Former chiefadviser on political strategy to Tony Blair, Matthew Taylor has been appointed chair of the Fair Work Agency (FWA), which will launch in April 2026.
Matthew Taylor led the influential Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices in 2016, which provided the foundation for many of the transformative reforms now being delivered through the Employment Rights Bill. His extensive work resulted in the Government adopting the majority of the proposals recommended by his department, which helped shape the landscape for Employment Rights in the UK.
As part of the Current Labour party manifesto plans to ‘Make Work Pay’, they announced the resurgence of what was originally part of the Conservative government plans to broaden protections for employment rights that would be managed by the Single Enforcement Agency, but this was subsequently rescinded and nothing more was mentioned.
So, now we have the commitment from Labour that the new rebranded Fair Work Agency will indeed proceed with the intention to bring together existing state enforcement functions and extend the powers further including:
- Regulations for employment agencies and employment businesses
- Enforcement of the National Minimum Wage
- Statutory Sick Pay
- Holiday pay
The Fair Work Agency will have robust powers to investigate and tackle employers flouting the law, including workplace inspections, civil penalties for underpayments, and the ability to bring proceedings on workers’ behalf. It will also provide support to businesses on following employment laws, helping create a level playing field for all where those who want to do the right thing aren’t undercut by those who don’t.
The department promises full transparency in accountability for its progress, part of the remit is that they will published details to support work undertaken which was set out in the Fair Work Agency factsheet which stated:
The Employment Rights Bill requires us to produce an annual report on the work of the FWA and an enforcement strategy every three years. Both the reports and strategies, as well as any updates, must be published and must be laid in Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. They will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny in the usual way.
Research shows the scale of the challenge the Fair Work Agency will address: 900,000 UK workers annually have their holiday pay withheld, worth around £2.1 billion, whilst nearly 20% of minimum wage workers are underpaid.
By bringing together the responsibilities of three existing enforcement bodies to create a single agency they say, will end the current fragmented system so that workers and employers know where to turn to for support.
