SI 2026/756 - The Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) (Required Information) Regulations 2026

Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS 2026 No. 756 TRADE UNIONS The Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) (Required Information) Regulations 2026 at 11.15 a.m. on 6th Made - - - - July 2026 at 4.00 p.m. on 6th Laid before Parliament July 2026 Coming into force - - 30th October 2026 The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 70ZB(3) and (5), 70ZD(1)(d), 70ZG(5)(a), 70ZN and 293(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992(1).

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) (Required Information) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 30th October 2026.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales and Scotland.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations— “the 1992 Act” means the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; “CAC” means the Central Arbitration Committee(2); “electronic communication” has the meaning given to it by section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000(3);

“the parties” means the trade union and the employer who are in the process of negotiating or who have negotiated an access agreement between themselves under section 70ZD or are treated as having entered into an access agreement under section 70ZE;

(1) 1992 c. 52. Chapter 5ZA (comprising sections 70ZA to 70ZN) of that Act was inserted by section 59(2) of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36).

(2) Section 259 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”) makes provision for the Central Arbitration Committee.

(3) 2000 c. 7; section 15(1) was amended by the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21), Schedule 17, paragraph 158.Document Generated: 2026-07-06

Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format. “union” means “unions” in cases where two or more trade unions make a joint request or application for an access agreement.

(2) In these Regulations, unless otherwise specified, all references to section numbers are to sections of the 1992 Act.

Access requests

3.—(1) This regulation applies where a qualifying trade union(4) gives an employer an access request(5) under section 70ZB(1).

(2) The access request must—

(a) identify the trade union making the access request;

(b) provide a copy of the certificate of independence of the trade union(6);

(c) be in writing and dated;

(d) be sent either—

(i)by post or delivery in person to the registered office, head office or principal place of business of the employer, or

(ii)by electronic communication to an electronic communication address provided by the employer to the trade union or, where such an address has not been provided, to an electronic communication address made publicly available by the employer for communications with the employer.

(3) The access request must contain the following—

(a) the name and contact details of the trade union official giving the access request on behalf of the trade union;

(b) the name and contact details of at least one trade union official authorised to conduct negotiations for an access agreement on behalf of the trade union;

(c) a statement that the access request is made under section 70ZB(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;

(d) the purposes of the access request, which must be one or more of the access purposes(7);

(e) a general description of those workers the trade union seeks access to, in so far as is known to the trade union;

(f) information as to the nature of the access requested—

(i)whether the access is to be on one or more occasions;

(ii)whether physical entry to a workplace or communication with workers(8), or both, is being requested;

(iii)a description providing details of the access requested;

(iv)the reasons why the access in paragraphs (i) to (iii) is being requested;

(v)where physical entry to any workplace is being requested, a description of the workplaces to which access is requested which is sufficient to enable the employer to identify the workplaces concerned;

(vi)any assistance requested from the employer to facilitate the access for the trade union;

(4) See section 70ZA(3) of the 1992 Act for the meaning of “qualifying trade union”.

(5) See section 70ZB(6) of the 1992 Act for the meaning of “access request”.

(6) See section 298 of the 1992 Act, as amended by section 50(4) of the Employment Relations Act 2004 (c. 24).

(7) See section 70ZA(6) and (7) of the 1992 Act for the meaning of ‘access purposes’.

(8) See section 70ZA(5) of the 1992 Act which defines what is meant by communication with workers.

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Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.

(vii)the frequency and duration requested of each occasion of physical entry to a workplace or communication with workers;

(g) the name and contact details of at least one trade union official who would have responsibility for the requested access under the proposed access agreement;

(h) the notice period the trade union intends to give to the employer prior to each occasion of access;

(i) where the access request is substantially the same and concerning the same workers as a previous access request, following which the trade union and the employer agreed in writing terms for access but not before the end of the negotiation period(9)—

(i)a statement to confirm the repeat request for access with the date of the earlier access request, and

(ii)a copy of the agreed terms.

Response notices

4.—(1) This regulation applies when an employer gives a response notice(10) under

section 70ZB(4).

(2) The response notice must be—

(a) in writing and dated;

(b) sent to the contact details, given in the access request, of the trade union official who gave the access request on behalf of the trade union.

(3) The response notice must contain the following information, unless the response notice is given under paragraph (4)—

(a) details for the employer giving the notice as follows—

(i)the name of the employer and contact details of the employer or a representative giving the response notice on behalf of the employer, and

(ii)the name and contact details of at least one individual authorised to conduct negotiations for an access agreement on behalf of the employer;

(b) a statement that the response notice is given under section 70ZB(4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;

(c) whether the employer is agreeing or disagreeing with the access request given by the trade union, either in whole or in part;

(d) if agreeing with the access request, in whole or in part, provide (if agreeing in part, only to the extent relevant)—

(i)in respect of each workplace, the name and contact details of at least one individual who would have responsibility for the requested access under the proposed access agreement;

(ii)a list of the categories of the workers to whom the trade union have requested access to and the approximate numbers of workers in each category;

(iii)where physical entry into any workplace has been requested—

(aa)confirmation and, if necessary, further information as to the address and the location of each workplace to which access is requested;

(9) See section 70ZC(b) of the 1992 Act for the meaning of “negotiation period”.

