We are aware of correspondence being issued to employers, including manufacturers in Northern Ireland, seeking physical and digital access to workplaces under new trade union rights introduced in GB by the Employment Rights Act 2025. The correspondence asserts a statutory entitlement to workplace access. However, these new statutory access arrangements apply in Great Britain and not Northern Ireland. The associated Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 expressly extend only to England, Wales,, and Scotland.
There has been no change to Northern Ireland legislation introducing these new rights, and the existing NI framework governing trade union recognition and workplace access remains in place.
This distinction also applies to businesses operating across both jurisdictions. A company headquartered in GB, or operating workplaces in both GB and Northern Ireland, may be subject to the new statutory requirements for its GB workplaces, but these do not automatically extend to its NI operations simply because they share the same employer or ownership.
Our advice to manufacturers is to distinguish carefully between requests relating to GB workplaces and those relating to Northern Ireland. Where a request concerns only NI workplaces and relies solely on the new GB legislation, employers are not subject to the statutory response deadlines or negotiation procedures.
Businesses may choose not to respond to this correspondence, or reply challenge their application by asking the union to identify the specific NI legislative basis for its request.
Businesses should also check any existing recognition agreements, UK-wide arrangements, or other applicable obligations before deciding how to respond.
Manufacturers should not feel obliged to grant access or enter statutory negotiations based on GB provisions that do not apply to their NI workplaces.
We would welcome hearing from any members who have received similar correspondence.