New trade union workplace access rights: Government consults on operational detail

Background: the new trade union right of access

As part of the Government’s commitment to strengthen collective bargaining rights and trade union recognition, the Employment Rights Bill will give trade unions a new statutory right to access workplaces in order to meet, support, represent or organise workers and to facilitate collective bargaining (but not to organise industrial action). Independent trade unions will be able to request access and negotiate "access agreements" with employers. If agreement cannot be reached there will be with a statutory process for setting the terms of the access agreement through the Central Arbitration Committee. The Central Arbitration Committee will also have powers to enforce access agreements, hear complaints about breaches by any party and issue fines for non-compliance.

The Government intends that the new right of access will come into force in October 2026.

Consultation

Access requests and negotiations

The Government seeks views on the following proposals:

• Trade union access requests and employer responses should be made in writing directly, for example by email or letter, with a new Code of Practice setting out a standard template request and response that the parties will be encouraged to use. 
• The request for access must include certain specified information, including:
  • that it is a statutory access request
  • a description of the group of workers the union is seeking access to
  • the purpose of the requested access
  • the type of access requested (whether physical or digital) and, if physical, the workplace location(s)
  • the date requested for the first access visit
  • the frequency of access, and
  • the number of members the union has at the workplace.
• The employer must respond within five working days and must include certain information including, if the request is rejected (in whole or in part), an explanation of why.
• The employer and trade union will then have 15 working days to negotiate the terms of the access agreement.
• If access is agreed, the CAC must be notified and the parties will be encouraged to use a standard form to do so. The CAC must also be told in writing if an access agreement has been varied or revoked.
• If access is not agreed, the union will be able to refer the matter to the Central Arbitration Committee and will have 25 working days from the date the access request was submitted in which to do so.

Central Arbitration Committee decisions on access

The consultation paper notes that Central Arbitration Committee decisions on access will have to be guided by the "access principles" set out in the Employment Rights Bill:

• A trade union should be granted access for any of the access purposes in a manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the employer’s business
• An employer should take reasonable steps to facilitate access
• Physical access should not be refused solely on the basis that digital access has been permitted (and vice versa), and
• Access should be refused entirely only where it is reasonable to do so

In the consultation, the Government is seeking views on other factors that the Central Arbitration Committee should take into account when deciding whether and how to grant access. These include the following proposals:

• Businesses with fewer than 21 workers should be excluded
• Statutory access agreements should have a two-year expiry date
• It would be reasonable for the CAC to refuse access if there is already a recognised independent union representing the group of workers in respect of whom the union is seeking access
• Employers should not be required to allocate more resource than necessary to allow access, and specifically should not have to construct new meeting rooms or implement new IT systems
• The Government will specify a "model access agreement", so that union requests in line with this model are more likely to be considered reasonable
• Weekly access (whether physical, digital or both) is likely to be reasonable, and
• The union should give a least two days' notice of access.

Fines for breaches of access agreements

Where a party fails to comply with an access agreement, the Central Arbitration Committee 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 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.

The consultation can be viewed here and responses are required by 18 December 2025.