The UK government’s Fair Work Agency, established under the Employment Rights Act and operational since April, is intensifying efforts to recover unpaid wages and improve labour conditions. The agency, led by Chief Executive Lisa Pinney, focuses on reclaiming money owed to workers and preventing future violations through legal interventions.
In a recent operation, a team of around 650 staff, together with other government bodies, inspected a fruit farm in Scotland following complaints of substandard working and living conditions. These included infestations of mice and rats in workers’ caravans, irregularities in pay and hours, and excessive work periods. Some affected employees were seasonal foreign workers on the UK’s visa programme. The farm owner has since taken steps to address the identified issues.
The agency encourages employers to voluntarily rectify underpayment problems related to salaries, sick pay, or holiday pay, allowing them to avoid formal enforcement actions. However, persistent offenders may face fines and public naming. Estimates from independent bodies highlight the scale of noncompliance: the Resolution Foundation states that approximately 900,000 workers annually have some holiday pay withheld, amounting to an estimated £2.1 billion in arrears. The Low Pay Commission reported around 371,000 minimum wage underpayments in 2024.
Beyond wage enforcement, the Fair Work Agency investigates worker exploitation, including cases that may amount to modern slavery. Its powers include issuing civil penalties, negotiating legally binding agreements with employers, recommending director bans, and pursuing prosecutions in coordination with law enforcement and prosecution authorities, such as the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales.
Since its inception, the agency has witnessed a significant rise in complaints. Its labour abuse division handled 2,741 inquiries in the first quarter of this year, marking an 87% increase compared to the previous year. Complaints regarding the national minimum wage also rose by 19%, reaching 2,933 during the same period.
Pinney, who previously headed the Mining Remediation Authority and held senior roles at the Environment Agency, emphasizes a balanced approach combining support for compliant businesses with decisive action against exploitative practices. She stresses the agency’s aim to make compliance straightforward for employers while empowering workers to understand their rights.
The Fair Work Agency is collaborating with Acas, the advisory service for workplace relations, to develop a more streamlined digital platform to assist employers in navigating employment obligations.
Some industry representatives, such as Lorraine Laryea of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, welcome the agency’s formation and its commitment to targeted enforcement. However, they caution against overly broad or punitive measures and advocate for risk-based approaches that focus resources on identifying and addressing serious breaches by rogue operators rather than penalizing inadvertent errors.
Pinney has indicated that the agency’s enforcement powers related to holiday and sick pay will be implemented with transparency and advance notice. While covert investigations will occur in cases with credible intelligence of legal violations—often in cooperation with agencies such as the National Crime Agency—the preferred method is to alert employers beforehand to facilitate compliance.
The Fair Work Agency appears poised to play a pivotal role in enforcing employment rights in the UK, attempting to balance firm regulation with constructive engagement as it expands its remit in the coming months.