UK Small Firms Face £680M Cost from Labour’s Union Work Access Bill

Later this year, the UK government under the Employment Rights Act, spearheaded by Angela Rayner, will grant unions a statutory right of access to workplaces—either in person or online—potentially seven days a week. Non-compliance could result in fines of £75,000 for a first offense and £150,000 for repeat offenses. The Adam Smith Institute estimates that 196,000 small and medium businesses (fewer than 250 staff) will collectively face over £680 million in adjustment costs over the phasing period due to weekly union access, including arbitration (£111M), disruption (£40M), and future unionization expenses (£525M). The Department for Business and Trade has limited the cost assessment to only the £5 million needed for compliance training.