The Fair Work Agency: what it means for security buyers

On 7 April 2026, the UK government launched the Fair Work Agency (FWA), a single body to enforce key employment rights, created under the Employment Rights Act. For the security industry, where labour exploitation has long been a concern, it's one of the most significant developments in years.

What is the Fair Work Agency?

The FWA brings the enforcement of several employment rights into one place, consolidating the work previously spread across separate bodies. According to the government, it pulls together:

• National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage enforcement across the whole of the UK (previously HMRC).
• Serious labour exploitation and modern-slavery-related offences in England and Wales, previously handled by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).
• The gangmasters licensing regime across the UK.
• Regulation of employment agencies and businesses in England, Wales and Scotland, previously the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate.

Over time it will also take on enforcement of further rights such as holiday pay. It has powers to investigate breaches, issue civil penalties and act against labour exploitation, and it's guided by a statutory advisory board with business, trade union and independent representation.

What it means for employers, and buyers

Importantly, the FWA does not create new legal obligations. The rules on minimum wage, agency workers and exploitation already existed; what's changed is how they're enforced, now under one roof, with broader powers and a clearer route for complaints and investigations.

As the government puts it, "employers who already follow good practice should not be affected." For organisations that buy security, that line is the whole point: the FWA raises the cost of cutting corners, which makes choosing a compliant supplier more important than ever.

The Fair Work Agency doesn't change what good looks like, it makes it far riskier to be bad. For buyers, supplier due diligence just became business-critical.

Why this is good news if you choose well

The providers most exposed to the FWA are exactly the ones the industry has been trying to clean up: operators paying cash-in-hand, recruiting informally and skirting the minimum wage. Buyers who knowingly or unknowingly use them inherit supply-chain and reputational risk.

For a provider like Go Security, the FWA simply formalises how we already operate:

• 100% PAYE across our ~300 monthly officers, including our K9 dog handlers, fully paid, taxed and protected.
• BS 7858 vetting and documented right-to-work checks for every officer.
• Transparent, auditable records of pay and hours that stand up to inspection.
• Active support for the S12 Leadership Group and its work to drive exploitation out of the sector.

What buyers should do now

• Ask suppliers directly: are your officers on PAYE, and can you evidence minimum-wage compliance?
• Review your own record-keeping and supply-chain due diligence.
• Favour providers who can show vetting, payroll and audit trails, not just a low price.

Sources: UK Government (Business.gov.uk) Fair Work Agency guidance and the Employment Rights Act 2025 Fair Work Agency factsheet. This article is general information, not legal advice.