18/08/2026

Background

A significant package of trade union reforms are due to take effect in Great Britain on 30 October 2026, as part of the phased implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025.

The measures include:

• a new duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
• new trade unions’ right of access
• reforms to recognition and derecognition processes,
• new rights and protections for trade union representatives
• extended protections against detriment for taking industrial action.

However, the reform that is likely to generate the most immediate practical questions for employers is the new statutory right for independent trade unions to request access to workplaces.

The revised draft Code of Practice on trade union access was put before Parliament on 6 July 2026, alongside secondary legislation (see here and here) setting out the operational and procedural detail of the new framework. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Code and related legislation are expected to come into force in October 2026.

This is a substantial change in the employee relations landscape and it is important to note this right of access will be to both unionised and non-unionised workplaces. At present, in non-unionised workplaces, trade union access is largely a matter for employer agreement. Under the new framework, certified independent trade unions will be able to request access for a range of purposes, including meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting and organising workers and facilitating collective bargaining.

Summary of the GB changes

The new statutory access framework will apply in England, Scotland and Wales. Note this will not apply to Northern Ireland (see the current position in Northern Ireland below)

The key points for employers in GB are as follows:

• Independent trade unions will be able to request access to workplaces. Access may be physical, digital, or a combination of both.
• The union will not need to have existing recognition rights, existing members in the workplace, or any previous presence at the workplace before making a request.
• An access request may relate to more than one workplace, and multiple unions may make access requests.
• Employers will need to respond to access requests within the statutory timescales. The Government’s employer-facing guidance states that employers must respond within 15 working days, and that employers and unions will then have 25 working days to negotiate an access agreement.
• Where agreement cannot be reached, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) will be able to determine whether access should be granted and set the terms of access.
• The CAC will not be able to impose an access agreement where an employer has fewer than 21 workers across all of its workplaces.
• The CAC will also oversee and enforce statutory access agreements, including through penalty fines for non-compliance.

The revised Code provides practical guidance on how access requests should be made, how access agreements should be negotiated and implemented and how the framework should operate across different types of workplaces. The Government states that the Code will be the main source of practical guidance on the new statutory access framework.

Why this matters for employers and practical steps

For employers, the practical implications could be significant, even where there is no current trade union recognition or history of trade union activity in the workplace.

The starting point for employers should be preparation rather than reaction. Businesses should consider now who will receive and manage access requests, how those requests will be escalated internally, and what records will be maintained.

The updated Code provides clearer guidance on practical issues, including access across multiple workplaces, workplace facilities, operational, health and safety, security and safeguarding considerations and privacy in the context of digital access.

Employers operating in Great Britain should therefore consider taking the following preparatory steps before 30 October 2026:

1. Identify responsibility internally
   Decide who will receive, acknowledge, respond to and negotiate access requests. This may include HR, legal, employee relations and site management.
2. Prepare an access request process
   Put in place an internal process for logging the date of receipt, calculating deadlines, preserving correspondence and escalating requests promptly.
3. Review employee relations arrangements
   Consider whether existing staff forums, consultation structures or employee representative arrangements are effective. If they are not, this may be an appropriate time to strengthen them.
4. Map workplace-specific issues
   Identify any site-specific operational, health and safety, security, confidentiality or safeguarding factors that may be relevant to access.
5. Plan for digital access
   Consider how digital access might work in practice, including whether communications would be cascaded by the employer, whether online meetings could be facilitated and how privacy would be protected.
6. Train managers
   Managers should understand the basic framework, the importance of not dismissing access requests informally and the importance of maintaining constructive communications.
7. Keep records
   Given the potential for Central Arbitration Committee involvement and enforcement, employers should retain a clear audit trail of requests, responses, negotiations and decisions.

The position in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the position is quite different to GB and trade union access proposals form part of the wider Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill agenda.

The proposed approach in Northern Ireland is lighter touch in comparison to GB and is akin to the model adopted in New Zealand. The current proposals are based on access agreements and at present (with late concession providing an exemptions for employers with less than 10 employees) and there is no information on what penalties may apply where access is unreasonably refused.

The proposals will also be supported by a code of practice on promoting productive workplace relationships, which is expected to also include a mechanism for employers to report inappropriate behaviour by trade unions.

Proposed access rights are one of the reasons why the Good Jobs Bill has not yet progressed from the Executive to the Assembly. There is likely to be renewed pressure in September 2026 to move the Bill forward if it it is to pass before the end of the current mandate in May 2027. It remains unclear whether any further changes will be made to the current proposals on access rights.

We will keep you updated.

What should Northern Ireland employers do now?

Although the Northern Ireland proposals are not yet in force, employers should keep this issue under review.

For now, Northern Ireland employers should consider:

• auditing existing employee voice structures;
• reviewing how employee concerns are raised and resolved;
• identifying whether any trade union relationships already exist, formally or informally;
• considering how workplace access could operate in practice if a request is made;
• identifying operational, security, confidentiality and health and safety issues;
• training managers on constructive engagement and early resolution; and
• monitoring the progress of the NI Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill.

Key takeaway

Trade union access is moving up the legislative agenda across both GB and Northern Ireland, but the legal mechanisms are not the same. GB employers should prepare for a statutory access agreement regime from 30 October 2026, subject to Parliamentary approval. Northern Ireland employers should monitor the Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill closely, particularly the proposed access request model, the role of guidance or codes and any future enforcement mechanism.

For employers in both jurisdictions, the practical message is the same: now is the time to review employee engagement, strengthen internal voice mechanisms, train managers and prepare clear processes for responding to trade union access requests.