Employment Rights Act Series: TU access agreement provisions in force from 30 October 2026 – What employers need to know and do

The Employment Rights Act 2025’s provisions on access agreements will come into force at the end of October and we have seen a clear swell of enquiries from employers, quite rightly, wanting to get their understanding clear as to what that means for them and what they can do to get ahead of the curve.

The trade union access provisions form part of the government’s package of measures to encourage trade union engagement within the working population given the general slide in trade union membership over the last 50 years.

So, what are the access provisions and what do employers need to do as a consequence? Ross Hutchison continues his examination of ERA2025 trade union provisions with a summary of the main issues employers are likely to want to consider. For specific details on any aspect, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

What do access agreements do?

They permit independent trade unions to have regular access to an employer’s premises and its staff for the purposes of meeting, supporting, representing or organising workers and facilitating collective bargaining. A significant and intended consequence of all of that will be to encourage trade union membership.

There will be 3 types:

1. Voluntarily agreed access agreement

2. Statutory agreed access agreement

3. Statutory imposed access agreement

Who can get one?

Any certified independent trade union.

How do they get one?

If an employer has 21 or more employees, a trade union can request an access agreement from the employer. Existing membership within the employer’s staff is not required.

What is the process?

The supporting Code-of-practice-right-of-trade-unions-to-access-workplaces (the Code) encourages voluntary agreement to such arrangements and suggests that prospective trade unions and employers work together in the first instance. Trade unions are strongly encouraged to continue to use existing voluntary access arrangements or agree new ones, rather than follow the statutory process.

However, there is no absolute requirement that the Trade Union ask for a voluntary agreement first.

Under the statutory process, the trade union can make a formal request (in a prescribed format) to the employer. Upon receipt, the employer will have just 15 days to respond (also in a prescribed format) either agreeing or rejecting the application. If it agrees it will need to inform the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).

There is then a 25-day negotiation period (from the provision of the response) where the parties are to try and agree the terms of the access agreement. If successful, the employer and the trade union will inform the CAC using a prescribed form.

If the negotiation period fails to produce an agreement, either party can apply to the CAC (usually within 55 days of the access request having first been made) to determine the issue.

If it gets to this point, unless there is a compelling reason to refuse, there is a presumption that the CAC will grant an access agreement which is consistent with the Code’s model terms.

What are the model terms?

The Code envisage model terms of:

• Weekly access (physical, digital or both)

• Provision of reasonable accommodation/facilities

• Direct communication between the trade union officials and the workers (private)

• At least 2 working days’ notice before each access takes place (5 days for the first one – see below)

• Trade union officials to comply with the employer’s reasonable instructions

Reasons a request must be refused

There are instances where a request to the CAC must be refused. These are where:

• the employer employs fewer than 21 workers

• it is considered necessary in the interests of national security or for the purpose of the prevention, detection or prosecution of criminal offences

• the proposed access agreement does not provide the employer with at least five working days' notice of the first instance of access under the agreement

• the proposed access agreement lasts longer than two years

Reasons a request may be refused

There are also other very particular circumstances where a request to the CAC may reasonably be refused. In basic terms, these are where there are:

• overlapping access arrangements: there is an existing recognised independent trade union, an ongoing statutory recognition process or an access agreement that is already in place

• multiple access requests: the employer receives two or more access requests

• health and safety reasons: giving officials of the union access might jeopardise the health or safety of any person

All in all, the potential reasons to reject an application are minimal. This aligns with the Code’s Access Principles which are based on a presumption in favour of reasonable access.

So, is this open season for trade unions?

Yes, and no. It is true that achieving an access agreement will not be onerous task for unions.

However, having one granted and putting the resource into utilising it are different considerations. Sending a trade union representative to an employer’s site on a regular basis to convince staff to part with their wages to pay a union subscription may not be worth their while when there is no enthusiasm for membership as it will be a costly use of a trade union’s limited resources.

As a result, it is likely that access agreement requests will be used in a targeted fashion for workplaces that are considered ‘low hanging fruit’ for example where it is felt unions can easily drum up workers’ support.

Will access agreements lead to recognition for collective bargaining purposes?

Only time will tell. But, if sufficient membership is acquired, pressure would build for recognition for collective bargaining purposes. If voluntary recognition does not materialise, statutory recognition becomes an option and, as part of the wider ERA2025 reforms, the process for statutory recognition has already been made simpler. The requirement (currently) is for only 10% trade union membership within the targeted bargaining unit to found a valid recognition application.

(See our previous ERA2025 Series Insight for a summary of the April 2026 changes on trade union recognition).

What do employers need to be doing?

• Timeframes are short. Employers need a plan. Given the ease with which access agreements can be achieved, it would be best for employers to be ready, having already considered what they are willing to agree to. This will have a number of benefits, including:

  • reducing the possibility of timeframe breaches

  • understanding your red lines and potential solutions

  • avoiding the time/cost of a disputed process which is likely to result in a CAC-imposed agreement anyway. It will be better to seek agreement on your terms rather than have them imposed

• Consider what your potential bargaining units will be, the likelihood of a trade union approach for each and likely staff engagement within each

•  Consider whether collective bargaining is something which you could work with and on what basis.

• Consider whether there is a preferred option of possible trade unions and whether it may be better to proactively approach that organisation before a less attractive alternative makes a request.

If you would like guidance on any of the above. Please do not hesitate to get in contact with any of our industrial relations specialists.

More developments for access agreements on the horizon in 2027?

Following implementation of these changes on 30 October 2026, the government has committed to review the statutory access framework within six months, with a further consultation on potential changes to the regime and Code of Practice expected in early spring 2027.