From October 2026, trade unions will have a statutory right to access workplaces to engage with workers – in person or digitally – for the purposes of representation, support, recruitment, organisation, and collective bargaining.
The reforms will apply to all but the smallest employers and some FAQs follow below.
Do trade unions need to request access?
Yes, the regulations will set a clear and consistent process for submitting, responding to, and negotiating access requests, ensuring transparency and efficiency for both unions and employers. Requests should be in writing and the union’s request should identify whether it is seeking physical or digital access (or both), the nature of the access and the reasons for this.
How long do employers have to respond to an access request?
Employers will have 15 working days to respond in writing. The employer’s response must cover the following specific elements:
• accept or decline: state clearly which parts of the physical or digital access are granted or refused.
• provide details: detail the categories and numbers of workers in the proposed bargaining unit, shift patterns, and any available facilities.
• justify refusals: if rejecting the request entirely or partially, provide clear, objective reasoning (e.g. severe operational disruption, insufficient notice, or overlapping access agreements with another recognised union).
• disclose other requests: confirm if they have received other union access requests or are in negotiations with other trade unions at the time.
What if the employer denies access to the trade union?
If the employer does not accept the request in full, it has an additional 25 working days to negotiate the terms of access with the trade union. If the employer and the union cannot agree terms, the union will have 15 working days to apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (‘CAC’) to assess if the access should be ordered.
What if the union and employer still cannot agree?
If agreement cannot be reached, then the CAC will decide if the union should be granted access to the workplace and, if so, on what terms. In making this decision, the CAC uses “access principles” as follows:
• union officials should be able to physically enter a workplace or communicate with workers in any manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the employer’s business
• employers should take reasonable steps to facilitate access by officials of a qualifying trade union
• physical entry to a workplace should not be refused solely on the basis that communication with workers is permitted in a non-physical way – nor vice versa
• access should be refused entirely only where it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.
What if the union doesn’t have many members?
It doesn’t matter as there is no minimum level of support needed to secure access.
What if the employer has already granted access to a trade union?
The presence of a recognised union does not mean a new access request from a different union is rejected.
How often will a trade union be able to access a workplace and how?
The government will publish “model terms” for access agreements which will include:
• access (physically, digitally or both) up to once per week
• unions must provide two working days’ notice for each visit
• employers should make available existing facilities as is reasonable to facilitate access
• employers must ensure that as far as reasonably possible, they ensure that direct communications between its workers and the union are private
• trade union officials seeking access to the workplace must comply with all reasonable instructions given by the employer.
How long can an access visit last and when should it be?
How long a visit can last is currently unknown; there is no guidance in the draft code. The union’s access to the workers should usually take place during normal working hours but at times which “minimise any possible disruption” to the employer’s activities. Consideration should be given to holding a meeting, particularly those involving a large proportion of workers, during rest periods or towards the end of a shift where possible.
Can the employer sit in on the meeting?
The employer or any representative of the employer must not attend an access meeting unless invited to do so.
What is physical access?
The draft code of practice says “where practicable, a union should be granted access to the workers at their actual workplace, and in the actual location of their work in that workplace, such as in a meeting room, or in an adjoining work area”. If the employer typically holds large workforce meetings in, for example, a meeting room or a canteen, then the employer should make the same facilities available to the union.
What is digital access?
Not all access will take the form of the physical presence of a union in a physical workplace. Access can take place “digitally” alongside or instead of physical access. Unions have the right to virtually access a group of workers in a workplace provided it does not unreasonably interfere with the employer’s business. Digital access can use the channels used by the employer in question. The starting point is that the employer would cascade factual union communications or information to workers the union has requested to be cascaded in line with the access agreement. Or it could facilitate an online meeting so the union can run a presentation and Q&A.
Does trade union access apply to all employers, regardless of size?
No, organisations with fewer than 21 workers will be entirely exempt. Some workplaces could also be exempt on grounds relating to national security or criminal justice, although less-disruptive access (digital or away from a sensitive facility) would still be required.
Does ‘fewer than 21’ apply to the workplace or employer?
The employee headcount will be assessed employer-wide. So if a workplace has only 20 staff, but another branch or location exists with more workers, then the threshold of 21 is exceeded.
Is there a fine if we don’t comply with the rules?
Yes. The government is proceeding with a three-tier enforcement model proposed in the consultation as follows:
• up to £75,000 for a first penalty
• up to £150,000 for a second penalty
• up to £500,000 fine for the third and subsequent breaches under the same access agreement.
How should employers prepare for trade union access?
Those employers that already have relationships with trade unions should consider how the reforms might affect their current arrangements. Employers who are able to agree voluntary rather than statutory arrangements on trade union access are likely to foster better engagement with a union.
Employers who have had no engagement or only limited engagement with trade unions previously have until October 2026 to prepare. Given the 15-day response time to a trade union request for access, it will be prudent to make plans on how you, as an employer, would respond.
For advice email nicola.goodridge@goodhr.co.uk or call +44 7917 878384
Copyright © 2026 GoodHR Ltd All rights reserved.
Registered in England no. 8408047
www.goodhr.co.uk
nicola.goodridge@goodhr.co.uk
Tel. 44(0)7917 878384
unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences