《2025年就业权利法案》综述：工会、TUPE和向公平工作机构过渡

Trade Unions,TUPE andTransition to the Fair Work Agency April 2026 New Statutory Right for Trade Unions to Access Workplaces Earlier this month the government issued a response to its consultation on the new statutory right for trade unions toaccess workplaces, which is due to come into force in October 2026. The response provides the government’s finalpolicy position on matters such as how trade unions should request access, how employers should respond, the factorsthe Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) should consider when determining whether access should be granted and howenforcement mechanisms, including penalty fines, should operate in cases of noncompliance. The government also issued a draft code of practice for consultation. The code will be the main source of practicalguidance for employers and trade unions on the new statutory access framework, and includes greater detail on howrequests should be made and how access agreements should be negotiated and implemented across different workplaces.This consultation is open until 20 May. In the meantime, we are waiting for the government to issue the draft regulations that will include further specifics on howsome of the new access arrangements will work. The government believes this new right will make a big difference – we will of course have to wait and see. Trade unionsdo not currently have any general rights of access to the workplace, and so this certainly represents a significant changefor employers, especially those that do not currently have a trade union presence and are not used to dealing with tradeunions. Indeed, such employers are the ones most likely to be targeted by trade unions when it comes to exercising thisnew right, potentially with an eye to the longer-term goal of gaining recognition for collective bargaining purposes. To support employers in preparing for this change, we have produced some FAQs, which set out the typical questions theymay have about this new right, and our outline answers. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) As if it doesn’t have enough on its plate implementing its ERA 2025 changes, the government has this month also issueda call for evidence on possible changes to TUPE. You might think that it should have better things to do at present, andit shows. As documents go, this one is more than a bit flimsy. The government says it is keen to hear about experiencesunder the current TUPE framework, and it will then consider how they might be improved. Responses to the call forevidence will be used to develop policy proposals, which will then be the subject of a further consultation on any potentialchanges to the regulations. The closing date for responses is 1 July 2026. Don’t hold your breath for the subsequentconsultation, let alone actual legislative change. This is not the first time a government has contemplated changes to TUPE, since they were last heavily amended backin 2014. The most recent exercise was in 2024, when the conservative government proposed some “clarifications” toaddress some tricky issues that had been created for employers by case law, in particular the application of TUPE toworkers and the “splitting” of employment contracts between multiple transferees. These proposals were never actioned,and it remains to be seen whether they will be picked up again as part of this latest exercise. The latter issue arose fromthe ECJ’s decision inISS Facility Services NV v Govaertsin 2020 plus the Scottish EAT’s ruling inMcTear v Bennett. Whilethe two in combination certainly contained the seeds of chaos within them, most UK employers have since taken thepragmatic course of ignoring both cases, meaning that the practical point of an amendment now may be limited. Transition – From the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and the EmploymentAgency Standards Inspectorate to the Fair Work Agency (FWA) The FWA was officially established on 7 April 2026 and took over the existing enforcement functions of the Gangmastersand Labour Abuse Authority in relation to gangmasters licensing and serious labour abuse, and of the Employment AgencyStandards Inspectorate in relation to agency workers. During 2026/2027, National Minimum Wage (NMW) enforcement willcontinue to be delivered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) under a contracting arrangement with the FWA, with thefull transfer of NMW functions to the FWA now taking place in April 2027. The government has published its expectations for the FWA for its transitional year of operation (2026/2027). Accordingto this, the FWA will also commence holiday pay enforcement in 2027. No mention was made at this time of when itsenforcement powers in relation to Statutory Sick Pay will be introduced. The extent of real threat the FWA poses to non-compliant businesses remains to be seen. On the one hand thegovernment’s document confirms that the FWA has been given greater funding to support it in its enforcement activities,but on