Could a Fair Work Agency help enforce worker rights in the UK?
8 January 2025
“Currently, lots of workers are vulnerable to exploitation.”
In the UK today, many low wage workers, particularly migrant workers or those employed via agencies find themselves subject to exploitation and abuse.
The organisations and government bodies responsible for enforcement of labour rights in the UK are fragmented - as they are in many countries around the world. Could proposals to create a single labour enforcement body - a Fair Work Agency - help improve business compliance with labour laws?
Head of IHRB’s Migrant Workers Programme Neill Wilkins delves into UK labour regulation with Joanne Young, CEO of the Association of Labour Providers (ALP). Joanne shares challenges faced by workers and businesses under the current system and explains the thinking behind the ALP's recommendations for a unified enforcement body.
Neill and Joanne also consider the causes of rising workforce costs in sectors such as agriculture, as well as the implications of the Employer Pays Principle.
The ALP’s report on the need to establish a Fair Work Agency is available for download on the ALP website.
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Host: Deborah Sagoe, IHRB's Communications Coordinator
Producer & Editor: Helen Brown
Additional Contributors: Sam Simmons, IHRB's Head of Communications
