Trade Union Access Rules Start on 30 October 2026

On 30 October 2026, the Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 come into force across England, Wales and Scotland. The text published on legislation.gov.uk sets out the rulebook for how a qualifying trade union can ask for access to a workplace, how long an employer has to reply, and when the Central Arbitration Committee, or CAC, can step in if the two sides cannot agree. **The short version:** you do not need to memorise every clause to understand the point. These regulations sit inside the wider union access system added to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 by the Employment Rights Act 2025. In plain English, they turn a broad legal right into a timetable with clear limits.

If you are picturing only an in-person visit, pause there. Access can mean physical entry into a workplace, but it can also mean communication by other methods. The official note says communication includes giving information to workers directly or indirectly, so the rules are wider than simply opening a gate or letting an organiser into a staff room. The process starts with an access request from a qualifying trade union. From that day, the employer gets 15 working days to respond. If the employer sends a response notice, the sides then get 25 working days from that notice to negotiate an access agreement. A "working day" here excludes weekends, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays, so the clock is slower than an ordinary calendar count.

If negotiations fail, either side may end up at the CAC. The regulations say an application for a CAC determination must usually be made by the end of the 55th working day after the original access request. If the CAC accepts that it was not reasonably practicable to apply in time, that outside limit can stretch to the 70th working day. That staged process matters because it stops either side from dragging things out forever. **Think of it as a ladder:** request, response, negotiation, then adjudication. For workers, union reps and junior managers trying to follow the law, the key point is that access is meant to be negotiated first and imposed later only if agreement breaks down.

The CAC must refuse access in some situations. One of the biggest is employer size. If the employer, together with any associated employers, has fewer than 21 workers on the day the request arrives and averaged fewer than 21 over the previous 13 weeks, the CAC must say no. The rules also contain technical counting provisions, including when some overseas staff can be ignored and when agency workers count during an assignment. Mandatory refusal also applies where the CAC thinks denial is necessary for national security or for preventing prejudice to the prevention, detection or prosecution of criminal offences. It must also refuse if a proposed agreement would allow access during the short notice period immediately after a CAC ruling, or if a mixed-access proposal fails to say whether the first visit will involve physical entry. In other words, the law does not treat workplace access as automatic, even after a dispute reaches the regulator.

Another hard boundary is duration. A proposed access agreement must automatically expire no later than two years after it is made, or treated as made by the CAC, although the parties can later agree an extension under the parent Act. That gives both sides a built-in point for review rather than assuming the arrangement runs forever. The CAC can also refuse access where refusal is regarded as reasonable. That includes overlapping arrangements, such as an employer already recognising a different qualifying union for collective bargaining, an existing recognition request still working its way through the statutory process, or another access agreement already in place. It also covers multiple live access requests affecting the same workers, and cases where access might jeopardise anyone's health or safety.

When the CAC considers an application, it must look at practical questions as well as legal ones. The regulations tell it to think about visitor arrangements at the workplace, the type of site involved, whether safeguarding terms are needed, and whether an employer has taken reasonable steps to secure help from any third party whose co-operation is needed for access to happen. The rules also sketch out what a fair agreement can look like. Weekly access is treated as something that would not unreasonably interfere with the employer's business. That weekly contact can be through physical entry, remote communication, or a mixture of both, and for this purpose a week must include at least four working days. **What this means in practice:** Parliament is signalling that regular union contact can sit alongside ordinary business life, provided the process is structured.

The regulations go further by identifying terms the CAC must treat as reasonable. An employer may be required to make available existing accommodation and facilities where that is reasonable in all the circumstances. The employer must also ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that direct communications between workers and union officials are private. There are duties on unions too. In most cases, a union must give at least two working days' notice before each occasion of access. For the first occasion, the minimum notice rises to five working days. Where an agreement allows both physical entry and other forms of communication, the union's notice must say which method will be used. Union officials must also comply with reasonable instructions, including showing identification if asked.

If the rules are ignored, the financial stakes can become serious. The CAC can order payments of up to £75,000 for a first order linked to an access agreement, up to £150,000 for a second, and up to £500,000 for a third or later order. When setting the amount, it must consider the seriousness of the failure, how long it lasted, why it happened, how many workers were affected, the size and resources of the person involved, and any previous failures. Those orders can matter not only for employers or unions that are party to an agreement, but also for third parties who block access or ignore CAC directions. The regulations were made on 15 October 2026, approved by both Houses of Parliament, and signed by Minister of State Kate Dearden. The Government's note says no full impact assessment was prepared because no significant effect on the private, voluntary or public sector is expected, although a de minimis assessment is available on gov.uk. A formal review must be published within five years of the rules taking effect, and then at intervals of no more than five years. If you want the simplest summary, it is this: from 30 October 2026, union workplace access in Great Britain gets a clearer legal script, with deadlines, safeguards and real consequences if either side refuses to play by the rules.