Employment Rights Bill

A consultation has been published on the new rights of access for unions.

The Employment Rights Bill gives unions a right of access which will allow them to access to a non-unionised workplace for the purposes of meeting the workers to providing support and representation as well as seeking to recruit them to union membership.

This will all be covered by a union access agreement which the union will agree with the employer or which – where no agreement is reached – will be imposed by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).

A consultation has been published covering:

• how unions will request access
• how employers respond
• factors the CAC will consider when determining whether access should be granted and on what terms, and
• how the CAC is to come to decisions on the values of fines issued for breaches of access agreements (the consultation suggests that employers could be fined up to £75,000 for an initial breach, with a higher limit of £150,000 for subsequent breaches)

The consultation closes on 18 December 2025, and the relevant regulations will come into force in October 2026.