Every legal claim on this page renders from the evidence register — its source passage, pinpoint citation and verification state included.
This annotated specimen shows the core records a union should retain during the statutory process, based on the legislation and Code currently laid. The CAC may prescribe an application form or require additional information and documents in an individual case.
It walks through what ASDWS would have kept at every step of the recorded access case — a front sheet, a paginated documents index, an explanation of each document in tab order, and a closing chronology. It exists so an organising officer can see, concretely, what "keep good records" means in practice, before a real case ever needs to.
Every party, document and date below comes from this site's one invented case (Marisol Adeyemi-Clarke of ASDWS against Thornebeck Distribution Ltd), and every date is drawn from the same statutory clocks the branches walkthrough and the deadline calculator use — never a second, hand-typed copy of a date that could quietly drift from the other two.
ASDWS/TDL — case ref. 0000 (invented; matches no live Central Arbitration Committee case-numbering format)
Applicant
Amalgamated Society of Depot and Warehouse Staff — Applicant (ASDWS)
Respondent
Thornebeck Distribution Ltd — Respondent
Matter
Workplace access dispute: request for physical and digital access to two sites, referred to the Central Arbitration Committee after negotiation closed without agreement on the physical-access terms.
Status
Referred to the Central Arbitration Committee; awaiting a decision. The referral itself is Tab 5.
Owen Trelfall — Employee-relations director, Thornebeck Distribution Ltd
Sent on the Code's standardised request template, covering both of Thornebeck Distribution Ltd's sites in the one request:
A statutory access request is a request under section 70ZB(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 — the Code's standardised request template opens by stating exactly that.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“This is a request for access under section 70ZB(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), Section E (Annexes), Trade Union Access Request Template, "Legal Reference". 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-request-legal-basis
The purposes given are to meet, support, recruit and organise the warehouse workforce at the Marley Cross Distribution Centre and the Denholt Park Depot, and to facilitate collective bargaining — never to organise industrial action:
A statutory access agreement must operate within the access purposes set out at section 70ZA(6) of the 1992 Act — to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers (whether or not they are members of a trade union) and to facilitate collective bargaining. The access purposes do not include organising industrial action (section 70ZA(7)).
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“It is important to note that the access agreement being negotiated and entered into must be done so within the specific confines of the access purposes set out at 70ZA (6) of the 1992 Act. It should be noted that the access purposes do not include organising industrial action (70ZA(7)). The access purposes for statutory access are: a. To meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers (whether or not they are members of a trade union) b. To facilitate collective bargaining”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 14. 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-purposes
The template's fields are completed in full: Marisol Adeyemi-Clarke as the official submitting the request, negotiating on the union's behalf, and responsible for the access itself; ASDWS's certificate-of-independence reference; the workforce sought, described as a category, never as a list of names; and the access wanted — a regular physical presence in the Marley Cross Distribution Centre canteen, plus a union noticeboard channel on the company intranet:
An access request should be completed using the standardised template in the Code's annexes, which details all of the information required in a request — though unions are not legally required to use the template. Minor accidental clerical or administrative errors should not be regarded as a reason for the employer to reject the application, and a single request may cover multiple premises operated by one employer.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“The request for access should be completed using the standardised form available in Section E (Annexes), although trade unions are not legally required to use the standardised template. Please refer to this template when making a request for access. The template details all of the information that is required in a request for access. Trade unions should provide the information requested in the template to the best of their knowledge. Minor accidental clerical or administrative errors in a trade union’s application should not be regarded as a reason for the employer to reject the application. The employer and trade union should work together to correct any errors. A single request for access may include reference to various premises operated by a single employer to which the trade union is requesting access.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 27. 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
ASDWS's own record that Tab 1 was sent by email to the address Thornebeck Distribution Ltd publishes for employee-relations matters, with the sent timestamp that starts the response clock:
Email should be used where possible to serve the completed access request, creating a clear audit trail including a timestamp of when the request was submitted. The request should go to an email address the employer provides (which the employer should make every effort to provide); where none is provided, the union may use an email address the employer makes publicly available for general communications, or other means.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“Trade unions may submit an access request to an employer. Email should be used where possible to deliver the completed access request form to the employer. This will enable a clear audit trail to be established including a timestamp stating when the request was submitted. The trade union should direct their request to an email address provided by the employer, which the employer should make every effort to provide. Where the employer does not provide an email address, the trade union may use another email address made publicly available by the employer for general communications with the employer, or other means.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 26. 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-request-service-method
Both sides are expected to keep records sufficient to prove when the request was made and received:
Both the trade union and the employer should keep records of access requests and responses sufficient to demonstrate when they were made and received.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“Both trade unions and employers should maintain records of access requests and responses that can be used to demonstrate when they were made and received.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 28. 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
Statutory limit — employer response Official code of practice · para. 30
VerifiedJK · 10 Jul 2026
Working days only. The Code fixes no bank-holiday calendar, so no calendar date is printed.
