Trade union access rights are coming: businesses must prepare now
Two important trade union rights changes will affect UK businesses across all sectors
From 30 October 2026, independent trade unions will be able to request physical and digital access to workplaces. A union will not need existing members or a minimum level of employee support before making an access request. Response timelines are short and where access is not agreed, it can be imposed by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). Repeated non-compliance can lead to substantial penalties and reputational damage.
From 1 January 2027, employers will have to give workers a written statement explaining their right to join a trade union and not suffer detriment for doing so.
These changes are part of a package of employment law changes this year which have the aim of increasing trade union membership and reach. As well as introducing access and statements of trade union rights, the government has already made it easier for trade unions to:
gain recognition from employers to negotiate employees’ terms and conditions
organise strikes and other industrial action
Family businesses should pay particular attention. Many have grown across several sites or companies, but decision-making may remain concentrated among family owners and a small senior team. A request arriving at the wrong site or during an owner’s absence could therefore create immediate legal and operational pressure.
Get in touch
Workplace access
At present, trade unions have no general statutory right to enter a workplace where they have not been invited or recognised. From 30 October 2026, any independent trade union will be able to request access for purposes including meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting or organising workers and facilitating collective bargaining.
Who is covered?
The CAC may impose access arrangements where the employer has 21 or more workers.
The threshold is assessed across all workplaces, and includes workers employed by associated group companies. Family-owned groups should therefore assess the structure as a whole, rather than assuming that each trading company or site is considered separately.
The union will not need to show a minimum level of employee support before making its request. This means that even a business with no history of union engagement may have to grant union access to its workers.
Physical and digital access
This may be physical access to premises, digital access to workers, or a combination of both.
Requests may cover physical access to factories, warehouses, shops, offices, depots or other workplaces, as well as digital access to workers. In multi-site or shift-based businesses, practical questions may arise around production schedules, customer-facing operations, health and safety, security, hygiene, restricted areas and communication with remote or mobile workers.
A workplace that is also a private dwelling is generally excluded from physical access. That protection will be important where household staff work in a family residence, but it is narrower than it may first appear. Physical access can apply to hybrid workplaces that are a combination of residential and working environments.
Digital access is not an alternative or replacement for physical access: employers will be expected to give access through the digital channels it uses communicate with staff.
Short response times
An employer must respond within 15 working days, saying whether the request is accepted, partly accepted or refused. If it is not accepted in full, the parties then have 25 working days to negotiate in good faith before either may involve the CAC.
This leaves little time to involve family owners, the board, HR, operational leaders, IT, health and safety, security and legal advisers. Businesses should identify in advance who can receive, escalate and respond to a request, with delegated authority if key family decision-makers are unavailable.
Protecting operations, confidentiality and safety
Family businesses may have legitimate concerns about disruption to production or customer service, confidential commercial information, personal data, site safety, food or product standards, cyber-security and access to restricted areas. Those concerns are unlikely to justify a blanket refusal, but they can support proportionate conditions.
Access terms may regulate notice, frequency, location, duration, shift coverage, digital channels, visitor and induction procedures, confidentiality and restricted areas. The business should be ready to explain any proposed limits with objective operational evidence.
Consequences of non-compliance
The CAC can order steps to secure compliance with an access agreement and impose escalating penalties for repeated breaches, up to £500,000. Penalties may also be publicised.
Statement of trade union rights
From 1 January 2027, all employers must give workers a written statement confirming their right to join a trade union.
The government will prescribe a standard statement, which will explain union functions, relevant recognised unions and statutory access agreements, the Certification Officer (CO)’s list of trade unions, and statutory membership rights.
Employers will only be permitted to amend the statement with certain specified workplace information.
New workers must receive the statement at the start of employment, with their written employment particulars.
Existing workers may receive it directly or through a reasonably accessible indirect method, provided they are told where to find it. If employers opt for direct delivery, this must happen annually by 5 April. For indirect delivery, the statement must remain accessible, with annual location reminders and direct notice of any location change.
If there is a change in the identity of unions with recognition or statutory access agreements, the employer will have to reissue the statement within one month.
Employers should update onboarding and HR processes now so that they are ready to comply with this new right. When taking any steps regarding this matter, employers need to be mindful that workers have an existing right not to be subject to any detriment where the sole or main purpose is to prevent or deter them from joining an independent trade union, or to penalise them doing so.
What family businesses should be doing now
Map the group structure and assess whether the 21-worker threshold for access is met
Identify the operational constraints at each workplace, including shifts, production, customer requirements, safety, hygiene, security and restricted areas
Nominate a central contact and escalation team, with clear delegated authority
Prepare practical principles for controlled physical and digital access
Review confidentiality, visitor, data protection, IT and cyber-security arrangements
Brief site managers and supervisors on how to recognise and escalate a request without obstructing lawful access
Update onboarding processes for the new statement of rights to join a union and train relevant managers
Family businesses that prepare now will be better placed to comply with the new regime while protecting operational continuity, commercial confidentiality and management control.
The content of this page is a summary of the law in force at the date of publication and is not exhaustive, nor does it contain definitive advice. Specialist legal advice should be sought in relation to any queries that may arise.
Related expertise
Contact us today
Whatever your legal needs, our wide ranging expertise is here to support you and your business, so let’s start your legal journey today and get you in touch with the right lawyer to get you started.
Get in touch
For general enquiries, please complete this form and we will direct your message to the most appropriate person.