Employment Rights Act

The government has issued its response to the consultation on Trades Union Access (see attached).

There is also an open consultation covering the Code of Conduct that goes with this.

The consultation on the Code of Practice is running until 20th May 2026. You can access the consultation here: Make Work Pay: draft code of practice on trade union right of access - GOV.UK If you have any questions in relation to the Code of Practice consultation, you can contact the team at DBT at tradeunionpolicy@businessandtrade.gov.uk

In case you thought you had missed it, the Zero Hours Consultation is due soon.

We recognise the concerns raised about the potential impact of the new right of access on smaller employers, who may find it more difficult to facilitate access in practice. In light of this, the government will proceed with the proposal to exempt employers with fewer than 21 workers from the trade union right of access framework.

This may seem like good news, but it is only temporary - see below for what will change when we have a Fair Pay Agreement.

The government also recognises that there may be issues where a significant proportion of employers within sectors covered by national bargaining processes fall below this threshold, potentially limiting engagement between trade unions and workers in those sectors.

This may particularly arise where workplaces are covered by national bargaining processes, such as with the Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) in adult social care. Without an adjustment to the framework, the 21-worker threshold could limit the practical ability of trade unions to engage with workers who are covered by a national bargaining process but employed across many smaller workplaces.

It is therefore important that the statutory access framework can operate coherently alongside sector-level national collective bargaining agreements.

For this reason, the government intends to make a targeted adjustment to the framework from 2027 so that statutory access provisions can apply in workplaces covered by a statutorily supported national bargaining frameworks. This will include the national bargaining frameworks in place in relation to adult social care and school support staff.

This means that, in those cases, the sized-based exemption will not apply. In turn, this supports the effectiveness of sector-level bargaining processes by ensuring that worker voices across the full workforce – including those in smaller workplaces – can be heard.

This approach ensures that the right of access framework can operate effectively where workers are dispersed across a large number of smaller workplaces in a sector where sector- level bargaining processes are in place, while maintaining the 21-worker threshold as the general safeguard across the wider economy.

This is interesting as it went against almost all of the responses.

Firstly, we are proceeding with specifying weekly access a model term, though access agreements proposing lower frequencies can still be approved. This means that, where a case is referred to the CAC for determination on whether access should be granted, the CAC will take into account whether the proposed agreement includes a provision for access on a weekly basis when considering its eligibility for review by a single-person panel.

The government considers weekly access to provide an appropriate level of regularity to support effective engagement between unions and workers. It allows unions to maintain constructive engagement, provides continuity to their discussions with workers, increases the likelihood that unions representatives can reach workers operating across different shifts and working patterns, and supports the steady flow of information needed for workplace engagement to be meaningful. Weekly access also offers employers a predictable and structured pattern of engagement, reducing uncertainty and assisting with workplace planning.

However, weekly access is not the default for every access agreement. The government expects unions and employers to engage and negotiate in good faith, and unions are free to apply for the frequency of access best suited to their needs, which may be less frequent than weekly.

Melanie Weatherley MBE

Co-Chair Care Association Alliance, Chair Lincolnshire Care Association