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
Tab 3 of 5
The employer's response
Date
Wednesday 25 November 2026
From
Owen Trelfall — Employee-relations director, Thornebeck Distribution Ltd
Sent to Marisol Adeyemi-Clarke's contact details, exactly as given in the request, opening with a statement that it is given under section 70ZB(4) of the 1992 Act — the prescribed content the response notice must carry, the same way the request opens by citing section 70ZB(1):
The employer's response should be sent to the contact details, given in the access request, of the trade union official who gave the request on the union's behalf.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“This response must be sent to the contact details, given in the access request, of the trade union official who gave the access request on behalf of the trade union.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), Section E (Annexes), Employer Response Notice Template, note. 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-routing
Regulation 4 of the Required Information Regulations prescribes a response notice's form (in writing, dated, sent to the requesting official's contact details) and its required content: the employer's named contact, whether the request is agreed or disagreed with in whole or in part, and — depending on that answer — either the terms of agreement or the parts disagreed with and the reasons; a shortened content set applies where the notice responds to a repeat request under regulation 3(3)(i) and simply confirms the previously agreed terms.
Formal state
Made — not yet in forcealready law; commencement date set but not yet reached
“4.—(1) This regulation applies when an employer gives a response notice under section 70ZB(4). (2) The response notice must be— (a) in writing and dated; (b) sent to the contact details, given in the access request, of the trade union official who gave the access request on behalf of the trade union. (3) The response notice must contain the following information, unless the response notice is given under paragraph (4)— (a) details for the employer giving the notice as follows— (i) the name of the employer and contact details of the employer or a representative giving the response notice on behalf of the employer, and (ii) the name and contact details of at least one individual authorised to conduct negotiations for an access agreement on behalf of the employer; (b) a statement that the response notice is given under section 70ZB(4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; (c) whether the employer is agreeing or disagreeing with the access request given by the trade union, either in whole or in part; (d) if agreeing with the access request, in whole or in part, provide (if agreeing in part, only to the extent relevant)— (i) in respect of each workplace, the name and contact details of at least one individual who would have responsibility for the requested access under the proposed access agreement; (ii) a list of the categories of the workers to whom the trade union have requested access to and the approximate numbers of workers in each category; (iii) where physical entry into any workplace has been requested— (aa) confirmation and, if necessary, further information as to the address and the location of each workplace to which access is requested; (bb) general information as to the times likely to be suitable for such access, taking into account the purpose of the access request; (iv) whether the employer will be able to provide assistance to facilitate access; (e) if disagreeing with the access request, in whole or in part, provide— (i) information as to which part of the access request the employer disagrees with; (ii) an explanation of why the employer disagrees with the access request or that part of the access request; (iii) where the access request is refused because the employer previously received, in relation to substantially the same workers, an access request from another trade union and is in the process of negotiating, or has negotiated, an access agreement with that trade union, confirmation of this and details of that trade union. (4) Where this paragraph applies, the employer need not comply with paragraph (3) but a response notice must contain the following— (a) a statement that the response notice is given under section 70ZB(4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; (b) confirmation that the employer agrees with the terms provided with the repeat access request; (c) any new information which the employer would have included in the earlier response notice if it had been available. (5) Paragraph (4) applies where— (a) regulation 3(3)(i) applies to the access request in relation to which the response notice is given, (b) the employer agrees with the terms provided with the repeat access request, and (c) the employer complied with paragraph (3) in a response notice relating to the previous access request referred to in regulation 3(3)(i).”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · The Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) (Required Information) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/756), regulation 4. This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 12 July 2026 · How verification works
In clear language: digital access is accepted as requested. Physical access is disputed in part — Owen Trelfall rejects the proposed frequency and the Marley Cross Distribution Centre canteen as the location, element by element, with reasons given for each, as a rejection must:
If the employer is rejecting the terms of access in the request, it should notify the union in clear language, and must provide details of which elements it is specifically rejecting and the reasons for doing so in as much detail as possible. It should also provide as much relevant and useful information as possible, including whether another union has recently applied for access or awaits a CAC ruling on access, and whether some or all of the workers are already covered by a recognition agreement or a statutory or voluntary access arrangement.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“The employer and trade union are expected to engage with negotiations on access in good faith, but if the employer is rejecting the terms of access provided in the request, then it should notify the trade union of this in clear language. The employer must provide details of which elements of the request for access they are specifically rejecting and the reasons for doing so in as much detail as possible. The employer should provide as much relevant and useful information as possible, including whether another trade union has recently applied for access or is awaiting a ruling from the CAC on whether access will be granted, as well as whether the some or all of the workers subject to the access request are already subject to a trade union recognition agreement or a statutory or voluntary access arrangement.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 32. This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 11 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/access-response-rejection-content
Tab 4 of 5
Negotiation correspondence — the union's latest proposal
Owen Trelfall — Employee-relations director, Thornebeck Distribution Ltd
Marisol Adeyemi-Clarke's final written position before the negotiation window closes, restating the one term still open: weekly access to the Marley Cross Distribution Centre in a bookable room, against Owen Trelfall's standing offer of monthly visits in a back office. The window runs its course under the negotiation clock:
Statutory limit — negotiation window Official code of practice · para. 36
VerifiedJK · 10 Jul 2026
Working days only. The Code fixes no bank-holiday calendar, so no calendar date is printed.