(10) See section 70ZB(6) of the 1992 Act for the meaning of “response notice”.

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Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.

(bb)general information as to the times likely to be suitable for such access, taking into account the purpose of the access request;

(iv)whether the employer will be able to provide assistance to facilitate access;

(e) if disagreeing with the access request, in whole or in part, provide—

(i)information as to which part of the access request the employer disagrees with;

(ii)an explanation of why the employer disagrees with the access request or that part of the access request;

(iii)where the access request is refused because the employer previously received, in relation to substantially the same workers, an access request from another trade union and is in the process of negotiating, or has negotiated, an access agreement with that trade union, confirmation of this and details of that trade union.

(4) Where this paragraph applies, the employer need not comply with paragraph (3) but a response notice must contain the following—

(a) a statement that the response notice is given under section 70ZB(4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;

(b) confirmation that the employer agrees with the terms provided with the repeat access request;

(c) any new information which the employer would have included in the earlier response notice if it had been available.

(5) Paragraph (4) applies where—

(a) regulation 3(3)(i) applies to the access request in relation to which the response notice is given,

(b) the employer agrees with the terms provided with the repeat access request, and

(c) the employer complied with paragraph (3) in a response notice relating to the previous access request referred to in regulation 3(3)(i).

Access agreements entered into by negotiation: notifying the CAC

5.—(1) This regulation applies for the purposes of the parties jointly notifying the CAC of the terms of an access agreement under section 70ZD(1)(d).

(2) The notification may be given by either party on behalf of both parties and must—

(a) be in writing and dated,

(b) confirm that the access agreement is being entered into in accordance with section 70ZD(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992,

(c) be signed by or on behalf of both parties, and

(d) provide the CAC with a copy of the access agreement.

Variation or revocation of access agreements: notifying the CAC

6.—(1) This regulation applies for the purposes of the parties to an access agreement jointly notifying the CAC of a variation or revocation of the agreement under section 70ZG(5)(a).

(2) The notification of the variation or revocation may be given by either party on behalf of both parties and must—

(a) be in writing and dated,

(b) include a statement that the variation or revocation is made under section 70ZG of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, 4Document Generated: 2026-07-06

Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.

(c) be signed by or on behalf of both parties, and

(d) in the case of notification of variation, provide details of the variation to the existing access agreement by providing—

(i)the terms of the existing access agreement that are to be varied, and

(ii)a copy of the access agreement which contains the new terms.

Review

7.—(1) The Secretary of State must from time to time—

(a) carry out a review(11) of these Regulations,

(b) set out the conclusions of the review in a report, and

(c) publish the report.

(2) The report must in particular—

(a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by these Regulations,

(b) assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved, and

(c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.

(3) The first report under this regulation must be published before the end of the period of five years beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force.

(4) Subsequent reports under this regulation are to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.

Kate Dearden Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State At 11.15 a.m. on 6th July 2026 Department for Business and Trade

(11) Section 28 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (c. 26) contains a duty to review regulatory provisions in secondary legislation.

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Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.

EXPLANATORY NOTE (This note is not part of the Regulations) These Regulations are made under Chapter 5ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations

(Consolidation) Act 1992 (c. 52) (right of trade unions to access workplaces). They form part of the package of legislation that provides for access agreements between trade unions and employers, which enable trade union officials to physically enter workplaces and also to communicate with workers by other means. Communication with workers includes the provision of information to workers and can be by any means, whether directly or indirectly.

Regulations 3 and 4 set out the requirements for trade union access requests and employer response notices. They set out the form of both access requests and response notices and the information that must be included. This includes a requirement on the trade union making the access request to provide information as to the nature of the access requested, such as the type of access it is requesting and a description of the details of that access which might be, for example, provision of a room at the workplace once a week, and the reasons for requesting that access (regulation 3(3)(f)(i) to (iv)).

They also specify how access requests and response notices should be given.

Regulation 5 sets out the procedure for notifying the Central Arbitration Committee of an access agreement that has been made.

Regulation 6 deals with the procedure to be followed when the parties to an access agreement wish to notify the Central Arbitration Committee of a variation to, or a revocation of, the agreement.

Regulation 7 provides for a review of these Regulations in line with the requirements of section 28 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (c. 26).

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. A de minimis assessment has been produced and is available at www.gov.uk. Printed copies can be obtained from the Department for Business and Trade, Old Admiralty Building, Admiralty Place, London, SW1A 2DY.

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