Greater collaboration needed to make the Fair Work Agency fit for purpose

In its response to calls for evidence for the Labour Market Enforcement Strategy 2025 to 2026, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has called for greater collaboration between Government, enforcement bodies and staffing companies while the Fair Work Agency (FWA) is developed.

According to APSCo, the HMRC National Minimum Wage (NMW) body, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), and the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate must ensure they work together with clear channels of communication to ensure timely and effective collaboration.

The trade body for the professional staffing sector has warned it is critical that a level-playing field for employment businesses is created and clear, robust guidance for employers is offered in order to clampdown on unscrupulous behaviour as the FWA is implemented.

APSCo has urged the Government to ensure the Fair Work Agency focuses on:

• Implementing a comprehensive monitoring framework to evaluate effectiveness
• Enhancing protections for vulnerable workers, particularly those in low-paid sectors, without unnecessarily limiting those in the highly skilled flexible labour market
• Supporting robust data-sharing protocols between agencies
• Continuous staff development and expertise retention
• Scrutinising audits, service level agreements, key performance indicators and public responses if there are delays
• Reviewing the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, including the opt-out options for umbrella company workers

Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director at APSCo comments:

“We welcomed the announcement of the Fair Work Agency and will be working closely with the enforcement bodies and Government influencers as this is created and granted greater powers of regulation. What we have to see, though, is more collaboration between enforcement bodies and Government departments who have worked in silo for far too long. It is crucial that this is addressed to streamline processes, prevent unnecessary or irrelevant regulation and to ensure there is the much-needed consistency in recruitment.

“There is a wealth of non-compliance in the labour market that needs to be addressed, but this should not be to the detriment of staffing businesses or workers who are operating as they should. It is also crucial that the FWA and any proposals that are put forward in the next few years are conducive to the creation of a flexible, robust and highly skilled labour market.”