Trade Union Reform from 30 October 2026: what employers need to know

By Harriet Calver on 10 November 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced wide-ranging reforms designed to strengthen trade union rights and protections. Some changes took effect earlier this year, including reforms to statutory recognition and the rules governing industrial action.

A further significant package of reforms came in on 30 October 2026. These include a new statutory framework for trade union access to workplaces, further changes to the recognition process, enhanced rights for union representatives and greater protection for workers taking industrial action. From 1 January 2027, employers will also become subject to a new duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union.

The reforms are relevant not only to businesses with established union relationships. Employers which have historically had little or no trade union involvement should also understand the new framework and prepare for the possibility of union engagement.

New rights for trade unions to access workplaces

Perhaps the most significant of the changes implemented on 30 October 2026 is the introduction of a new statutory framework allowing independent trade unions to request access to workplaces.

Broadly, the new regime applies to employers with 21 or more workers and allows qualifying independent trade unions to request physical or digital access, or both, to a workplace. Digital access might involve the employer facilitating an online meeting or circulating communications on the union’s behalf.

Importantly, a union does not need to be recognised by the employer or demonstrate an existing level of membership or support amongst the workforce before making a request.

Access can be sought for purposes including meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting or organising workers and facilitating collective bargaining, although the statutory access regime cannot be used to organise industrial action.

This represents a significant change, particularly for employers which have not previously had an established trade union presence. Unions now have a statutory route through which they can seek access to workers and potentially establish a presence within a workplace.

How will the access process work?

Where a trade union makes a valid access request, the employer must generally respond within 15 working days. If the request is not agreed in full, the parties will ordinarily have a further 25-working-day period in which to negotiate the terms of an access agreement and must engage in those negotiations in good faith.

If an agreement is reached, access will take place on the agreed terms. However, where an agreement cannot be reached, either party can refer the matter to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).

Crucially, the starting point is a presumption in favour of access where this can be provided without unreasonably interfering with the employer’s business. Therefore, in practice, employers receiving an access request should think carefully about the arrangements under which access can reasonably be accommodated, rather than assuming that a request can simply be refused.

The Statutory Code of Practice contains model terms for access agreements. These cover matters including the frequency of access, minimum notice periods, reasonable use of existing accommodation and facilities and, so far as reasonably possible, privacy for communications between workers and the union. In turn, union officials are expected to comply with reasonable instructions given by the employer. The parties remain free to agree different arrangements, although the model terms will be relevant if the CAC is asked to determine the terms of access.

The consequences of non-compliance can be significant. The CAC has powers to address breaches of statutory access agreements, with potential financial penalties of £75,000 for a first penalty, £150,000 for a second and £500,000 for any subsequent penalty relating to the same agreement.

Employers with 21 or more workers should therefore consider now how they would respond if an access request were received. Sensible preparatory steps include identifying the appropriate contact within the business to receive and manage requests, considering what meeting space or digital access could reasonably be provided, and ensuring that HR teams and relevant managers understand the new process and applicable timescales.

Further changes to statutory trade union recognition

The October changes need to be seen against the backdrop of reforms to the statutory trade union recognition process which had already taken effect on 6 April 2026.

Those earlier changes made it easier for unions to pursue statutory recognition, including by removing the requirement for a union to demonstrate at the application stage that a majority of workers within the proposed bargaining unit were likely to support recognition. They also removed the requirement that, in a recognition ballot, at least 40% of all workers within the bargaining unit had to support recognition.

Further changes took effect on 30 October 2026; in particular, restrictions on unfair practices now apply from the point at which the CAC accepts a union's application for statutory recognition, rather than applying only later in the recognition process. Unions are also able to seek access to the workforce at an earlier stage.  

Changes have also been made to prevent alterations to the workforce during the recognition process from affecting the composition of the bargaining unit. Employers can continue recruiting, but certain workers who join after the CAC receives the application will not be counted for recognition purposes or entitled to vote in the recognition process.

Taken together with the reforms introduced earlier this year, the changes lower some of the hurdles to obtaining statutory recognition while placing tighter restrictions on employer conduct once a recognition application is underway.

