Andy Burnham has been urged to crack down on gig economy firms to protect 4 million workers who are missing out on three key statutory rights. The warning comes in a joint report from the Fabian Society and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, as reported by the Guardian.
Missing rights and bogus self-employment
The report highlights that millions of workers are not receiving parental leave, redundancy pay, and protection against unfair dismissal. It calls on the government's Fair Work Agency (FWA) to clamp down on what it describes as “widespread bogus self-employment”.
The FWA is a new UK government enforcement body that launched on 7 April 2026. It is responsible for enforcing employment rights, including the National Minimum Wage (NMW), Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), holiday pay, and agency worker rules.
Fair Work Agency's powers and background
The Employment Rights Act 2025 created the FWA as an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade. The agency consolidates enforcement functions that previously sat across HMRC, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI), and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).
The FWA has the power to inspect workplaces, demand records, issue Notices of Underpayment with penalties of up to 200% of the amount owed, and bring tribunal claims on a worker's behalf.
Reactions and government response
Luke Raikes, deputy general secretary of the Fabian Society, said: “The government must ensure those who play fast and loose with employment law can’t undercut the majority of good employers who play by the rules.
“If it looks like employment then employers should be treating people as employees by default and should expect enforcement action if they aren’t complying. Insecure workers should not have to take on a company’s lawyers – sometimes all the way to the supreme court – just to establish the basic rights they are owed.”
A government spokesperson responded: “Our plan to make work pay will boost secure employment, improve job security and deliver stronger, higher living standards.
“The Fair Work Agency is already helping workers get the rights they are entitled to. We’ve committed to consult on employment status and will consider how the Fair Work Agency can use its civil proceedings power alongside that.”
