[UK] First Fair Work Agency chair appointed

In the UK, ministers have announced that Matthew Taylor CBE will chair the brand-new Fair Work Agency. 

As a key part of the government’s Make Work Pay plans, the Fair Work Agency will transform how employment rights are enforced across the UK.

From using new powers to ensure the estimated 900,000 people who have holiday pay withheld each year finally receive it, to cracking down on those employers failing to pay the minimum wage, the government says the Fair Work Agency will “finally bring the ambition needed to tackle worker exploitation in the nation properly”. 

The agency will reportedly consolidate the responsibilities of three existing enforcement bodies, thereby ending the current fragmented system and ensuring that workers and employers know where to turn for support. 

Mr Taylor led the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices in 2016, providing the foundation for many of the transformative reforms now being delivered through the Employment Rights Bill.  

Since 2021, Mr Taylor has also reportedly served as Chief Executive of both the NHS Confederation, following a stint at the RSA and an interim period as Director of Labour Market Enforcement. According to the government, he brings exceptional experience to this role.  

New Fair Work Agency Chair Matthew Taylor CBE said, “For years, inside and outside Government, I argued that employers and workers need a single enforcement body for employment rights.  

“It is an honour to be asked to be the first Chair of the Fair Work Agency, the body that will meet that need.  

“The Agency has a vital job in strengthening labour market compliance and enforcement. This is essential to provide workers with protection and employers with a supportive and level playing field on which to invest and grow.”

Paul Nowak - TUC General Secretary - said. “The Fair Work Agency is a vital opportunity to turn the page on the era of inadequate enforcement. For too long, bad bosses have got away with flagrantly breaking the law. This isn’t right – it fails workers and the many decent employers who play by the rules.

“That’s why the Fair Work Agency is so important. It is a chance to create a properly resourced body with real teeth to help good employers comply with the law and come down hard on those who refuse to do right by their staff.

“We look forward to working with Matthew Taylor in his role as chair to realise the Agency’s full potential, protect workers in every corner of the country and work with unions to drive up the quality of work.”

Source: GOV.UK

(Quotes via original reporting)

In the UK, ministers have announced that Matthew Taylor CBE will chair the brand-new Fair Work Agency. 

As a key part of the government’s Make Work Pay plans, the Fair Work Agency will transform how employment rights are enforced across the UK.

From using new powers to ensure the estimated 900,000 people who have holiday pay withheld each year finally receive it, to cracking down on those employers failing to pay the minimum wage, the government says the Fair Work Agency will “finally bring the ambition needed to tackle worker exploitation in the nation properly”. 

The agency will reportedly consolidate the responsibilities of three existing enforcement bodies, thereby ending the current fragmented system and ensuring that workers and employers know where to turn for support. 

Mr Taylor led the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices in 2016, providing the foundation for many of the transformative reforms now being delivered through the Employment Rights Bill.  

Since 2021, Mr Taylor has also reportedly served as Chief Executive of both the NHS Confederation, following a stint at the RSA and an interim period as Director of Labour Market Enforcement. According to the government, he brings exceptional experience to this role.  

New Fair Work Agency Chair Matthew Taylor CBE said, “For years, inside and outside Government, I argued that employers and workers need a single enforcement body for employment rights.  

“It is an honour to be asked to be the first Chair of the Fair Work Agency, the body that will meet that need.  

“The Agency has a vital job in strengthening labour market compliance and enforcement. This is essential to provide workers with protection and employers with a supportive and level playing field on which to invest and grow.”

Paul Nowak - TUC General Secretary - said. “The Fair Work Agency is a vital opportunity to turn the page on the era of inadequate enforcement. For too long, bad bosses have got away with flagrantly breaking the law. This isn’t right – it fails workers and the many decent employers who play by the rules.

“That’s why the Fair Work Agency is so important. It is a chance to create a properly resourced body with real teeth to help good employers comply with the law and come down hard on those who refuse to do right by their staff.

“We look forward to working with Matthew Taylor in his role as chair to realise the Agency’s full potential, protect workers in every corner of the country and work with unions to drive up the quality of work.”

Source: GOV.UK

(Quotes via original reporting)