The consultation opened on 20 January 2026 and the closing date for responses is 17 March 2026.
Acas is consulting on an updated Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities including guidance on time off for union learning representatives. This is to account for new Employment Rights Act 2025 requirements which will from October 2026:
- provide union equality representatives with the right to time off to carry out specified duties, including time off for relevant training
- require employers, where requested, to provide accommodation and other facilities as is reasonable to enable union representatives, union learning representatives and union equality representatives to carry out their duties.
These changes are reflected in paragraphs 23-24, 41-50 and 72-75 of the draft Code.
The consultation opened on 20 January 2026 and the closing date for responses is 17 March 2026. Details of how to respond are set out in the consultation document and we would encourage local authorities to respond. We should be grateful if a copy of any such response could be sent to us at [email protected].
Many local authorities may already routinely provide accommodation and facilities for trade union representatives and work with them on equalities issues. Further, it should be noted that the draft Code provides at paragraph 73 that the provision of accommodation and facilities is in the context of “where resources allow”. Accordingly, when responding, many authorities may be of the view that the new Employment Rights Act 2025 requirements, and the revised Code, will not present any material issues for them.