Every legal claim on this page renders from the evidence register — its source passage, pinpoint citation and verification state included.
Pick the day an access request is given, and this page works out every statutory deadline that follows from it — as real dates, not just day-counts — with the full working behind each one shown alongside it. The happy path and the branches walkthrough count everything in working days on purpose, because the Code does not say which nation's bank-holiday calendar applies. This page is where that choice becomes explicit and visible, in your hands, rather than made silently.
Laid — not yet in force — Statutory clocks as stated in the laid Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), with the CAC-application longstop resolved to working days per the solicitor's reading of the draft operational Regulations (12 July 2026). Not yet in force. If the instruments actually made by Parliament differ from the laid drafts these dates are computed from, the dates below will be recomputed.
The government's published implementation timetable schedules electronic and workplace balloting for August 2026, and the duty to inform and strengthened right of access for October 2026 — subject to the required parliamentary approval and commencement steps.
Formal state
Planned — not yet commencedgovernment timetable only — no text yet
“Measures that will take effect in August 2026 electronic and workplace balloting for Statutory Trade Union Ballots Measures that will take effect in October 2026 The trade union measures include: the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union strengthening trade unions’ right of access”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update (GOV.UK policy paper, updated 15 April 2026), "Timetable for changes being introduced in 2026". This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 10 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/era-implementation-timetable
"Working day" means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, or a day which is a bank holiday. The Code does not specify which nation's bank-holiday calendar applies.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“the term "working day" should be read to mean any day other than a Saturday or a Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday, or a day which is a bank holiday.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), Preamble, para. 7(iii). This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 10 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/working-day-definition
How the clocks nest: the response and negotiation windows both run inside the referral envelope, which is counted from the original request — not from where negotiation failed. Dashed marks are story beats from the invented case, not legal steps.
Try it
Nothing you enter below is saved: not to this device, not to the page's address, not anywhere else. Pick a date, choose a jurisdiction, and the page computes — in your own browser, using the same rules engine as the rest of this site, for as long as this tab stays open, and never over the network.
Northern Ireland is not offered as a choice here: the Employment Rights Act 2025 covers Great Britain only, and Northern Ireland — which runs a separate statute book — stays out of scope until that legal position is verified.
A worked example, computed when this page was built: the same request date already used in Amalgamated Society of Depot and Warehouse Staff (ASDWS)'s case against Thornebeck Distribution Ltd throughout these walkthroughs, on the England and Wales calendar. Once this page's own script has loaded, this is replaced by a form you can compute your own date with — with JavaScript unavailable, this worked example is the whole page, and it is also what prints.
This worked example is for a request confined to England and Wales. The legislation does not expressly determine which bank-holiday calendar applies to a request spanning England/Wales and Scotland; with this page's own script enabled, choosing "workplaces in both jurisdictions" below computes both calendars side by side and identifies the earlier date as the safer one to act on. Without it, do the same working twice — once per calendar — and use the earlier result unless you have obtained advice confirming otherwise.
Monday 30 November 2026Employer response deadline
15 working days from the day the access request is given Official code of practice · para. 30
VerifiedJK · 10 Jul 2026
Show the working
Anchor date
Monday 9 November 2026
Rule applied
The employer's response period ends at the end of the 15th working day after the day on which the access request is given (measured from when the request is given, not when it reaches the right person internally).
Rules version
2026-07-12.solicitor-resolved-longstop
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
6 days excluded
Saturday 14 November 2026 — weekend
Sunday 15 November 2026 — weekend
Saturday 21 November 2026 — weekend
Sunday 22 November 2026 — weekend
Saturday 28 November 2026 — weekend
Sunday 29 November 2026 — weekend
Show supporting passage
“Upon receipt of the application, the employer can take up to 15 working days from the day an access application is given (not when the request is passed on to the correct person or team within the employer) to respond to a request for access”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 30. This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 10 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/access-response-period
Thursday 7 January 2027Negotiation deadline
25 working days from the day the response notice is given Official code of practice · para. 36
VerifiedJK · 10 Jul 2026
No response date known — anchored on the response deadline, the latest day a lawful response could be given.
Show the working
Anchor date
Monday 30 November 2026
Rule applied
The negotiation period ends at the end of the 25th working day after the day on which the response notice is given.
