Overview
- - The government has created the Fair Work Agency to enforce the new Employment Rights Act and to merge four regulators that policed minimum wage, agency standards and labour abuse.
- - Official guidance sets out unannounced inspections, warrants under Police and Criminal Evidence Act rules to enter without consent, searches of people and premises, seizures, arrests and use of reasonable force, plus the ability to issue Notices of Underpayment and bring tribunal cases for workers.
- - Raids cannot be stalled by asking to speak to a lawyer without a clear reason, junior staff cannot block entry if managers are off site, and unions are permitted regular workplace visits under the new framework.
- - Ministers have given the agency a £60.1 million annual budget and a remit letter to identify where laws or operations should change and to advise on possible future scope expansion.
- - Business groups including the Institute of Directors, the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chambers of Commerce warn the approach could strain SMEs and swell tribunal backlogs, while ministers say it targets rogue employers and the Conservative opposition pledges to scrap the body.