Employers' bodies call for more dialogue on union access rights

UK employer bodies have written to the government calling for tripartite discussions with ministers and unions on the implementation of trade union access rights in the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Seven organisations have written to employment rights minister Kate Dearden urging her to organise similar discussions to those that took place in November when business bodies, unions and ministers managed to reach agreement on changes to unfair dismissal protections.

The outcome of those meetings broke the impasse on parliamentary progress of the Employment Rights Bill, which had ping-ponged for months between the Commons and the Lords.

The government published its response to a consultation on trade union access earlier this month and began another consultation on a draft code of practice, which closes on 20 May.

The letter said: "Taking a similar approach to the important issue of trade union access would have helped to find a better balance between the interests of unions and the concerns of businesses, so we are disappointed at the absence of tripartite conversations during that consultation."

The British Chambers of Commerce, CBI, CIPD, Federation of Small Businesses, Institute of Directors, Make UK and Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) all signed the letter on behalf of British businesses.

It continued: "We believe the lack of structured dialogue on right of access has resulted in an outcome which fails to address businesses' fundamental concerns over significant disruption from increased access rights, and does not move us towards a constructive approach to industrial relations."

Scheduled for October 2026, the reforms mean trade unions will be able to request access - in person and digitally - to the workplaces of employers with more than 20 staff, for the purposes of "representation, support, recruitment, organisation, and collective bargaining".

'Far-reaching consequences'

The letter added that there are a number of ERA measures that have "far-reaching consequences" for businesses' ability to create jobs.

"In order for employers to recruit, retain and develop the skilled workers they need to grow, it is crucial that the detailed policy on these measures is made in collaboration with businesses," wrote the groups.

They also reiterated their desire for future meetings to discuss other "critical parts of the Act" such as the right to guaranteed hours for people on low and zero-hour contracts.

In a statement responding to the letter, Dearden, who worked for the trade union Community from 2017 to 2024, said: "We are committed to working in partnership with business and unions on implementation of the Employment Rights Act, to ensure the system is fair and effective and protects the workers who need it most."

Speaking on the Personnel Today HR Podcast this week, employment law trainer and commentator Darren Newman cast doubt on whether trade union access regulations will be ready for October.

"This is the first real test of the government implementing measures in the Employment Rights Act because so far, everything that's been implemented has been really straightforward," he said.

"They've been repealing things, they've been taking away qualifying periods for family-related leave, that sort of thing. They haven't created a big complicated thing and introduced it yet. So before October, they're going to have to publish some quite detailed regulations that will cover how this will work and finalise a code of practice."

Weekly access

When the government published access plans earlier this month, many employers' groups voiced concerns about the decision to grant unions the right to access businesses on a weekly basis, describing the frequency as "excessive" and "disruptive".

The draft code of practice says: "Weekly access will not in every case mean a visit or meeting that takes place at the time and on the same day every week. The timing of the visit or meeting may change week by week, depending on shift patterns and other factors.

"Weekly access may be averaged over a longer period of time if the parties agree to that approach. For example, an access agreement could stipulate that access can take place up to four times a month, meaning that in theory access could take place four days in a row."

Last week, the REC, British Retail Consortium, Food and Drink Federation and UKHospitality, wrote to the business secretary Peter Kyle warning that proposed guaranteed hours measures risk undermining jobs, hiring and labour market flexibility.