On 7 April 2026, the day on which the Fair Work Agency (the FWA) was legally established, in a policy paper it called ‘Strategic steer to the Fair Work Agency’, the government set out its expectations for the new body in its 2026 / 2027 ‘transitional year’.
Alongside this, two further publications set out its ongoing strategic and operational remit for its extensive enforcement powers, which we explored in some detail in our previous Insight in November 2024. The Fair Work Agency. These documents, which will become the cornerstone of how employers can expect any investigations and compliance requirements to be handled, are:
- FWA: Enforcement policy statement — setting out the FWA’s legal remit, its powers and approach to prosecutions (civil and criminal)
- Code of Practice for FWA labour market enforcement undertakings and orders — setting out the factors the FWA will take into account when using the legal tools it has to require employers to take action to rectify non-compliances.
The plan for year one — what to expect
Upon its inception on 7 April 2026, the FWA immediately took over responsibility for
- Agency regulation from the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate
- Gangmaster licensing from the Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority (regulating agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering and related industries)
- Serious labour abuse, including modern slavery (FWA will work alongside law enforcement agencies in this respect)
As well as taking over responsibilities from existing organisations, there is a clear directive within the strategic steer for the FWA to look to expand and improve the labour market enforcement system by taking advantage of the synergies that are anticipated from moving to a single body. Data and intelligence sharing are perhaps obvious potential areas for efficiency and cohesion improvements. However, wider and more fundamental innovation and improvements of the existing framework are also on the to do list.
A PR charm offensive might be anticipated given the government’s directive for the FWA to improve visibility and stakeholder engagement from both the employer and public perspectives. On the employer side of the equation, there is a clear emphasis on supporting businesses to comply with their obligations, including streamlining the various regulatory compliance obligations under a more cohesive framework to reduce administrative burdens and improving available guidance.
From the public’s perspective, the plan is to ensure that the FWA’s existence is known about and its role is communicated and understood. Accessibility via a ‘digital front door’ will be an important facet of this, to enable reports of suspected non-compliance and complaints to be submitted easily.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the critical focus on responsiveness and transparency in other public bodies over recent years, the FWA is specifically charges with ‘ensuring every complaint is assessed and responded to transparently’, improving feedback to third parties and ensuring visibility of enforcement outcomes. In doing so it is to engage with stakeholders from trade unions, employer organisation and the public (referred to as ‘civil society’ in the publications).
Still to come — 2027 and beyond
National Minimum Wage (NMW) enforcement remains with HMRC for now but will move across to the FWA in April 2027; indeed, some of FWA’s objectives for this year relate to operational readiness to assume the NMW enforcement remit at that point.
Its holiday pay enforcement powers, which will include oversight of the new ERA2025 duty on employers to keep records to demonstrate compliance with Working Time Regulations 1998, are also set to commence in 2027.
The timings of other FWA responsibilities, such as SSP enforcement, are not yet clear but it would seem logical that SSP would also transfer to the FWA in 2027.
Two of the most significant changes for employers, the powers for the FWA (on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade) to bring employment tribunal proceedings on behalf of a worker and/or provide legal assistance to parties engaged in employment-related proceedings, are also not yet in force; and details about when they can be expected to commence are still awaited.
Comment
Whilst much of the Employment Rights Act 2025 amends existing laws, admittedly in some cases to a very significant degree, the creation of the FWA is a genuinely transformative development. The breadth of its remit and the extent of its powers, backed by civil and criminal penalties, mean employers will want to keep a weather eye on how the body discharges its duties as it establishes its play book. We shall keep you posted.
*our November 2024 Insight remains current despite its age, as the FWA is one area in which the substantive provisions have not been effectively amended during the passage of the Employment Rights Bill into the final ERA2025.
Previous insights in our ERA Series
Employment Rights Act Series: Protected Disclosures: Sexual Harassment (Partner Saira Ali) 30 April 2026
Employment Rights Act Series: Further consultations on redundancy, industrial action, and agency work (Principal Associate, Louise Singh) 30 March 2026
Employment Rights Act Series: April 2026 changes spring into force – practical considerations for employers (Partner, Mark Landon and Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty) 27 March 2026
Employment Rights Act Series: Further consultations for Spring 2026 (Principal Associate, Louise Singh) 25 February 2026
Employment Rights Act Series: New trade union law now in force and updated timeline (Principal Associate, Louise Singh) 25 February 2026
Employment Rights Act Series: Redundancy collective consultation: Doubling down on recalcitrant employers by doubling up on protective awards (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty and Legal Director, Victoria Duddles) 29 January 2026
Hark! The Employment Rights Act 2025 is nigh… (Partner, Nick Newman and Principal Associate, Louise Singh) 17 December 2025
Employment Rights Bill Series: Four ‘autumn 2025’ consultation launched (Principal Associate, Matt Smith) 24 October 2025
Employment Rights Bill Series: Amendments to zero-hours contracts provisions (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty and Principal Associate, Louise Singh) 07 August 2025
Employment Rights Bill Series: Amendments to the Fire and Re-hire provisions (Legal Director, Ross Hutchison) 22 July 2025
Employment Rights Bill series | July amendments: NDA changes and more (Principal Associate, Louise Singh) 13 July 2025
Employment Right Bill Series: Implementation Roadmap – a long and winding road (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty and Partner, Mark Landon) 08 July 2025
Employment Right Bill Series: House of Lords Stages completed (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty) 26 June 2025
Employment Rights Bill Series: The House of Lords Stages so far (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty) 6 June 2025
Employment Rights Bill Series: Employment Rights Bill moves from Commons to Lords (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty) 25 March 2025
Employment Rights Bill Series continued (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty) 7 March 2025
Employment Rights Bill Series: Zero Hours Contracts and Guaranteed Hours: A Zero-Sum policy? (Principal Associate, Louise Singh) 27 January 2025
Employment Rights Bill Series: Small but significant changes to the statutory sick pay system (Principal Associate, Ashley Powis) 13 December 2024
Employment Rights Bill Series: First set of proposed amendments: what it means and what to expect (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty) 6 December 2024
Employment Rights Bill Series: Further rules on fair tipping (Principal Associate, Ashley Powis) 3 December 2024
Employment Rights Bill Series: Dismissal and Re-engagement - Tying the Hands of employers? (Legal Director, Ross Hutchison) 22 November 2024
Employment Rights Bill Series: The Fair Work Agency (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty) 15 November 2024
Employment Rights Bill Series: The Pendulum Swings on Industrial Relation (Partner Andrew Forrest and Principal Associate, Louise Singh) 8 November 2024
Employment Rights Bill Series: Day 1 right to claim unfair dismissal (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty and Associate, Lauren Barchet) 25 October 2024
Employment Right Bill Series – Flexible Working “Further Flexion” (Principal Associate, Suzanne Nulty) 21 October 2024
The Employment Rights Bill Series: 2024 – What’s in, What’s out, and What’s next (Principal Associates, Louise Singh and Suzanne Nulty) 11 October 2024
For more information on the Fair Work Agency and its scope, contact our employment solicitors.
