Trade union access rights are changing – what all universities need to know

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces, for the first time, a stand-alone statutory right for trade unions to access workplaces. The government’s stated aim is to promote “more stable and constructive industrial relations”[1].

The new right is expected to come into force in October 2026. It will apply to all employers, including higher education institutions, regardless of whether they currently recognise trade unions across all staff groups.

The government has recently published its response to a consultation on the trade union right of access and has started a new consultation on a draft Code of Practice, which explains how the new right is expected to operate in practice.

We have summarised the key features of the draft Code and highlighted what university HR teams may wish to be thinking about now.

What is the new statutory right of access?

Under the new provisions, an independent trade union will have the right to request an access agreement with a university, to allow union officials to physically enter a workplace or communicate with workers (or both) to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise staff (whether or not they are members of a trade union), and to facilitate collective bargaining.

The ERA expressly says that access cannot be used for the purpose of organising industrial action. In practice, universities will not be party to the conversations that take place during access visits and will therefore need to rely on unions officials acting in good faith and in line with the legislation.

The draft Code strongly encourages employers and unions to agree access arrangements voluntarily, outside the statutory process. However, where agreement cannot be reached, the legislation provides a formal route through which access can be negotiated and, if necessary, imposed.

How will the statutory process work?

In broad terms, the process is as follows:

1. Access request: The trade union submits a request using the standardised form set out in the draft Code.
2. Employer response: The employer has 15 working days to respond, using the prescribed response template. This can be extended if the union and employer agree.
3. Accepted requests: If the employer agrees to the request, the parties notify the Central Arbitration Committee (“CAC”).
4. Negotiation period: If the employer does not accept the request, the parties then have 25 working days to negotiate.
5. CAC determination: If agreement cannot be reached (or the employer hasn’t responded), the union may refer the matter to the CAC (within 55 working days of the access request being made), which will then determine whether access should be granted and on what terms.

When can access be refused?

There are limited grounds on which a university can refuse a request. Importantly, there is no minimum membership or worker support threshold.

Of particular relevance to universities, the draft Code says that it may be reasonable not to grant access to a new trade union where the employer already recognises an independent trade union, or where a statutory recognition process is already under way, in relation to any of the workers covered by the request.

However, universities should be prepared for access requests from recognised trade unions, seeking to formalise (or even extend) existing access arrangements, in the light of their new statutory rights. The draft Code suggests that ‘model terms’, on which the CAC is more likely to grant access, include weekly access on as little as two working days’ notice. Universities will need to be prepared for frequent access visits.

What are universities expected to do to facilitate access?

Universities are expected to take reasonable steps to facilitate agreed access arrangements. At first glance, this obligation appears quite onerous. Examples in the draft Code include arranging online meetings and making space for physical meetings. However, an institution’s usual methods of communication and engagement with staff will be used as the benchmark.

Some reassurance is provided to employers, with the draft Code emphasising that unions should choose times for access that minimise disruption (e.g. during lunch breaks or at the end of the working day). It also refers to an obligation on union officials to comply with all reasonable employer instructions (e.g. providing ID and signing in).

How does this affect paid facility time?

The statutory right of access does not create any additional entitlement to paid facility time. Any such arrangements would need to be agreed separately. However, in practice, universities may continue to see increased requests for facility time as trade unions seek to make use of their expanded access rights and other individual rights widen under the ERA.

How can an access agreement be enforced and what happens if it is breached?

The statutory scheme includes enforcement mechanisms and financial penalties, whether the access agreement is negotiated by the parties or imposed by the CAC. These are significant. Repeated breaches of an access agreement can result in penalties of up to £500,000, payable to the government. So it is important that the access agreement reflects what the University can do.

What should university HR teams be doing now?

These changes are likely to have a practical impact across the higher education sector, particularly given the size, complexity and evolving structures of many universities.

HR teams may wish to:

1. Identify who in the university will receive and manage requests, particularly where there are multiple campuses and faculties.
2. Put in place systems to track the statutory deadlines, note it is working days and deadlines are short.
3. Consider if there are particular staff groups or functions in the university that are likely to receive requests, because of ongoing disputes or planned restructures.
4. Think through how access could be accommodated in practice, particularly in relation to health and safety, security, data protection and use of student-facing spaces. What terms are non-negotiable and need to be incorporated into the agreement?
5. Ensure HR, senior leaders and relevant managers understand the new statutory process, templates and potential consequences.
6. Where there are established relationships with unions, consider whether to try to agree access arrangements voluntarily now, to avoid engaging the strict timescales and penalties under the statutory scheme.

Finally, universities should keep an eye on further developments, including publication of the final Code of Practice and associated regulations, expected later this year.   

The authors will be leading a session on The Employment Rights Act 2025 – Cutting Through the Noise on Wednesday 13 May at 10.05am as part of the UHR Annual Conference 2026.

Mills & Reeve LLP

Siân Jackson, Alex Russell, and Natasha Brown

[1] Paragraph 10, Draft Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces