Establishment of Fair Work Agency to enforce employment rights

Implementation date: April 2026

The Employment Rights Bill establishes a single labour market enforcement body.

The Fair Work Agency will incorporate existing agencies, including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the National Minimum Wage Unit and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate.

The new body will be responsible for enforcing rights including:

• the national minimum wage;
• statutory sick pay;
• holiday pay;
• regulations for employment agencies;
• unpaid employment tribunal awards;
• the licensing regime for businesses operating as "gangmasters" in certain sectors; and
• parts of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The Agency will be able to issue a notice of underpayment where an employer has failed to pay a statutory payment, including holiday pay and statutory sick pay. This will require payment of an additional penalty, as well as payment of the amount owed to the employee.

It will also have the power to bring employment tribunal claims where it appears that a worker who has the right to bring a claim will not do so.

It will have powers to inspect workplaces, issue fines, bring civil proceedings and prosecutions.

The Government has confirmed, in Implementing the Employment Rights Bill: Our roadmap for delivering change, that the Fair Work Agency will be established in April 2026 but it is not yet known when it will begin exercising its enforcement powers.