The government’s proposed Fair Work Agency could implement a warning system before going on to prosecute and fine companies that breach employment law.
The agency, one of the key elements of the Labour party’s New Deal for Working People it pledged to deliver when it won the election, brings together multiple agencies that police workers’ rights.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner promised that the FWA would have “real teeth”, claiming that the Conservative administration’s enforcement of workers’ rights had been “fragmented, overburdened and overstretched”.
According to reports in The Times newspaper, ministers are considering a warning system that would allow companies to make improvements before the agency charges a fine.
Fair Work Agency
‘Fair Work Agency’ proposed by Labour party
Employment Rights Bill: ministers hail partnership with business
It quotes a source saying that the government has “no desire to beat business around the head with excessive fines”, and that it would consult fully on the proposals.
Currently, only certain bodies can impose fines on companies for breaching workers’ rights regulations, including HM Revenue & Customs for failure to pay the national minimum wage, but only in extreme circumstances.
The spokesperson told the paper: “This is about getting the balance right to crack down on the cowboys undercutting a fair market and supporting employers and businesses to do what they do best — grow our economy.”
Craig Beaumont, head of public affairs for the Federation of Small Businesses, said he hoped the government would not “overreach” and penalise small businesses through heavy-handed fines.
He said: “As well as unions, one million small employers deserve to be recognised and heard on these measures when the government consults about all of them, thoroughly.”
The FWA will amalgamate the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the unit that polices the National Minimum Wage, and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. Bringing multiple agencies together builds on a recommendation made in the 2017 Review of Modern Working Practices, known as the Taylor Review.
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