The Labour party will create a ‘Fair Work Agency’ if it gets into power at the election, according to an interview with deputy leader Angela Rayner in The Observer.
The new body will have “real teeth”, said Rayner, and the power to prosecute and fine companies that breach employment law.
The aim of the organisation would be to enforce a raft of new rights promised by Labour in its New Deal for Working People, which include making flexible working the default from day one for all; a ban on zero-hours contracts; a right to a predictable working contract and ending ‘fire and rehire’ practices.
“Under the Tories, the enforcement of workers’ rights is fragmented, overburdened and overstretched. That’s bad for workers, for businesses and for our economy,” Rayner told the Observer.
“Allowing those who don’t even pay the national minimum wage off scot-free only encourages a race to the bottom. Employers who want to do right by their workers are being badly let down, finding themselves undercut by those who refuse to play by the rules.
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Labour would amalgamate the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the unit that polices the National Minimum Wage and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate into the new body, she said.
Its manifesto has already made reference to a “Fair Work Standard” that would recognise employers who drive up employment standards, something that would be created and upheld by a new Social Value Council.
The creation of a single agency builds on a recommendation made by Matthew Taylor in his Review of Modern Working Practices in 2017.
Shazia Ejaz, campaigns director at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, welcomed “a more proactive and unified approach to the oversight of the labour market”.
“Key to this approach working is to maintain the expertise of the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate to oversee this work,” she said.
“Ensuring they have enough capacity to take a comprehensive overview of the labour market will make or break the efficacy of this approach.
“And the need to bring this about is urgent given the recruitment supply chain is getting longer and more complex every year, with companies operating within it not subject to any regulation at all such as umbrellas.”
She added that any new body would need to take account of temporary working, “as regulations designed with permanent workers in mind often leave agency workers and agencies unclear about what rules apply to them”.
“This makes it harder for employers to do the right thing by workers even though they want to.
“A single point of enforcement will help our world-class flexible labour market continue to drive economic success.”
Labour has also pledged to make statutory sick pay available from the first day someone falls ill, rather than many workers having to wait three days until they can report as sick.
The TUC believes this would help more than 7 million workers – or around one in four of the working population – according to new analysis published today by the union body together with the Centre for Progressive Change.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Nobody should be plunged into hardship when they become sick. But millions of workers face a financial cliff edge if they get ill.
“Making people wait three days before they get any support is just plain wrong – especially in the current cost of living crisis. That’s why it is essential that SSP is available from day one and available to all. Being forced to work through illness is bad for workers and bad for public health.
“Labour’s New Deal for Working People would fix this problem. With sick pay rights from the first day of sickness, you will know that your family is protected. And you can take the time you need to recover.”
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