Rules version
2026-07-12.solicitor-resolved-longstop
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
13 days excluded
Saturday 5 December 2026 — weekend
Sunday 6 December 2026 — weekend
Saturday 12 December 2026 — weekend
Sunday 13 December 2026 — weekend
Saturday 19 December 2026 — weekend
Sunday 20 December 2026 — weekend
Friday 25 December 2026 — Christmas Day
Saturday 26 December 2026 — weekend
Sunday 27 December 2026 — weekend
Monday 28 December 2026 — Boxing Day
Friday 1 January 2027 — New Year’s Day
Saturday 2 January 2027 — weekend
Sunday 3 January 2027 — weekend
Show supporting passage
“The trade union and the employer have 25 working days following the day on which the response notice is given to negotiate the terms of an access agreement.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 36. This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 10 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/access-negotiation-period
Thursday 28 January 2027Central Arbitration Committee referral deadline
55 working days from the day the original access request is given — an envelope over the whole process, not a third sequential window Official code of practice · para. 44
VerifiedJK · 10 Jul 2026
The usual deadline is the end of the 55th working day after the request was given. In exceptional circumstances, the CAC may treat the deadline as the end of the 70th working day where it is satisfied that applying sooner was not reasonably practicable. Do not rely on the later date without advice.
Show the working
Anchor date
Monday 9 November 2026
Rule applied
The period for applying to the Central Arbitration Committee ends at the end of the 55th working day after the day the original request was given — an envelope over the whole process, not a third sequential window. The CAC may extend the period to 70 days where it considers it was not reasonably practicable to apply within the time limit.
Rules version
2026-07-12.solicitor-resolved-longstop
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
25 days excluded
Saturday 14 November 2026 — weekend
Sunday 15 November 2026 — weekend
Saturday 21 November 2026 — weekend
Sunday 22 November 2026 — weekend
Saturday 28 November 2026 — weekend
Sunday 29 November 2026 — weekend
Saturday 5 December 2026 — weekend
Sunday 6 December 2026 — weekend
Saturday 12 December 2026 — weekend
Sunday 13 December 2026 — weekend
Saturday 19 December 2026 — weekend
Sunday 20 December 2026 — weekend
Friday 25 December 2026 — Christmas Day
Saturday 26 December 2026 — weekend
Sunday 27 December 2026 — weekend
Monday 28 December 2026 — Boxing Day
Friday 1 January 2027 — New Year’s Day
Saturday 2 January 2027 — weekend
Sunday 3 January 2027 — weekend
Saturday 9 January 2027 — weekend
Sunday 10 January 2027 — weekend
Saturday 16 January 2027 — weekend
Sunday 17 January 2027 — weekend
Saturday 23 January 2027 — weekend
Sunday 24 January 2027 — weekend
Show supporting passage
“Parties who are unable to reach agreement have 55 working days from the date the original access request was given to make an application to the CAC. It might be possible for the CAC to extend that to 70 days where it considers that it was not reasonably practicable for a party to apply for a determination under section 70ZE within the time limit.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 44. This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 10 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/access-cac-referral-period
Pick a date and a jurisdiction above, then choose "See the deadlines".
Once you have an agreement
Two further clocks apply after an access agreement is in place, and they don't anchor on the request date above — they run before each visit under the agreement, however far in the future that is:
5Working days
Statutory limit — notice before the first instance of access Official code of practice · para. 52
VerifiedJK · 10 Jul 2026
Working days only. The Code fixes no bank-holiday calendar, so no calendar date is printed.
Show supporting passage
“To be successful, any access request must provide the employer with at least five working days of notice before the first instance of access under the agreement takes place.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 52. This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 10 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/access-initial-notice-period
2Working days
Statutory limit — notice before each access visit after the first Official code of practice · para. 68
VerifiedJK · 10 Jul 2026
Working days only. The Code fixes no bank-holiday calendar, so no calendar date is printed.
Show supporting passage
“under any access agreement, the trade union must provide a minimum of two working days' notice of an upcoming access visit (physical or digital). This does not apply to the first instance of access following the finalisation of the access agreement, which required a five working day notice period.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 68. This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 10 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/access-subsequent-notice-period
What this page rests on
Every date above — worked example or your own — comes from the same two modules:src/lib/working-days.ts and src/lib/access-timeline.ts. There is no second copy of this arithmetic anywhere on the site, including in this page's own script — it imports the identical files. Facts newly extracted from the laid Code for this page render with an amber caveat until they pass this project's verification review — the same loop as the transition map. Anything found wrong lands on the public corrections log.