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From October 30, 2026, UK trade unions will gain new statutory rights to access workplaces—physically and digitally—marking a notable shift in the employee relations landscape. The government has now published the draft regulations and final Code of Practice underpinning the regime. Employers, particularly those with no existing union presence, should prepare now: the process will be fast-paced and prescriptive, and the bar for resisting or tightly limiting access is high.
The current picture of union access
Recognised trade unions typically have workplace access through recognition or facilities agreements, or via statutory roles such as health and safety or information and consultation representatives.
Non-recognised unions, however, have very limited routes into the workplace, mainly during statutory recognition processes (when the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) can order “reasonable access”) or when accompanying workers to grievance or disciplinary hearings. This has constrained their ability to recruit, organise and gather evidence for recognition applications.
What’s changing: new statutory access rights
Independent trade unions will be able to request statutory “access agreements” for specified purposes, notably to meet, recruit, organise, support or represent workers, and to facilitate collective bargaining (but not to organise industrial action). Access may extend to both physical entry and digital communication channels. No access agreement may last longer than two years, unless the parties agree to extend it.
Following two consultation processes, the government has now published the final Code of Practice and related draft regulations: one set on the core procedure and timelines and the other set prescribing the information required at each stage. Subject to Parliamentary approval, they are expected to come into force on October 30, 2026, with the Code admissible as evidence in CAC and employment tribunal proceedings.
Importantly, the government expects employers and unions to continue agreeing access voluntarily wherever possible. The Code encourages parties to use existing voluntary arrangements or agree new ones outside the statutory regime, with the statutory process intended as a mechanism for securing access where agreement cannot be reached.
A structured and fast-moving process
The new regime is designed to move quickly, with strict requirements on the content and delivery of union requests and employer responses. The Code includes optional templates to help parties navigate the process.
Employers have 15 working days to respond to a request. If they do, the parties then have 25 working days to try to agree access terms. Any application to the CAC must be made within 55 working days of the original request, extendable to 70 working days where applying sooner was not reasonably practicable. Any agreement must be notified to the CAC. If an employer rejects a request outright or does not respond, the union can move more quickly, without waiting for the negotiation stage to run its course.
This also means a tight timetable. Depending on how the parties engage, a CAC referral could arise within weeks, with the statutory deadline falling around 11 weeks from the original request, or up to around 14 weeks if extended.
The CAC’s approach: a presumption in favour of access
Where the CAC gets involved, it must apply five statutory “access principles”, including that access should be allowed unless it would unreasonably interfere with the employer’s business, and that employers must take “reasonable steps” to facilitate it.
The CAC must refuse access where the employer, together with any associated employer in Great Britain, falls below the 21-worker threshold, where refusal is necessary for national security or to prevent, detect or prosecute criminal offences, or where the proposed terms fail to meet basic statutory requirements, including the two-year maximum term.
The CAC may reasonably refuse access where it would cut across existing or live union arrangements, including recognition by another independent union for one or more of the same workers, an existing or pending statutory access agreement, or an overlapping live request. It may also refuse access on health and safety grounds.
While the Code confirms that employers will not be expected to make significant structural changes to premises or IT systems, it offers limited guidance on what may go beyond “reasonable steps”. The omission of examples previously cited by the government, including capital expenditure, significant recurring costs and material operational disruption, suggests that the threshold for refusing access remains high, consistent with a regime intended to facilitate rather than restrict workplace access.
Model terms as a negotiating baseline
While access arrangements will need to reflect the circumstances of the workplace, the regulations identify a number of terms that the CAC must treat as reasonable if included in an access agreement. These include access up to once a week, where the week includes at least four working days, through workplace visits, meetings or other physical or digital interaction.
The Code recognises that access can be delivered flexibly, including by averaging weekly access over a longer period—for example, up to four sessions a month. The regulations also treat as reasonable five working days’ notice before the first occasion of access, two working days’ notice thereafter, access to existing facilities and accommodation, and privacy for direct communications so far as reasonably practicable.
