Creating a labour enforcement standard to protect all workers in Scotland

Creating a labour enforcement standard to protect all workers in Scotland

On Wednesday 26 November 2025, the Worker Support Centre (WSC) will bring together regulators, trade unions and frontline organisations to answer a central question: what should effective labour enforcement look like for people most at risk of abuse and exploitation in Scotland?

This conversation is urgent. As the UK prepares to launch a new Fair Work Agency (FWA) in 2026, Scotland has a rare opportunity to influence how enforcement works in practice. Done well, the new system could align with the realities of our rural economy, the needs of seasonal and care workers and Scotland’s wider Fair Work ambitions.

At WSC, we partner with people who come to Scotland on tied or temporary visas to care for our sick and elderly and harvest the food on our tables. We work alongside them to secure rights, end exploitation and build power. Their experiences show clearly why enforcement in Scotland must change.

Workers we support have almost no power in their workplaces. Many fear repercussions, blacklisting or losing their job and therefore their right to remain in the UK. Although we have informed hundreds of workers about their right to report breaches in recent years, only a handful have felt safe enough to do so directly. Complaints-based systems simply do not protect people who face these risks. Enforcement must be proactive, visible, trusted and built around the realities of workers’ lives.

Risks and opportunities for Scotland

The FWA brings both promise and concern. The main risk is that it becomes another centralised English body with limited resources for Scotland and little understanding of our rural labour market. Inspection capacity is already inadequate. Workers routinely wait far too long for inspectors to attend even serious cases. If the FWA lacks local presence, cultural understanding or links to workers, it will struggle to deliver meaningful protection.

It is also essential that the new agency connects to what already exists in Scotland, including agricultural wages regulation, devolved enforcement bodies and Scotland’s own Fair Work Nation agenda.

However, the opportunities are significant. Scotland can push for an enforcement system that engages workers before crises escalate, builds relationships with communities at risk and responds quickly when harm is reported. Inspectors should be locally based, supported by interpretation or ideally able to speak multiple languages, and connected to frontline organisations that workers trust. Scotland needs a clear shift towards proactive enforcement: routine site visits, regular checks and early engagement with workers, rather than reliance on complaints.

Why enforcement matters

Labour market enforcement protects all workers, especially those with limited power. People on tied and temporary visas often depend heavily on their employer. Many have no English, no support network and no safe way to challenge mistreatment. This increases their risk of exploitation.

In 2024-25, WSC made 29 reports to enforcement bodies across the UK, based on workers’ evidence but almost all submitted anonymously due to safety concerns. These reports covered unpaid wages, unsafe housing, discrimination, threats, recruitment deception and other serious issues. Our wider casework shows repeated patterns: restricted movement, intimidation, hazardous conditions, wage theft, isolation and abusive treatment.

Effective enforcement must reflect WSC’s five principles: accessible, trusted, worker centred, connected and properly resourced. In practice this means inspectors who speak to workers in languages they understand, maintain independence from industry, work with unions and frontline groups, and visit workplaces proactively. It requires safe reporting routes, transparent processes and fast responses, especially for seasonal workers who spend only a short time in Scotland.

Why this meeting, and why now?

The FWA will reshape enforcement across the UK by merging several bodies and expanding enforcement powers. Scotland must ensure the new structure reflects our risk picture, devolved responsibilities and local enforcement landscape. Agricultural wages, rural labour dynamics and coordination with the Care Inspectorate, Police Scotland, COSLA and others all need to be part of the design.

This seminar marks the start of what we hope will be an ongoing forum for collaboration. By bringing together expertise from across Scotland, we aim to build a shared understanding of what strong, worker centred enforcement should look like here.

Above all, this is an opportunity to create policies shaped by workers’ experiences and ambitions and to ensure Scotland leads with an enforcement model that prevents abuse, promotes fairness and strengthens the foundations of decent work.

Find out more about our work towards a country that welcomes every worker: sign up for our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.

Image by Gergana Gergova for Fine Acts.