Employers facing a recognition request should therefore make sure that those managing the process understand the revised rules from the outset. This is particularly important given that conduct which may amount to an unfair practice is now regulated at an earlier stage of proceedings.

Stronger rights for trade union representatives

The reforms also strengthen the rights of trade union representatives.

From 30 October 2026, where requested and where it is reasonable to do so, employers must provide union officials and union representatives with appropriate accommodation and other facilities to enable them to carry out relevant union duties and activities.

The legislation also creates a new statutory role for equality representatives of recognised trade unions. Their functions include promoting equality in the workplace, advising and supporting union members on equality matters and consulting with employers about those matters. Equality representatives are entitled to reasonable paid time off to carry out their specified functions and training, together with reasonable access to relevant accommodation and facilities.

Employers who recognise a trade union should therefore review their existing arrangements for trade union representatives, including the processes for requesting and recording time off and providing access to facilities.

Greater protection for workers taking industrial action

Workers have also gained stronger protection against detrimental treatment connected with participation in protected industrial action.

The change addresses the gap in the previous legislation highlighted by the Supreme Court's decision in Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer, under which existing legislation did not provide protection against detriment short of dismissal for participation in protected industrial action.

Under the new regime, workers are protected against detriment where the sole or main purpose of the treatment is to prevent or deter them from taking protected industrial action, or to penalise them for doing so. Depending on the circumstances, this could include disciplinary action or the removal of overtime. Proportionate deductions from pay for time during which a worker is taking industrial action remain permissible.

Employers dealing with industrial action should therefore exercise particular care when considering how to respond to participating workers and should ensure that managers understand the distinction between legitimate measures taken in response to industrial action and action intended to prevent, deter or penalise workers for participating.

Changes on the horizon

The reforms do not stop with the October changes. From 1 January 2027, employers are due to become subject to a new duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. This duty had originally been expected to take effect in October 2026 but was subsequently pushed back.

Employers will be required to provide workers with a written statement containing prescribed information about their right to join a trade union. The government has indicated that a standardised statement will be provided and that the requirements will include information concerning trade unions and workers' statutory rights in relation to trade union membership.

Importantly, the detailed requirements remain to be finalised. Secondary legislation setting out the specific requirements is expected in November 2026, with further guidance to follow. Employers should therefore monitor developments before finalising their arrangements for compliance.

The duty will apply both to new and existing workers. New workers will need to receive the prescribed information from January 2027, while existing workers will need to receive the information, or be informed where it can be accessed, by 5 April 2027. There will also be an ongoing requirement to remind workers of the information annually.

Although further detail is awaited, employers can begin preparing by considering how the statement will be incorporated into their onboarding process and issued alongside the written statement of employment particulars. They should also collate information about any recognised trade unions or statutory access agreements and decide how the information will be made continuously and reasonably accessible to existing workers.

What should employers be doing now?

We recommend the following steps:

• Prepare for trade union access requests by identifying who will receive and manage them and considering how physical and digital access could operate in practice.
• Brief HR teams and relevant managers on the new access and recognition rules, including the applicable timescales.
• Review existing union arrangements, including recognition agreements and arrangements for representatives’ time off, accommodation and facilities.
• Exercise care when responding to recognition campaigns and industrial action, given the extended unfair-practice rules and protection against detriment.
• Prepare for the January 2027 information duty by reviewing onboarding processes and considering how the prescribed information will be provided or made accessible to existing workers.
• Monitor the further regulations and guidance concerning the information duty.

Even employers which have historically had little interaction with trade unions should familiarise themselves with the new framework. The direction of travel is clear: unions have greater scope to access and organise within workplaces, the statutory recognition process has become more accessible, and employers have additional obligations towards union representatives and the wider workforce. Putting appropriate processes in place now will help employers respond promptly and consistently if a union access or recognition request is received.

Get in touch

Our Employment Team is on hand to guide your organisation through these changes. To find out more about how we can help, contact Harriet Calver or call us on +44 (0)1172 510 766.