Employment Rights Act 2025: trade unions and industrial relations

The Government has recently published two consultation responses alongside draft Codes of Practice, in advance of important changes to trade union rights due to take effect from October 2026. In addition, Acas has updated its statutory Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities, reflecting changes to the statutory framework under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

An overview of the forthcoming changes and the new/revised codes is set out below.

Trade union rights of access

The Government has published its response to the consultation on the draft Code of Practice governing the new statutory right of access for trade unions introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. For more details of the new right, see our previous article. The response confirms a number of amendments to the new Code aimed at improving clarity and practical operation of the right of access.

What is changing?

The new regime will give qualifying trade unions statutory rights to access workplaces for the purposes of meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting and organising workers, and facilitating collective bargaining. The Government has now laid the final draft Code and accompanying regulations before Parliament. The Code provides practical guidance on how access requests should be made, negotiated and implemented in workplaces.

Following consultation, the Government has amended the draft Code to:

• provide clearer guidance on access requests, employer responses and negotiations
• clarify when access may reasonably be refused and how existing arrangements should be taken into account
• provide additional guidance on multi-site workplaces, digital access and non-traditional working arrangements
• strengthen guidance on CAC decision-making, enforcement and penalties
• simplify and improve standardised templates and practical guidance.

The Government rejected calls from many respondents for broader refusal rights, greater exemptions for SMEs and a more flexible approach. While the revised Code contains additional explanations and examples, the statutory right of access remains largely intact.

Employers should note that trade union access rights will extend beyond sectors and workplaces where unions are traditionally recognised. Multi-site employers and those with remote, hybrid or dispersed workforces are likely to face more complex compliance requirements. Employers may face enforcement action before the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) where access obligations are not met, and the Code now provides greater clarity on financial penalties, including that the CAC will consider factors such as the gravity, duration and reasons for any breach.

Next steps

The draft Code and the Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 are now awaiting parliamentary approval, following which commencement orders will bring the framework into force. The new right of access regime is due to commence on 30 October 2026.

The Government has also committed to a formal review within six months of implementation. The review will consider, among other matters, the scope of workplace access rights, including the 21-worker threshold and the effectiveness of enforcement and penalty provisions. A further consultation is expected in spring 2027.

Trade union recognition

The Government has also published its response to the consultation on a revised Code of Practice on access and unfair practices during the recognition and derecognition process, supporting reforms introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. The draft Code governs employer and union conduct during statutory recognition and derecognition processes and will be taken into account by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), courts and tribunals.

What is changing?

The measures are designed to give trade unions earlier and more effective access to workers during recognition campaigns.

The Government has confirmed in its response that trade unions will be permitted to hold access meetings with workers at least once every five working days during the access period. The minimum duration of access meetings will increase from the current 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

Following consultation, the draft Code has been amended to clarify certain points.

• Access to workers should usually take place during normal working hours (including weekends if necessary), but at times to minimise disruption to operational activities.
• Employers are encouraged to facilitate union communications through staff intranets and electronic communications where appropriate. Union materials should normally be distributed within two working days of a request.
• Routine management actions, such as disciplinary processes, performance management and shift changes, will not usually constitute unfair practices provided they are unconnected with the recognition process. The key question is whether the action is intended to disrupt the recognition process.
• The Code now expressly recognises that both employers and unions may express their views during a recognition campaign, provided this is done reasonably and without undue influence on workers. 

Workplaces with fewer than 21 workers remain outside the statutory recognition regime and therefore outside the scope of the Code.

Next steps

The Government intends the new recognition and unfair practice provisions under the Employment Rights Act 2025 to come into force in October 2026 (the date has not yet been confirmed but it would appear likely to be 30 October, to mirror the new right of access provisions).

Updated guidance on the statutory recognition and derecognition process will also be published before implementation. The Code may require further amendment following the separate consultation response on electronic balloting for recognition and derecognition ballots, which is expected to take effect in 2027.

Time off for trade union duties

In addition, the Government has published draft revised Acas Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities. The updated Code reflects the significant changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 and provides practical guidance on how employers should comply with the expanded rights of trade union representatives.

Employment tribunals will take the Code into account when determining disputes about time off for participating in trade union duties and activities. Employers with recognised trade unions should therefore review their existing arrangements for trade union facility time, training and workplace access before the new provisions come into force.

What is changing?

The revised Code reflects three key changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025:

• strengthened rights to reasonable paid time off for trade union representatives
• a new statutory right to paid time off for trade union equality representatives
• a new requirement for employers, where reasonable, to provide accommodation and other facilities to enable union representatives to carry out their duties.

Stronger protection for trade union representatives

Trade union representatives have long been entitled to ‘reasonable’ paid time off to undertake duties connected with collective bargaining, individual disciplinary and grievance matters, collective redundancy consultations and TUPE consultations.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens those rights. In any employment tribunal claim concerning the refusal of time off, the burden will now fall on the employer to show that the amount of time requested was not reasonable. The draft Code has been updated to reflect this new position.

The Code also contains extensive guidance on factors that may be relevant when determining whether a request is reasonable, including the size of the organisation, operational requirements, service delivery needs, and the employer’s ability to provide work cover. Employers are encouraged to consider each request individually and to maintain records where requests are refused.

New rights for union equality representatives

One of the most significant developments is the introduction of statutory rights for trade union equality representatives.

Where a recognised trade union appoints an equality representative and the required notification and training conditions are met, employers must permit reasonable paid time off for equality-related activities. These include promoting equality in the workplace and arranging equality-related learning and training, as well as providing information, advice and support to union members on equality issues.

The Code contains detailed examples of activities that may qualify, including work relating to discrimination, harassment, equal pay, workforce diversity, equality policies and equality impact assessments.

Employers with recognised unions may therefore see an increase in requests for paid facility time relating to equality initiatives and consultation activities.

New obligation to provide facilities

The Employment Rights Act 2025 also introduces a new statutory requirement for employers to provide accommodation and other facilities where this is reasonable in the circumstances and necessary for union representatives to carry out their duties or undertake relevant training.  

The draft Code states that, where practical, facilities may include: private meeting rooms or confidential spaces for discussions with workers, use of noticeboards and access to email, intranet, internet and digital communication tools. Dedicated office space might be required where the volume of union work justifies it. 

What is reasonable will depend on factors such as organisational size, resources, operational requirements and the nature of the representative’s work. The Code recognises that arrangements may differ significantly between large employers and smaller organisations.  

The revised Code strongly encourages employers and recognised trade unions to agree formal arrangements covering time off procedures, payment arrangements, accommodation and facilities, as well as procedures for resolving disputes. 

Next steps

The revised Code is now awaiting parliamentary approval, with the intention that it takes effect alongside the associated changes to the statutory framework in October 2026.

Employers with recognised trade unions should review their existing facility time arrangements and recognition agreements in anticipation of these changes.

The Birketts view

The reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 are extensive and far-reaching, giving trade unions much easier and more effective access to the workforce. While many unionised employers already provide substantial facility time and have access arrangements in place, the new statutory rights for equality representatives and the obligation to provide facilities will require employers to revisit current practices in advance of the implementation date.

Employers without a recognised union should not assume that they will be immune to these changes and should be prepared to deal with increased trade union access requests. Some employers might want to consider establishing alternative options for workforce engagement, to mitigate against the risk of future trade union interest.

Join us on 22 September 2026 for a free webinar to explore how employers can prepare and respond to this new era of trade union engagement. The webinar will provide an overview of the key changes and outline practical strategies for employers to adopt to manage risk and maintain control of their workplaces. Sign up for your place at the webinar.