New workers’ rights body appoints chairman to lead crackdown on ‘bad bosses’

The new Government body tasked with clamping down on employers who fail to pay minimum wage and exploit workers has appointed its first chairman.

Matthew Taylor, who currently leads the NHS Confederation, will chair the Fair Work Agency when it is launched next year.

The agency was set up to enforce the package of measures introduced as part of the Employment Rights Bill.

The Bill, which is set to become law later this year, promised the biggest overhaul to workers’ rights in a generation.

This includes day one rights to parental and bereavement leave and updated safeguards for workers, with improvements on zero hours contracts, unfair dismissal and access to sick pay.

The Labour Government said more than 15 million people, representing half of the UK workforce, stand to benefit from the reforms.

Its Fair Work Agency will bring together the responsibilities of three existing bodies to create a single agency, which the Government says ends the current fragmented system and makes it easier for firms to access support.

It is set to have powers to investigate and tackle employers defying the law, including workplace inspections, fines for underpaying staff, and the ability to bring proceedings on workers’ behalf.

Employers that fail to pay the minimum wage to UK workers will be targeted as part of the crackdown.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: “The current enforcement system doesn’t deliver for businesses or working people.

“Our Fair Work Agency will be a game changer in ensuring rights are properly enforced, whilst backing those businesses that already do the right thing.”

Mr Taylor became chief executive of the NHS Confederation, the membership organisation that represents the healthcare system across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in 2021.

He will remain in the role until the agency is launched in April next year, and begin transitioning into the new chair role from November.

Paul Nowak, general secretary of trade union the TUC, said: “The Fair Work Agency is a vital opportunity to turn the page on the era of inadequate enforcement.

“For too long, bad bosses have got away with flagrantly breaking the law.

“This isn’t right – it fails workers and the many decent employers who play by the rules.”