2 reasons to prep for trade union access rights 2026

From October 2026, trade union access rights for non-unionised employers change significantly under the Employment Rights Act 2025 — so employers should prepare now.

If your organisation has never dealt with a trade union, the Employment Rights Act 2025’s changes to trade union law should be a wakeup call.

Two incoming reforms in particular will affect you directly.

1. A new statutory right of trade union access to your workplace

From October 2026 (assuming the Government sticks to its current timetable), trade unions will have a legal right to request access to workplaces — both in person and digitally — to talk to workers about joining a union or being represented by one. This right will apply regardless of whether a union is recognised.  

• Employers  should grant access

The Government’s draft Code of Practice makes clear that, where an access request is made, the starting point is that access should be granted unless it’s unreasonable.

• Beware of Central Arbitration Committee oversight

Refusing access requests can be risky. The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) — the body that oversees trade union disputes — may step in and set access terms on your behalf.

• Employers should prepare now
  For employers with no prior union engagement, this is a genuine shift. Previously, unions had limited grounds to interact with your workforce unless already recognised.  

Ask yourself: who in your organisation handles a union access request, and what would a ‘reasonable’ response look like?

2. A new duty to tell employees they can join a trade union

• You must actively inform employees of their right to join a trade union
• The shift from ‘employees have the right’ to join a trade union to ‘employers must tell them they have the right’ is meaningful. It increases the likelihood that employees who had not previously considered union membership will start to do so.
• How you should provide this information

We await government guidance on the form that this statement must take, but it’s likely that it will be through a written statement at the start of employment. HR teams need to decide where this information sits – contracts, onboarding materials, or standalone documentation.

The future? More unions, in more workplaces

These two changes are part of a deliberate policy direction to reduce barriers to union organisation and increase union visibility. Over time this means more union membership and more recognition requests — including in sectors that have previously been lightly unionised.

4 things employers need to do now

1. Audit onboarding documentation and consider where you’ll build in the right-to-join notification.
2. Establish an internal HR process for handling union access requests before you receive one.
3. Brief managers on what they should say when employees raise questions about union membership.
4. Review your employee relations set up. Unions gain traction where employees feel unheard.

Further reading

• Employment Rights Act 2025: key trade union changes – Hunter Law
• ‘Day one’ unfair dismissal dropped and compensation cap removed – Hunter Law
• Revised rollout of the Employment Rights Bill – Hunter Law
• Employment Rights Bill – Top 8 significant changes – Hunter Law
• Employment Rights Bill: factsheets – GOV.UK
• Draft Code of Practice: Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces – UK Government
• S 59 Employment Rights Act 2025 – UK Government

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