Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish information on (a) investigations and (b) enforcement action taken in relation to breaches involving (i) seasonal and (ii) temporary workers over the Christmas period in each of the last three years.

All employers must comply with their legal obligations to ensure that their staff receive the rights and protections to which they are entitled, including when recruiting temporary or seasonal staff during periods of high demand such as Christmas.

The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate regulates the recruitment sector and has extensive legal powers to address non-compliance and offending. Temporary and seasonal workers are also entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW), and NMW enforcement officers in HMRC can and do take action where employers fail to meet their legal obligations.

The Government will establish the Fair Work Agency (FWA) in April 2026. This will deliver a much-needed upgrade to the enforcement of workers’ rights and will bring together the important work EAS and HMRC-NMW are doing. The Government is committed to giving the FWA the resources it needs to do its job.