Trade Unions Get a Statutory Right to Enter Your Workplace From October — Employer Prep Guide

A new statutory right of workplace access for trade unions is expected to come into force on 30 October 2026, and it applies whether or not your business currently recognises a union at all.

What the new right actually allows

Under the finalised Code of Practice, independent trade unions will be able to request formal "access agreements" to meet, recruit, organise, support or represent workers, and to facilitate collective bargaining — though not to organise industrial action. Access can be physical or digital, and no single access agreement can run longer than two years. Crucially, employers have 15 working days to respond to an access request using a standard form set out in the Code — and access is the default outcome if a union asks, not something an employer can simply refuse.

The financial risk of getting this wrong

This isn't a soft-touch, box-ticking obligation. Enforcement sits with the Central Arbitration Committee, backed by financial penalties of up to £500,000 for employers who fail to comply with an access order. The model terms in the draft Code require at least five working days' notice before a first access visit, and two working days for subsequent visits, with access permitted on up to a weekly basis during the agreement's term.

Who this affects

This isn't limited to large unionised employers. The rules apply broadly to GB employers, and businesses that have never engaged with a union before could still receive a valid access request once the regime is live — there's no requirement that a union already be recognised at your workplace before it can ask for access.

Checklist: what to do before 30 October 2026

• Identify who in your business will own the response to any union access request — HR, a director, or external counsel — and set a clear internal process now, given the tight 15-working-day response window.
• Review the model access agreement terms in the draft Code so you understand what you can and can't negotiate on notice periods, frequency and duration before a request lands.
• Brief line managers and reception/site staff on what a formal access request looks like, so it reaches the right person immediately rather than sitting unanswered.
• Budget conversations with legal or HR advisers now rather than after a request arrives — the two-working-day notice for repeat visits leaves little time to seek advice reactively.
• Remember non-compliance risk is financial as well as reputational: the £500,000 penalty ceiling makes this a board-level compliance item, not just an HR administrative task.

Key Numbers

• Expected in-force date: 30 October 2026
• Employer response window: 15 working days
• Maximum access agreement length: 2 years
• Maximum non-compliance penalty: £500,000

Sources

• Hill Dickinson: New trade union workplace access rights from October 2026
• A&O Shearman: Opening the doors — a new era for UK union workplace access
• Addleshaw Goddard: Trade union right of access to the workplace

Educational content only — not financial advice.