What is the Fair Work Agency and what does it mean for a recruitment agency?
The Fair Work Agency is the single government body that enforces core employment rights in Great Britain. It launched on 7 April 2026 as an executive agency of the government's business department, taking over the work of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, which regulated recruitment agencies for decades, and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. It enforces the national minimum wage, the rules for employment agencies and employment businesses, and gangmaster licensing, and from 2027 it will add statutory holiday pay and, in time, statutory sick pay. For a recruitment agency the practical change is that one regulator now sees the whole of your business, your adverts and terms, your temps' pay and documents, and your supply chain, and can act on any of it.
Updated 30 September 2026. Rewritten in full with the questions people ask, the holiday pay enforcement timetable and the agency's contact details. Previously updated 3 September 2026 for the widened enforcement remit and 17 August 2026 for the first delivery plan.
Key facts, each with its government source
- The Fair Work Agency launched on 7 April 2026 and brings the enforcement of key employment rights into one place (business.gov.uk, Fair Work Agency).
- Today it upholds the national minimum wage, regulates employment agencies and employment businesses, runs the gangmaster licensing scheme for the agriculture and food sectors, and works with Acas (business.gov.uk).
- Enforcement of statutory holiday pay starts in 2027 and will not start before April 2027; until then a holiday pay concern goes to Acas (business.gov.uk). The consultation that closed on 22 September 2026 proposed a six-year claim period and a penalty of 200% of arrears per worker, up to £20,000 per worker (gov.uk consultation).
- Since 6 April 2026 employers must keep records of annual leave and holiday pay for six years, the period the agency would look back over (Acas, Employment Rights Act 2025).
- The agency's enforcement policy statement, updated 26 August 2026, covers its role under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and a route to prosecute serious labour exploitation under the Fraud Act 2006 where the modern slavery threshold is not met (gov.uk, enforcement policy statement).
- Its regulation of employment agencies covers England, Wales and Scotland; in Northern Ireland the Employment Agency Inspectorate continues (business.gov.uk).
- Contact. Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG; 0345 161 6000, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm; contact@fairworkagency.gov.uk (gov.uk, contact the Fair Work Agency).
What it enforces today
Everything the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate enforced still applies. That means the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 and the Employment Agencies Act 1973, so the rules on written terms with work-seekers, the Key Information Document for every agency worker, adverts that name the agency and describe a real vacancy, the limits on fees and transfer fees, and the records you must keep. Gangmaster licensing continues for the sectors it always covered. Minimum wage enforcement runs through HMRC under the agency's oversight until the full transfer, which the agency's delivery plan places in April 2027.
The difference is joined-up intelligence. A complaint from one temp about pay can open a look at your Key Information Documents, your umbrella arrangements and your adverts, because the same body now sees all of it.
What it will enforce from 2027
Statutory holiday pay comes first, in 2027 and not before April 2027. The government's proposal is that the agency could investigate underpayments going back six years, recover arrears for the worker and issue a penalty of 200% of the arrears, halved if the arrears and half the penalty are paid within 14 days, with a ceiling of £20,000 per worker and a floor of £100 per case. The government response to the consultation has not been published yet; this page changes the day it is.
For an employment business the arrears and the penalty would sit with the agency, not the client, because the agency is the employer of its temporary workers for holiday pay. The records you have had to keep since 6 April 2026 are what would decide the case. Statutory sick pay enforcement follows later, and the regulation of umbrella companies is listed by the government for 2027.
The wider remit confirmed in August
The enforcement policy statement of 26 August 2026 makes two things plain. The agency protects vulnerable and exploited workers under sections 1 and 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, with police-style powers for its officers when they investigate. And where serious labour exploitation falls short of that threshold, it may investigate and prosecute under the Fraud Act 2006. Modern slavery offences are devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so there the agency works with the police and local authorities rather than alone.
None of this is aimed at a well-run agency. It concentrates in one body the risk that used to sit across several, and it raises the value of being able to show your records quickly.
What a recruitment agency should have ready
Six things, in the order an inspector would ask for them. Written terms with every work-seeker, dated before any work-finding service. A Key Information Document for every agency worker, including the umbrella illustration where one is used, given before terms are agreed. Right to work checks completed and dated for everyone on assignment, on the scheme that widens on 1 October 2026. Pay records that show every hour paid at the minimum wage or above, including travel between assignments and waiting time where those count. Holiday records for six years, with rolled-up holiday pay shown as its own line on the payslip where you use it. And due diligence on every umbrella or intermediary in your payroll chain, because since 6 April 2026 the agency that holds the client contract can be liable for the umbrella's unpaid PAYE.
If you can put your hand on those six within a day, an inspection is paperwork. If you cannot, that is the list to work through this month.
Questions people ask
What does the Fair Work Agency do?
It enforces the national minimum wage, the conduct rules for employment agencies and employment businesses, and gangmaster licensing, investigates labour exploitation, and from 2027 will enforce statutory holiday pay. It launched on 7 April 2026.
Does the Fair Work Agency regulate recruitment agencies?
Yes. It took over the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate's role on 7 April 2026 and enforces the Conduct Regulations 2003 and the Employment Agencies Act 1973 in England, Wales and Scotland.
When will the Fair Work Agency start enforcing holiday pay?
In 2027, and not before April 2027. The timing depends on the consultation that closed on 22 September 2026, which proposed a six-year claim period and penalties of up to 200% of arrears.
How do I contact the Fair Work Agency?
By phone on 0345 161 6000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), by email at contact@fairworkagency.gov.uk, or by post to Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG. Complaints about pay or work rights go through the form on gov.uk.
What should a recruitment agency have ready for an inspection?
Written terms with work-seekers, Key Information Documents, dated right to work checks, minimum wage pay records, six years of holiday records, and due diligence on every umbrella in the payroll chain.
Where to go next
The Employment Rights Act timeline sets out every date through 2027, and the 12-point compliance health check turns this page into a 30-minute self-audit. BIOR Agency Members hold the Compliance Pack, the 2026 document library and Ask BIOR, the written answers desk, and every member is bound by the Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct, which includes an express duty to co-operate with the Fair Work Agency. BIOR membership includes the certification assessment. Pass it and you are certified for five years. See Agency Membership. Check any recruiter at ior.org/certified.
Written by The BIOR Membership Team. Last reviewed 30 September 2026 against gov.uk, business.gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk and Acas. Sources, Fair Work Agency on gov.uk, business.gov.uk Fair Work Agency page, enforcement policy statement, delivery plan 2026 to 2027, holiday pay compliance and enforcement consultation, PAYE rules for labour supply chains that include umbrella companies.