions they recognise. Employers should provide this directly to the worker at the start of employment (alongside the statement of employment particulars) and then annually, either directly (by email or letter) or indirectly (for example by making it continuously available on the intranet).

The consultation closed on 18 December 2025 and the Government’s response is awaited.

Failure to provide the statement will not give grounds for a claim by itself, but where a worker is successful in another employment tribunal claim, the employment tribunal will additionally be able to award between two and four weeks’ capped pay if at the time the claim was brought the employer was in breach of its obligations.

Implications/Action points

• The Government’s consultation response and further regulations will provide more detail on the form and content of the statement and employers’ obligations. Monitor for further developments
• Build provision of the new statement into your recruitment processes
• Identify how you will provide the statement to employees thereafter.

Trade union access agreements

As part of the Government’s commitment to strengthen collective bargaining rights and trade union recognition, from October 2026 trade unions will be able to request an access agreement from an employer. This will allow union officials to access the workplace to meet, represent, recruit or organise workers, or to facilitate collective bargaining (but not to organise industrial action). This is a big change for employers, many of whom may not have had much exposure to trade unions up until now.

Where the employer and union are unable to agree access terms following a request, there will be a statutory process for setting the terms of the access agreement through the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). The CAC will also have powers to enforce access agreements, hear complaints about breaches by any party and issue fines (of up to £150,000) for non-compliance.

The Government has consulted on the operational detail of this new right with key proposals including:

• a template request and response form (included in a new Code of Practice) which will include matters such as which workers the union is requesting access to and the purpose, type (physical or digital) and frequency of access requested
• employers to respond to access requests within five working days, and explain why any request is rejected
• employer and trade unions to have 15 working days to negotiate an access agreement
• CAC to be notified of agreed terms
• unions to have 25 working days to refer the matter to the CAC if access is not agreed
• businesses with fewer than 21 workers to be excluded
• statutory access agreements granted by the CAC to expire after two years
• if the employer already recognises an independent union for the same workers, it would be reasonable for the CAC to refuse access
• the Government to specify a model access agreement and union requests in line with this are more likely to be regarded as reasonable and so granted by the CAC
• weekly access is likely to be reasonable, and
• unions should give at least two days’ notice of access

Any access granted by the CAC must not unreasonably interfere with the employer’s business and access should be refused entirely only where it is reasonable to do so.

Where a party fails to comply with an access agreement, the CAC will have the power to vary the agreement, make a declaration or order the party to take further steps to comply. If the breach is repeated within 12 months, it will have the power to impose a fine. In the consultation, the Government seeks views on how the fine should be calculated and proposes that the following matters should be taken into account:

• The gravity and duration of the failure
• The reasons for the failure
• The number of workers affected
• The size of the organisation in breach (whether employer or trade union), and
• Any history of non-compliance.

The Government proposes to cap the fine at £75,000, with an increased cap of £150,000 where a breach is repeated after the initial fine.

Implications/Action points

• Greater exposure to trade unions and greater risk of recognition requests
• Depending on the operational details decided upon, consider recognising a “friendly” union.

Trade union ballots

Currently, statutory trade union ballots, including ballots for industrial action, must be held by post. Ballots for statutory recognition and derecognition of trade unions may additionally use workplace balloting. The Government plans to change this, with electronic balloting expected to be introduced in April 2026.

The Government will introduce:

• "Pure" electronic balloting – with the distribution of the voting pack and the casting and return of the votes taking place entirely through electronic means – which could be used for industrial action ballots, political fund/resolution ballots, union election ballots and union merger ballots
• Hybrid electronic balloting – with voting materials distributed by post and members able to return their vote either by post or electronically – which could be used for statutory recognition and derecognition ballots and ballots where “pure” electronic balloting is also an option
• Workplace balloting - allowing members to vote in person at their workplace, using a physical ballot box and paper, or, where it is not possible to conduct the ballot on-site, at an off-site location - which will be used for industrial action ballots only.

In November 2025, the Government issued a consultation on a draft code of practice to accompany the new, proposed balloting methods and provide practical information on the conduct of these ballots including:

• requirements on each party involved in a statutory union ballot to ensure a ballot meets the required standards
• factors to be considered when choosing a voting method, and
• good practice in the conduct of statutory union ballots using the new voting methods.