Trade Union Access Rights – New Reforms Confirmed

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will give trade unions a general right to enter workplaces to recruit, organise and represent members for the first time in Great Britain.

Workplace access rights are a key pillar of the government’s agenda to increase the size and power of the trade union movement. They potentially affect all but the very smallest employers, aiming to give unions a ‘foot in the door’ in businesses where they may have had little or no presence. Following a public consultation, the government has now published the regulations and Code of Practice implementing the access regime. This article provides an overview of what access rights will involve in practice and what employers can do to prepare before 30 October 2026 when the law changes.