The government has rejected claims that new employment legislation will let trade unions “turn up to workplaces when they want”, following a report suggesting employers could face fines of up to £75,000 for denying unions weekly office access.
The story, published by business news site City AM on Thursday, said the Labour Government was considering a “right of access” for recognised trade unions to visit workplaces each week under the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill. Employers who blocked access could reportedly face penalties reaching £75,000, according to draft proposals cited by the site.
The report said the new rules would give unions automatic entry to offices or work sites for up to two years at a time, subject to renewal, with fines “proportional to the nature of the breach in question”.
It prompted criticism from opposition MPs, with Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith describing the plan as “handing control of our workplaces to the union bully boys”.
‘Not accurate’
But the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) told HRreview on Friday that the report’s interpretation was inaccurate.
“It’s not true that this Bill will allow unions to turn up to workplaces when they want,” a DBT spokesperson said. “The old laws didn’t work, and saw the UK lose more days to strike than France, which is why we will make it easier to ensure hard-working people get a fair wage without unnecessarily impacting businesses.”
The department added that the consultation on the Bill seeks views on several issues, including what model access terms should look like, where access should not be permitted and how enforcement should operate.
According to the background information provided by DBT, the proposals aim to balance workers’ rights with business practicalities. Employers would have notice before any access takes place, ensuring time to prepare, and visits would be subject to the principle that they must not “unreasonably interfere” with business operations.
The department also confirmed that unions which fail to comply with access agreements could face penalty fines. It is proposing a fixed, tiered cap on penalties to ensure clarity and proportionality, particularly for smaller employers. The approach, DBT said, was designed to deter repeat breaches while remaining fair to businesses.
Employers would not be required to provide additional resources, such as new IT systems, to facilitate access — part of what officials describe as an effort to prevent disproportionate burdens on firms.
A change in workplace relations
The Employment Rights Bill, one of Labour’s flagship pieces of legislation, is expected to overhaul workplace protections and reshape industrial relations. Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised to “strengthen collective bargaining” and give workers more voice in pay and conditions, while also reforming rules introduced under Conservative governments over the past decade.
The proposed access rights are intended to modernise how unions engage with employers, potentially replacing outdated systems that rely on ad-hoc recognition or voluntary agreements. Currently, most employers negotiate union access on a case-by-case basis, and access rights tend to apply to large industrial or public-sector workplaces rather than office settings.
If enacted, the new framework could represent a major cultural shift in how HR teams manage workplace relations. Employers may need to review their recognition agreements, establish formal channels for union visits, and assess how such visits would affect operations, confidentiality and safety protocols.
Observers note that any move toward regularised union access would bring the UK closer to models used in parts of Europe, where trade unions have statutory rights to meet employees at work. But it could also create practical challenges, particularly in small or multi-site organisations with limited space or resources.
Balancing union rights and business confidence
Labour’s wider employment reforms are expected to include measures such as ending zero-hours contracts, strengthening rights to flexible working and improving protection from unfair dismissal. The union access consultation forms part of this broader effort to promote fairer working conditions while reassuring employers that changes will be “measured and proportionate”.
In its background briefing, the department stressed that access arrangements would be carefully designed to avoid disrupting businesses or placing unnecessary costs on them. It also emphasised that the consultation process is still ongoing, meaning no final decisions have been made about frequency of access or penalty amounts.
For employers, the uncertainty leaves open several key questions: whether the proposed fines will be flat or scaled by employer size, whether the rules will differ between office and industrial settings and how disputes over access will be resolved.
Employment lawyers say that any new regime would likely be overseen by the Central Arbitration Committee, which currently handles union recognition disputes. The Bill may also establish new powers for the Committee to enforce access rights and issue penalties.
The government has said it intends to publish more details of the Employment Rights Bill before the end of the year, with Royal Assent expected in early 2026. Until then, the consultation remains open and the debate over the balance between union rights and business confidence is set to continue.
William Furney is a Managing Editor at Black and White Trading Ltd based in Kingston upon Hull, UK. He is a prolific author and contributor at Workplace Wellbeing Professional, with over 127 published posts covering HR, employee engagement, and workplace wellbeing topics. His writing focuses on contemporary employment issues including pension schemes, employee health, financial struggles affecting workers, and broader workplace trends.
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
