The Employment Protection Code of Practice (Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities) Order 2026 fixes 30 October 2026 as the date on which ACAS's revised Code on time off for trade union duties and activities comes into effect. The Order applies in England, Wales and Scotland and ties the commencement measure to the draft code laid before Parliament on 6 July 2026. (legislationtracker.co.uk) In practical terms, the instrument does not create a new standalone right by itself. Its immediate function is to bring the revised ACAS code into force so that employers, recognised unions and tribunals are working from the same reference point from 30 October onwards. (legislationtracker.co.uk)
The change matters because the revised code replaces the version that has been in force since 1 January 2010. ACAS describes that code as the minimum standard employers should follow when handling time off for trade union duties and activities, and says the 2026 revision is intended to reflect legal changes due to take effect on 30 October 2026. (acas.org.uk) ACAS also states that statutory codes are not legally binding in themselves, but courts and employment tribunals take them into account in relevant cases. That gives the revised text practical weight in disputes involving trade union representatives, union learning representatives and the new category of union equality representatives. (acas.org.uk)
The legal trigger sits in the Employment Rights Act 2025. Section 64 amended the 1992 Act so that, where time off is permitted for trade union duties or union learning representative functions, an employer must provide reasonable accommodation and other facilities if requested, having regard to any relevant ACAS code. Section 65 then inserted a new right to time off for union equality representatives and linked that right to tribunal enforcement. (legislation.gov.uk) That connection between primary legislation and the ACAS code is why this Order has more operational weight than its short text suggests. The instrument is procedural, but it activates the code that workplace parties and tribunals are expected to use when interpreting the new facilities duty and the wider representative model. (legislation.gov.uk)
The most important drafting point is the saving provision. The revised code does not apply, so far as it is relevant, to tribunal claims under section 168(4)(a) or section 168A(9)(a) where the employer's alleged failure to allow time off happened before 30 October 2026. Those provisions cover claims tied to time off for trade union duties and for union learning representatives. (legislationtracker.co.uk) For employers and claimant representatives, that makes the date of the underlying refusal decisive. A hearing listed after 30 October will not automatically pull an older dispute into the new code; in those cases, the earlier 2010 code remains the relevant benchmark. (legislationtracker.co.uk)
The draft text published by ACAS shows the direction of travel. It stresses that time off arrangements have to work alongside operational requirements, while still allowing effective representation across modern workplaces, including remote, dispersed and part-time workforces. It also addresses questions of pay, workload cover, training and the support needed when representatives are carrying out statutory duties. (acas.org.uk) The immediate effect for organisations with recognised unions is straightforward. Before 30 October, local policies, manager guidance and facility arrangements will need to be checked against the revised code, particularly where equality representatives or requests for accommodation and facilities are likely to arise under the 2025 Act. (legislation.gov.uk)
The Explanatory Note says no standalone impact assessment has been produced for the Order or for the code because no significant effect on the private, voluntary or public sector is expected from the commencement measure itself. Instead, the Government directs readers to the wider impact assessment prepared for the Employment Rights Act 2025 measures on trade union access, recognition and representation. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) Taken together, the Order is a narrow commencement instrument with real workplace significance. From 30 October 2026, the revised ACAS code becomes the main practical guide for how statutory time off rights linked to union duties, learning functions and equality representation should be handled across Great Britain. (legislationtracker.co.uk)