Enforcement of employment law in Great Britain

How are employment rights enforced?

Historically, most individual employment rights in Great Britain have been enforced by individuals bringing claims to employment tribunals, while state enforcement has been limited to specific areas such as the National Minimum Wage, employment agencies, gangmasters licensing, modern slavery and health and safety. This resulted in a mixed enforcement model in which only a relatively small number of employment rights were subject to proactive regulatory oversight.

State enforcement

Before 2026, state enforcement responsibilities were divided across several organisations, principally HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS), the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Numerous reviews concluded that this fragmented structure created complexity for workers and employers, limited coordination between regulators and reduced the overall effectiveness of enforcement. Evidence also suggested that non-compliance with employment law was widespread while labour inspection capacity remained comparatively low by international standards.

Establishment of the Fair Work Agency

Based on the evidence regarding the level of non-compliance and the relative capacity of existing labour inspections, successive governments have examined options for improving enforcement.

The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices (2017), the Good Work Plan (2018), and subsequent consultations all supported stronger and more coordinated enforcement arrangements. Although proposals for a single enforcement body were delayed, support for reform continued and the Employment Rights Act 2025 allowed for the establishment of the Fair Work Agency, which began operating in April 2026.

The Fair Work Agency brings together the former enforcement functions of HMRC's National Minimum Wage enforcement team, the EAS and the GLAA, together with the strategic responsibilities previously exercised by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement. Its remit includes enforcement of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, regulation of employment agencies, gangmasters licensing, tackling serious labour exploitation and modern slavery offences in England and Wales, and administering financial penalties where employers fail to pay employment tribunal awards or Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) settlements. The agency has a range of investigatory and enforcement powers, including workplace inspections, information-gathering powers, notices of underpayment, civil penalties, public naming schemes, labour market enforcement undertakings and, where appropriate, referral for criminal prosecution.

In the future, the agency will be able to enforce statutory holiday pay and statutory sick pay, bring certain employment tribunal proceedings on behalf of workers, provide legal assistance in employment-related proceedings, recover enforcement costs from non-compliant employers, and regulate umbrella companies. The legislation also enables ministers to expand the agency's remit further through secondary legislation. These powers had not yet come into force at the time of publication.

Statistics on enforcement activity

Government bodies involved in the enforcement of employment rights have published data on their enforcement activity. This shows that in 2024/25:

• HMRC issued 750 penalties totalling £4.2 million. 3 employers were successfully prosecuted by HMRC for underpaying the minimum wage.
• 15 companies had GLAA licences refused and 19 had licences revoked. There were 1,138 GLAA licence holders in total. 10% of GLAA led investigations resulted in a criminal or civil disruption order, against an organisational target of 25%.
• HSE issued 1,200 notices prohibiting work activity placing people at risk of death or serious injury.

Employment tribunal system

Alongside state enforcement, employment tribunals remain the principal mechanism through which most statutory employment rights are enforced. Employment tribunals hear disputes relating to matters such as unfair dismissal, discrimination, unlawful deductions from wages, redundancy and whistleblowing.

For information on accessing the tribunal system, see the Library briefing Making a claim to an employment tribunal.

Employment tribunal statistics

Most employment tribunal cases in 2025/26 related to unfair dismissal, unauthorised deductions from wages, disability discrimination and breach of contract. These issues accounted for 62% of employment tribunal cases.

Notes:

Sex Discrimination' cases include complaints made in relation to the protected characteristics 'Sex', 'Marriage and Civil Partnership' and 'Gender Reassignment'.

The jurisdiction of 'other protected characteristics' was added in July 2024. This covers other victimisation claims under section 27 Equality Act 2010, when the protected characteristics are unclear or multiple.

Source: Ministry of Justice, Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2026, 11 June 2026