The FWA launched 7 April 2026 with powers to inspect any UK employer unannounced, review 6 years of records, and issue penalties of up to £20,000 per worker. Research found that 37% of SME HR handlers have never heard of it.
One-off payment · Free updates for 12 months · 30-day money-back guarantee
of SME HR handlers have never heard of the Fair Work Agency
maximum penalty per worker for serious wage and SSP breaches
to generate your complete, audit-ready compliance pack
Each document is customised with your company name and employee count. All drafted to comply with UK employment law as at 2026 — not a generic template from 2019.
Updated sick pay policy reflecting the removal of the 3-day waiting period. SSP now payable from day one at £123.25/week.
Paternity, parental, and bereavement leave policy reflecting day-one entitlements. Covers the critical leave-vs-pay distinction.
Record-keeping template for ALL workers. Failure to keep adequate holiday records is now a criminal offence.
One-page addendum covering every live ERA 2025 change. Ready to print with signature blocks.
Preparation checklist for unannounced inspections. Covers every document the FWA can demand, plus a dawn raid protocol.
Single A4 page summarising every ERA 2025 change — what's live now and what's coming. Print it and pin it in the office.
Sexual harassment is now a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law. Most employers don't know this yet.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is being rolled out in stages. Further provisions on zero-hours contracts take effect October 2026, with collective bargaining reforms following in 2027. The SSP rate changes every April. When the rules change, your documents update automatically — no extra charge.
Unannounced inspections begin. Day-one SSP, expanded written statements and NMW enforcement active.
New rules on guaranteed hours offers and notice of shifts for zero-hours and agency workers.
Remaining Employment Rights Act provisions, including new trade union access rights and fair dismissal reforms.
The FWA is not a helpline. It is an enforcement body with the same powers as a tax inspector — and it is actively using them.
FWA officers can arrive at your premises without prior notice and demand immediate access to payroll systems, contracts and records.
Inspectors can demand payslips, time sheets, SSP records, right-to-work documents, and contracts going back 6 years.
Wage underpayment penalties are 200% of the underpayment, capped at £20,000 per worker. Unpaid SSP carries separate penalties.
Deliberate NMW underpayment or obstruction of an FWA inspection can result in criminal prosecution and director disqualification.
Inspectors can review up to 6 years of employment records — including for staff who have already left your business.
Employers found to have underpaid staff are named on a public government register, with reputational damage for customers and candidates.
Most employers don't need a £500 solicitor. But doing nothing is not an option once FWA inspections begin.
| DIY | FairWork Ready | Employment Solicitor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Documents produced | You write them | 7 documents | Typically 2–3 |
| Customised to your business | ✗ Generic | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Reflects 2025 Act changes | ✗ Risk of gaps | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| FWA inspection checklist | ✗ | ✓ 47 points | ✗ Not included |
| Updates when law changes | ✗ You do it | ✓ 12 months free | ✗ Extra cost |
| Time to get documents | Days or weeks | 10 minutes | 1–2 weeks |
| Price | Free | £99 | £500+ |
The Fair Work Agency (FWA) is a new UK government enforcement body that launched on 7 April 2026. It consolidated three former enforcement bodies — the HMRC National Minimum Wage enforcement team, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority — into a single, more powerful organisation.
Its mandate is to enforce employment law across all UK businesses, with a particular focus on minimum wage compliance, statutory sick pay, right to work, and working time. Unlike its predecessors, it has broader powers to conduct proactive, intelligence-led inspections — not just respond to complaints.
FWA inspectors are authorised to review any aspect of employment compliance, including:
Pay records: payslips, National Minimum Wage calculations, payroll records going back 6 years, deductions from wages.
Sick pay: SSP records, notification procedures, fit note records, absence management documentation.
Contracts and statements: written statements of particulars, zero-hours contract terms, agency worker agreements.
Right to work: documentation proving you checked each employee's right to work before employment commenced.
Working time: holiday records, rest break compliance, average working hours calculations.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is the most significant overhaul of UK employment law since the Employment Rights Act 1996. Key changes that are already in force (from April 2026) include:
Day-one SSP: Statutory Sick Pay is now payable from the first day of illness — the previous 3 waiting days have been abolished.
Day-one written statement: Employees are entitled to a written statement of particulars on their first day, with expanded minimum content requirements.
Enhanced enforcement: The creation of the FWA gives the government a single, better-resourced body to enforce all these rights proactively.
Further provisions — including zero-hours contract reforms — are coming in October 2026 and 2027.
Almost certainly yes. If your contracts were drafted before 2025, they will not reflect the day-one SSP entitlement or the expanded requirements for written statements of particulars under the 2025 Act.
An FWA inspector reviewing employment documentation would check whether your written statements meet the new statutory minimum content — and note any gaps as potential non-compliance. Our compliance pack includes an updated written statement template specifically drafted to meet the 2025 requirements, customised with your company details.
Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, SSP became payable from the first day of illness — removing the previous rule that the first 3 days were unpaid "waiting days." This applies to all employees who earn above the Lower Earnings Limit and have been employed for at least one day.
The current rate (2026/27) is £116.75 per week, or 80% of average weekly earnings for employees who earn less than that. You can pay more than the statutory rate, but not less.
Your written SSP policy must reflect this change. The FWA treats SSP underpayment the same as NMW underpayment — it triggers the 200% penalty calculation.
Yes — the documents in your pack are proper employment documents, not generic templates. They become part of your employment framework when you adopt them, and can be used as evidence of compliance during an FWA inspection.
FairWork Ready is a document generation service, not a law firm, and the pack does not constitute legal advice. For complex situations — TUPE transfers, redundancy programmes, employment tribunal defence — you should take specialist legal advice. But for the day-to-day compliance documentation that FWA inspectors check, the pack covers exactly what you need.
Your pack includes free document updates for 12 months from the date of purchase. The Employment Rights Act has further provisions coming into force in October 2026 and 2027. When those provisions take effect, your documents will be updated to reflect them — automatically, at no extra charge.
The SSP rate is updated by HMRC each April. We update your SSP policy to reflect each new rate. We'll email you when any update is applied so you're never caught unaware.
After 12 months, you can renew your update subscription for £29/year, or purchase a fresh pack if your business has changed significantly.
The Fair Work Agency is inspecting businesses now. Don't wait until an inspector arrives. For £99, you get 7 customised documents, a 47-point inspection checklist, and 12 months of free updates — everything you need to face an FWA inspection with confidence.
Get Your Compliance Pack — £99