Trade Unions: Small Businesses
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Make Work Pay: Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces, published on 23 October 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposals on the administrative workload of SMEs.
Answered by Kate Dearden
The government will introduce the new trade union right of access in a regulated and responsible manner, ensuring it is workable for employers who receive requests for access. Our published impact assessment titled "Strengthening workers’ rights to trade union access, recognition and representation" provides a further assessment of why these reforms will not disproportionately affect micro or small businesses. In the consultation document, Make Work Pay: Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces, the government sought views on exempting employers with fewer than 21 employees. This would mean that micro-businesses and most small employers would not be within scope of the policy. We are carefully reviewing all responses to the consultation and will publish a formal response in due course.
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