The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens a trade union’s right to access an employer’s workforce. Legislation due to come into force on 30 October 2026 sets out details of trade union requests, how an employer is required to respond and the subsequent engagement.
From 30 October 2026, trade unions have the statutory right of physical and digital access to workplaces. Note this will only affect employers with more than 20 staff, i.e. 21 or more.
Ahead of the 2024 General Election, the Labour Party’s ‘Make Work Pay’ promised to strengthen trade union rights ‘in a regulated and responsible manner, for recruitment and organising purposes’. These were legislated by different measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 which updates the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and this piece focuses on the section ‘Right of trade unions to access workplaces’.
The implementation timetable was updated on 25 September 2026 showing trade union access reforms that come into effect on 30 October 2026. The following details are provided from the Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 and the Code of Practice, both of which are in draft form until they come into effect. Collectively, these detail:
- Workplace access must be granted if the trade union has a certificate of independence issued by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC); and
- Employers must consider all workers when looking at the threshold of 21 workers. A trade union can access a group of workers that are fewer than 21 at a workplace if the employer has an overall headcount of 21 or more across all workplaces
For employers, the Code of Practice highlights the following important points:
- The procedure for making workplace access requests;
- The statutory requirement for employers to respond within time limits;
- The subsequent expectation for employers to ‘engage constructively’ with the union that has request access; and
- How the CAC will perform its functions if access is denied and / or engagement is not successful
For Bookkeepers
There are many medium-sized employers who will not have encountered trade unions before. However, these reforms signal increased union involvement and we encourage members to make clients aware of their statutory duties from 30 October 2026.
Note that from 01 January 2027, employers duty will also have a duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union and remind them annually of this right.