Fair Work Agency: enforcement policy statement
The regulatory tools and guiding structures utilised by the Fair Work Agency to enforce labour market legislation within its remit.
Documents
Details
This document sets out:
- the FWA’s legislative remit for upholding compliance with labour market legislation across the UK
- the powers of the FWA and FWA enforcement officers
- the principles and codes of practice the FWA will have regard to in its operations
- the tools the FWA operates under its civil and criminal regimes, and its approach to prosecution
- how the FWA works with other bodies, including the Department of Business and Trade (DBT)
Updates to this page
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Added content to explain the Fair Work Agency modern slavery remit. Added 'FWA has a role to protect vulnerable and exploited workers under sections 1 and 2 of the Modern Slavery Act. Updated it from 'FWA has a role to protect vulnerable and exploited workers covering certain aspects of the Modern Slavery Act.' Added 'Where serious labour exploitation does not meet the threshold for a modern slavery offence, the FWA may investigate and prosecute offences under the Fraud Act 2006 to tackle exploitative practices and protect vulnerable workers.'
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The Fair Work Agency enforcement policy statement has been updated to more accurately reflect the work of the Employment Tribunal Financial Penalties Team.
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First published.
Update history
2026-08-26 10:54
Added content to explain the Fair Work Agency modern slavery remit. Added ‘FWA has a role to protect vulnerable and exploited workers under sections 1 and 2 of the Modern Slavery Act. Updated it from ‘FWA has a role to protect vulnerable and exploited workers covering certain aspects of the Modern Slavery Act.’Added ‘Where serious labour exploitation does not meet the threshold for a modern slavery offence, the FWA may investigate and prosecute offences under the Fraud Act 2006 to tackle exploitative practices and protect vulnerable workers.’
2026-05-19 11:20
The Fair Work Agency enforcement policy statement has been updated to more accurately reflect the work of the Employment Tribunal Financial Penalties Team.
2026-04-07 12:00
First published.