Beyond the Employment Rights Bill - Fair Work Agency takes shape: Matthew Taylor appointed as chair ahead of 2026 launch

The UK government has appointed Matthew Taylor as the chair of the new Fair Work Agency (FWA), a body launching in April 2026 to oversee the enforcement of employment law. Taylor previously led the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices in 2017, which laid the groundwork for many of the reforms now being implemented through the Employment Rights Bill (ERB).

The FWA will consolidate a number of existing bodies (such as HMRC’s National Minimum Wage enforcement team and the Labour Abuse Authority) to create a single body responsible for investigating and enforcing employment law. Its remit will include:

• Investigating breaches of employment law;
• Bringing tribunal proceedings on behalf of workers; and
• Issuing financial penalties and publicly naming employers who fail to meet National Minimum Wage obligations. 

Indeed, the creation of such single enforcement body was one of the central recommendations of the Taylor Review back in 2017. Several other key proposals from the Taylor Review have now been reflected in the ERB, including the right for workers on zero-hours contracts to request guaranteed hours after a qualifying period and day-one entitlements to unfair dismissal protections, statutory sick pay, and parental leave (removing the two-year qualifying period that currently stands). 

Taylor, currently Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, will take up the role when the FWA launches in the spring of next year. His appointment brings continuity between some of the original policy recommendations and their implementation, as the ERB begins to reshape the UK’s employment law landscape. The government’s press release announcing Taylor’s appointment specifically referenced “using new powers to ensure the estimated 900,000 people who have holiday pay withheld each year finally receive it” and “cracking down on those employers failing to pay the minimum wage”, so we expect these two areas may be a particular focus in the FWA’s enforcement strategy. 

For information on the Employment Rights Bill and its implications on employers and workers, please see a summary of the key changes here and download our detailed ERB briefing here.