The Fair Work Agency (FWA) was established under the Employment Rights Act 2025 and launched in April 2026. It consolidates several existing enforcement functions into a single body, bringing together HMRC’s National Minimum Wage enforcement team, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
The aim is to strengthen and streamline the enforcement of employment rights, with a particular focus on proactive investigations and improving compliance across the labour market.
On 11 May 2026, the FWA published a report examining labour market non-compliance and harmful workplace practices across the UK over the two years leading up to summer 2025.
The report found that 14% of UK workers experienced at least one breach of core employment rights now falling within the FWA’s remit. These included failures relating to National Minimum Wage compliance, itemised payslips, written particulars and agency worker protections.
The report also highlighted a much broader range of workplace concerns, including unlawful deductions from wages, unpaid additional working hours,...
By Ivan Kesic A drone strike on an electrical generator just outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates on May 17, 2026, suddenly brought the Persia...