Trade union rights: what the new consultations mean for employers

The UK Government has launched four major consultations under the Employment Rights Bill (ERB), which is expected to become the Employment Rights Act 2025. These consultations aim to gather feedback on significant changes to employment law before implementation. There are two consultations open in relation trade unions:

1. Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces: The ERB provides a framework for a new statutory right for qualifying trade unions to access workplaces. This access can be granted both physically and through digital communication with workers. Access may be sought for various purposes, including to meet, support, represent, recruit, or organise workers, and to facilitate collective bargaining. If an employer and union cannot agree on access terms, the matter can be referred to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for determination. The Government intends for these provisions to start by October 2026.
2. Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union: The ERB will introduce a new duty on employers to provide workers with a written statement setting out that the worker has the right to join a trade union. The Government proposes the statement should include a brief, factual overview of union functions, a summary of statutory rights relating to union membership, a list of all trade unions that the employer recognises, and a signpost to the GOV.UK page with a list of current trade unions. The Government’s preference is for a standardised statement drafted by the Government to minimise administrative burden on employers. 

The consultation invites views on the operational detail of how the right of access will work, including how unions will request access, how employers will respond, factors the CAC will take into account when determining whether access should be granted and on what terms, and how the CAC is to come to decisions on the value of fines for breaches of access agreements.

The consultation includes questions on the types of information that should be included within the statement, whether there should be a standardised statement provided by the Government, and the manner and frequency of delivery (including whether reminders should be delivered).

Key issues and concerns for employers

There are several key areas within the consultation papers that could be concerning for employers:

1. Access to workplaces (trade union access)

• Tight timelines: The Government proposes that employers will have only five working days to respond to a union’s access request. Concerns were raised that this period is "too short" and limits the opportunity for employers to properly engage with the union. The proposed 15 working days for negotiations before CAC referral is also considered not to be long enough.
• Small employer exclusion: The Government proposes excluding employers with fewer than 21 workers from the new right of access. Employers may question if this threshold is too low, especially considering it applies to workers, not just employees.
• Model terms and disruption: The Government has proposed that weekly access (physical, digital, or both) be included as a “model” term in access agreements. This proposal has been flagged as potentially disruptive. The extent of access is also an important issue to consider, particularly taking into account safeguarding duties to children and vulnerable adults.
• Resource allocation: While employers should use existing facilities and take reasonable steps to facilitate access, applications requiring an employer to allocate excessive resources (e.g. constructing new meeting places or implementing new IT systems) should be a reasonable basis for the CAC to refuse access.

2. Duty to inform workers of their right to join a union

• Administrative burden: While the Government proposes a standardised statement to reduce administrative burdens, the alternative option – allowing employers to draft their own statement – could create significant administrative burdens and lead to inconsistencies in the quality of information provided. However, it was noted that a one size fits all approach could cause difficulties.
• Delivery frequency: The Government proposes that the statement (or a reminder) be delivered annually to existing workers. However, options for delivery every six months were also considered, which would be more resource intensive for employers to comply with. It is also not clear what obligation there will be in relation to staff transferring into employer organisations as a result of TUPE.  

Engage with the consultations

We strongly urge employers to review the proposals and provide their input. Both consultations were issued on 23 October 2025, and the deadline for responses is 18 December 2025. Your responses are vital to ensure these reforms are practical and responsive to the needs of employers, particularly those in the education and charity sectors.

Respond here:

• Rights of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces
• Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union