In practice, these model terms are likely to provide a strong negotiating baseline. As the CAC must treat them as reasonable, requests aligned with them will start from a favourable position, giving unions added leverage when negotiating access arrangements.
The CAC will also expect union officials to comply with all reasonable instructions given by the employer (including on health and safety and security checks). This gives employers some control over the practicalities of access, but the Code is light on other conditions that may be reasonable, such as confidentiality requirements or NDAs.
The practicalities of access
Once an access agreement is in place, unions should generally be able to engage with workers using the same facilities and communication channels employers already use. Access should take place when workers are available to participate and at times that minimise disruption to the business. Special arrangements may be needed for atypical workers, including shift workers and those on maternity, parental or sick leave. Privacy is another key theme; employers should not attend union meetings unless invited, and should not listen in on, record or otherwise monitor union meetings or communications.
Digital access is also likely to play an important role. Employers may be expected to use existing systems to circulate union communications and facilitate online meetings, without needing worker consent where this does not involve disclosing personal data. Direct digital contact is more tightly controlled: workers must consent before their personal contact details are shared with a union, and unions should generally use their own IT systems for any direct communications.
Once a worker has voluntarily shared their details with the union, however, any further direct contact falls outside the access agreement framework. Given the practical challenges of arranging regular on-site meetings, digital access may prove the more significant channel in practice, particularly for employers with hybrid, remote or multi-site workforces.
Strict enforcement
Access agreements are not contractually enforceable, but the CAC can issue declarations, vary an agreement and order compliance. The enforcement regime is designed to deter deliberate obstruction of access. While a first upheld complaint will not itself attract a financial penalty, subsequent breaches or failures to comply with a CAC order can result in escalating penalties of up to GBP75,000, GBP150,000 and GBP500,000. The Code also envisages separate penalties for separate breaches, meaning repeated obstruction of access could prove costly.
When setting a penalty, the CAC will consider factors including the gravity, duration and reasons for the breach, the number of workers affected, the size and resources of the liable party and any history of non-compliance. The Code also envisages multiple penalties arising under the same access agreement, including across different workplaces, meaning overall financial exposure could exceed GBP500,000 in appropriate cases. The CAC may also publish details of penalties imposed, including the name of the liable party.
There are also separate, related changes to the process for agreeing union access arrangements in connection with recognition and related applications. An updated Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices During the Recognition and Derecognition Process will take effect in October 2026.
What to expect and what to do now
Many employers—especially those that are non-unionised—may deal with union representatives on site and online for the first time. Access rights are likely to be used to build support for recognition and gather evidence for CAC applications, and their impact may be amplified by wider reforms strengthening protections for unions and union activity. Requests may also be deployed tactically during periods of workforce concern or insecurity, such as ahead of restructurings, meaning the practical and legal risks of mishandling them are real.
With short notice periods and compressed statutory deadlines, speed is of the essence. The CAC operates far faster than the Employment Tribunal; where cases are referred, employers should expect to respond swiftly (often within seven days) as extensions are rarely granted.
With the Code and regulations now planned for implementation from October 30, 2026, employers should use the time remaining to prepare. Practical steps include:
clarifying internal responsibilities, including who will receive, triage, negotiate and authorise requests
identifying business areas where requests are most likely, considering factors such as existing union presence, collective issues or disputes, and upcoming organisational change
considering whether to negotiate voluntary access agreements outside the statutory regime
developing your negotiation strategy, including which terms are negotiable and non-negotiable, how you will approach proposals in line with the CAC’s access principles, and how to manage associated recognition risks
assessing the physical and digital access you can offer, bearing in mind that the CAC’s model terms are likely to become the benchmark. Employers should also consider the reasonable instructions needed to manage access, including on health and safety, security, identification, data protection and privacy, and whether any confidentiality measures are appropriate
strengthening internal processes for handling requests, including familiarising key staff with the Code and templates, tracking statutory timelines and keeping clear records
training key teams on the access principles, appropriate engagement with union representatives, and data protection, privacy and security requirements
planning internal communications so you can explain clearly to staff how and why access is being facilitated.
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