Since 30 October 2026, any independent trade union can request physical and digital access to any workplace with 21 or more employees, whether or not it has a single member there. The right is statutory, the timetable is fast, and the penalties for non-compliance can reach £500,000 for repeated breaches.

For many employers, this will be the first time they deal with a trade union. Employment law specialist Amanda Chadwick told CIPD ACE delegates on 5 November that managing access is about building relationships and not starting off on the wrong foot.

This piece covers what changed, the timetable HR needs to work to, what access looks like in practice, the penalty regime, and what to put in place before the first request arrives.

Explore: Employment Rights Act Timeline 2026-2027, for every confirmed date.

What Changed on 30 October

Until then, trade unions could only enter an employer’s premises if the employer agreed or the Central Arbitration Committee ordered it ahead of a statutory recognition ballot. There was no general right of access.

Now there is. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a statutory process for any independent trade union to request access to workplaces with 21 or more employees nationally, assessed across associated employers. The union does not need to be recognised by the employer or to have any existing members there.

The purposes are defined in the Code of Practice, published by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade on 30 October:

• to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers
• to facilitate collective bargaining

Access cannot be used specifically to organise industrial action. It can be physical, digital, or both, up to once per week under the Code’s model terms. The CAC published four standard templates on 28 October for use under the regulations.

One duty that people expect to be live is not. The obligation to tell workers about their right to join a trade union was originally due on 30 October but has been delayed to 1 January 2027. The government confirmed this in its consultation response on 25 September 2026.

New starters must receive the written statement from 1 January; existing workers by 5 April 2027. The government will produce the standard wording, and employers cannot alter it but may add information relevant to their own workplace.

Explore: What January 2027 Will Look Like for HR Teams Under the Employment Rights Act, for the full January package.

The Timetable

The process moves quickly once a request arrives. The 15-day response period starts from the day the access application is submitted, not when it reaches the correct person or team within the employer.

The union sends a formal access request using the template in the Code, preferably by email. The request must include specific information about the access being sought.

From the date the request is received:

• 15 working days to respond. This was increased from the 5 originally proposed following consultation. If rejecting all or part of the request, the employer must give reasons
• 25 working days to negotiate the terms of an access agreement, also increased from 15
• If agreed, both parties notify the CAC so the agreement is recorded. This makes it a statutory access agreement, which is legally enforceable
• If no agreement is reached, either party can apply to the CAC, which determines the terms. The CAC balances the union’s right of access against the employer’s right to operate without unreasonable interference

After the first visit, the union must give at least 2 working days’ notice of each subsequent visit. Access agreements last a maximum of two years from the date of the agreement, whether agreed or imposed by the CAC.

One point employers miss: where the union’s request is consistent with the Code’s model terms, the CAC is more likely to grant access and expedite the process. Refusing a reasonable request doesn’t avoid access; it hands the decision to someone else.

What Access Looks Like in Practice

Physical access should take place during normal working hours, at times that minimise disruption. The Code says “where practicable” at the actual workplace and in the actual location of work, such as a meeting room, staff room, canteen or adjoining work area.

The Code encourages aligning visits with events that already bring significant parts of the workforce together, such as inductions or training courses.

Where workers carry out their work at locations controlled by another organisation, the employer should try to arrange access with that organisation.

Digital access starts from the employer’s existing systems. The Code’s starting point is that the employer cascades factual union communications to workers via email, intranet, messaging platforms or an online meeting. No new systems are required. Online access meetings should take place during normal working hours. Digital access must not be used to replace or avoid physical access.

Privacy is non-negotiable. Acas is direct about what employers must not do:

• attend access meetings unless invited
• listen in on or record online meetings
• monitor attendance at meetings
• monitor engagement with trade union communications
• pressure workers to tell them what happened at an access meeting

Direct communications between workers and the union must be private. Employers should not monitor content beyond what is necessary for IT security.

Workers must be paid in full for time spent at access meetings during working hours.

More than one union can request access to the same workers, and unions can make joint requests. However, where an employer already recognises an independent union covering the same group of workers, the CAC must not grant a statutory access request from a non-recognised union for that group.

A non-recognised union can still negotiate voluntary access, and can still apply if it seeks access to workers not covered by the existing recognition agreement.

The Penalties for Getting It Wrong

A statutory access agreement, whether negotiated or imposed by the CAC, is legally enforceable. The enforcement regime is designed to escalate.

If either party believes the agreement has been breached, they can complain to the CAC. On a first upheld complaint, the CAC can:

• declare that a breach occurred
• vary the agreement
• order compliance steps
• extend the agreement to compensate for access that was improperly prevented

A financial penalty does not automatically follow a first complaint. It follows repeated non-compliance or breach of a CAC order. When it does, the scale is steep:

• First penalty: up to £75,000
• Second: up to £150,000
• Third and subsequent: up to £500,000

For multi-site employers, breaches at different workplaces covered by the same agreement are treated cumulatively, so total exposure can exceed £500,000.

The CAC sets the amount based on several factors, including the gravity and duration of the breach, the number of workers affected, the size and resources of the employer, and any history of previous breaches. The government has said the penalties are set at a level designed to deter employers from ignoring the access agreement.

The practical point: an employer who engages constructively and negotiates reasonable terms is unlikely to face any of this. The regime exists for employers who refuse to engage or who agree and then obstruct.

What HR Should Do Before the First Request Arrives

None of this needs to wait for a request. Every step is easier to do now than under a 15-day clock.

• Set up a dedicated email address. The Code encourages employers to make one available for receiving access requests. A request that sits unread in a general HR inbox still starts the 15-day clock
• Brief the leadership team. Many senior leaders will have no experience of union engagement, and a request can feel adversarial if nobody has explained the process. That conversation is easier before a request arrives than after one does
• Brief line managers on the privacy rules. Don’t attend unless invited, don’t monitor, don’t ask workers what was discussed. These are not guidelines; Acas states them as obligations. Amanda Chadwick’s advice at CIPD ACE applies most of all to line managers, who will deal with union representatives face to face for the first time
• Draft a response template. The Code provides the union’s request template but only encourages, not requires, the employer to use the standard response form. Having a template ready means the 15 days aren’t spent arguing over wording
• Map the practical arrangements. Which rooms are available, which IT platforms can cascade communications, which working hours minimise disruption to operations. Having this thought through before a request arrives makes the 25-day negotiation about terms, not logistics
• Check for existing recognition agreements. If the employer already recognises a union covering any group of workers, Acas says the employer should notify both unions when a new access request arrives. Knowing this in advance avoids a scramble
• Don’t fight the request; shape it. The Code expects constructive engagement. Employers who negotiate reasonable terms keep more control than those who refuse and end up with terms imposed by the CAC
• Prepare for the written statement from January. The standard wording isn’t published yet, but employers should plan to integrate it into onboarding from 1 January 2027 and make it available to existing workers by 5 April 2027

Explore: Employment Rights Act 2025: What It Means for Line Managers, for how the Act’s other changes affect frontline management.

How Avado Can Help

Trade union access is a line management issue as much as an HR one. The managers who run inductions, book meeting rooms, manage IT platforms and speak to employees day to day are the ones who will handle access in practice.

They need to know the privacy rules, the timetable, and how to engage constructively with a process most of them have never encountered.

Avado’s HR Compliance for Managers course, presented by employment law specialist Amanda Chadwick, covers the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes as they land. The course builds exactly the judgement line managers need to handle new obligations confidently and correctly.

Explore HR Compliance for Managers and make sure every manager who will deal with an access request knows the rules before one arrives!