New union recognition access Code in force from 30 October 2026

A revised Code takes effect for union recognition workLegislation from 30 October 2026. The Code of Practice (Access and Unfair Practices During the Recognition and Derecognition Process) Order 2026Legislation, SI 2026/1129Legislation, brings the revised Code into effect on that day. It was made on 26 October 2026, laid before Parliament on 27 October 2026 and extends to England and Wales and ScotlandLegislation.

The revised Code supersedes the 2005 Code on access and unfair practices during recognition and derecognition ballotsLegislation. The 2005 Code continues only for Central Arbitration Committee applications received before 30 October 2026 under specified Schedule A1 routes, including recognition claims where the employer rejected a request or negotiations failed, bargaining-unit appropriateness disputes, and applications to end bargaining arrangementsLegislation. All other cases move to the new CodeLegislation.

The Code gives practical guidance for promoting improved industrial relations where a Schedule A1 application is made. It imposes no legal obligation in itselfLegislation and breach alone creates no liabilityLegislation, but its provisions are admissible and must be taken into account in proceedings before courts, employment tribunals and the Central Arbitration Committee where considered relevantLegislation.

It supports Employment Rights Act 2025 amendments to Schedule A1 to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that extend access and unfair-practice rules to run from Committee acceptance of an application, not only the ballot phaseLegislation. The parties must seek to negotiate an access agreement. After notification that the Committee accepted an application, the union has five working days to request access and state the type soughtLegislation. Employer and union then normally have 15 working days to negotiate, extendable by agreementLegislation. If they cannot agree, the Committee has ten working days to determine a reasonable access agreement, extendable with written reasonsLegislation.

On unfair practices, complaints may be submitted up to five working days after the close of the recognition ballotLegislation, longer than the previous one-day limitLegislation that caused missed deadlines. The Committee now decides only whether an unfair practice occurred, without the former second test of whether it affected the ballot outcomeLegislation.

The Code raises suggested access to once every five working days with a suggested minimum of 45 minutes per meeting, to be applied flexiblyLegislation, against once every ten working days and 30 minutes under the 2005 versionLegislation. It adds substantially more guidance on digital communications and digital access and states that meeting frequency should be applied flexibly, following 920 consultation responses from February to April 2026.

The statutory recognition scheme applies only where the employer employs at least 21 workersLegislation, so micro-businesses remain outsideLegislation. The Government states no or no significant impact on business, charities or the public sectorLegislation because the instrument commences guidanceLegislation, while the underlying legislative changes were assessed in the 2025 Act enactment assessment.

Employers and unions with live or planned recognition or derecognition cases should check whether the Committee received the application before 30 OctoberLegislation, use the correct Code version, and diary the five, 15 and ten working-day access steps and the five-day unfair-practice windowLegislation.

The legal basis is SI 2026/1129 made under section 204(3) of the 1992 Act following the sections 203 and 204 Code procedures with the Code admissible under section 207, Schedule A1 as amended by Schedule 6 to the Employment Rights Act 2025, and the Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices During the Recognition and Derecognition Process.