This is one of the quieter provisions of the Employment Rights Act, and it has had far less coverage than the headline changes to unfair dismissal and sick pay. That is precisely why it is worth attention now. Unlike most of the Act, this one is not really an HR policy question. It is a premises question, and that makes it a facilities and estates problem first.

What the new right actually covers

Under the new statutory access right, a certified independent trade union can submit a written request to access a workplace for the purpose of meeting, recruiting or organising workers there. The request can ask for physical access, digital access, or both, and it applies regardless of whether the employer currently recognises that union for collective bargaining.

Once a request arrives, employers with 21 or more staff have 15 working days to respond. If both sides cannot agree terms within that window, there is a further period, up to 25 working days in total, to settle the details of access before either party can refer the matter to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).

The CAC does not operate quietly. It can publish its decisions and name employers it finds to be non-compliant. The financial penalties scale with repeat breaches: £75,000 for a first failure, £150,000 for a second, and up to £500,000 for a third breach within the same agreement.

The accompanying statutory Code of Practice sets out what reasonable access terms tend to include: use of existing meeting space, defined notice periods, and paid time for staff attending access meetings.

Why this lands on facilities desks, not just HR's

Most Employment Rights Act commentary has treated this as an HR and employee relations issue, and it is. But read the detail and the operational questions are the kind facilities and workplace teams answer every day, not HR.

Who signs union officials in at reception, and what identification do they need. Which meeting rooms get offered, and how that is balanced against existing bookings. Whether the building's visitor management system and security protocols can accommodate a category of visitor that did not previously exist in most access policies. How a request for digital access interacts with the IT estate, including any systems used for internal communications.

On a multi-site estate, the same request can apply to several locations at once, each with its own shift patterns, security arrangements and local management. Getting this wrong is not an abstract compliance risk. It is the kind of operational gap that only becomes visible when a union official is standing at reception and nobody is sure what happens next.

What to do today

With the right taking effect tomorrow, the practical priority is readiness rather than policy debate. Three things are worth doing before the day is out.

First, identify who in the organisation owns the response to an access request, and make sure that person knows the 15 and 25 working day clocks start the moment a written request is received, not when it is actioned.

Second, agree in advance which spaces would reasonably be offered for an access meeting, and brief reception and security teams on what a valid request looks like and what to do if one arrives in person.

Third, check whether existing IT and communications systems could support a digital access request, and get a view from IT on what that would actually involve before it becomes urgent.

None of this requires a finished policy by tomorrow. It requires enough groundwork that a request does not catch the organisation flat-footed.

Common questions

Does this apply if we don't recognise a trade union? Yes. The right to request access applies whether or not the employer already recognises the union making the request, provided the union is certified as independent.

What counts as a valid request? A written request from a certified independent trade union, specifying whether physical access, digital access, or both are sought, and the purpose, meeting, recruiting or organising workers.

What happens if we miss the 15 working day deadline? Either party can refer the matter to the Central Arbitration Committee, which can set binding terms and publish its findings, including naming employers found non-compliant.

Does the clock start when we receive the request or when we act on it? It starts when the written request is received, not when it is reviewed or actioned.

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