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
Both sides approached the exchange the way the Code expects — considerate of each other's perspectives, working toward a practical solution:
Both parties should approach access negotiations in good faith — considerate and mindful of the other party's perspectives, working together to find pragmatic, practical solutions — and may find it helpful to appoint a lead negotiator on each side and notify the other party who that is and how to contact them.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“Both parties should approach negotiations in good faith. This means that both parties should be considerate and mindful of the other party’s perspectives and work together to find pragmatic, practical solutions to any potential issues that may arise. The parties may find it helpful on both sides to appoint a lead negotiator and notify the other party of who this is and what their contact details are.”
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-good-faith
The window closes without agreement on these terms. This proposal — ASDWS's latest — is what the referral in Tab 5 carries forward, since talks did not continue past the close.
Central Arbitration Committee (copied: Owen Trelfall — Employee-relations director, Thornebeck Distribution Ltd)
Filed in writing to the Central Arbitration Committee's mailbox — in such form as the CAC may require — with Thornebeck Distribution Ltd copied in:
If negotiations are unsuccessful, either party can notify the CAC through its mailbox; the application must be in writing and in such form as the CAC may require, and the notifying party should copy the other party in. When notifying, the union should provide the original access request with the date it was sent, the employer's response with its date if one was received, and the latest proposal the union made during the negotiation period.
Formal state
Laid — not yet in forceofficial text exists; not commenced
“If negotiations on the terms of access are unsuccessful, then either party can notify the CAC through their mailbox. The application must be in writing and in such form as the CAC may require. On receipt of an application the CAC will then begin their decision-making process. The party making this notification should copy the other party into this notification for information. When notifying the CAC, the trade union should provide the original access request (with the date on which it was sent) and the employer’s response along with the date of the response, if one was received. The trade union should then also provide the latest proposal that it made to the employer during the negotiation period.”
Quoted verbatim from the identified source · Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (July 2026), para. 43. This authored restatement is published exactly as recorded in the evidence register.
Pinned extract matched at build · External source checked 11 July 2026 · How verification works
fact/access-cac-referral-application
The application attaches the original request (Tab 1) with its date, the response (Tab 3) with its date, and ASDWS's latest proposal (Tab 4) — made inside the single envelope, counted from the original request, within which an unresolved case must reach the Committee:
Statutory limit — referral to the Central Arbitration Committee Official code of practice · para. 44
VerifiedJK · 10 Jul 2026
Working days only. The Code fixes no bank-holiday calendar, so no calendar date is printed.
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
Closing chronology
Date
Event
Monday 9 November 2026
Access request served on Thornebeck Distribution Ltd, covering the Marley Cross Distribution Centre and the Denholt Park Depot.
Wednesday 25 November 2026
Employer's response received: digital access accepted; physical access to Marley Cross disputed on frequency and location.
Monday 4 January 2027
Negotiation period closed without agreement.
Thursday 7 January 2027
Case referred to the Central Arbitration Committee, copied to Thornebeck Distribution Ltd.
What this page rests on
Every document above restages a claim already made, with its source, on the happy-path or branches walkthrough — this story needed no new statutory facts, only their record-keeping form. Every date is looked up from the same recorded case those pages tell, through the same working-day engine the deadline calculator uses; a test fails if any date here ever disagreed with the branches walkthrough's own day counters. Anything found wrong lands on the public corrections log.