Fair Work Agency: Small and Micro Businesses

Debate between Lord Leong and Earl of Erroll

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for giving me an opportunity to set out the Government’s position. As I say, we recognise the pressures on small firms. That is precisely why the Fair Work Agency consolidates the current four enforcement agencies into one, thus setting up a simpler and clearer regime. It reduces duplication, clarifies and enforces, and it provides a single point of contact for guidance and support. We aim to simplify rather than add more layers of regulation, while ensuring that responsible employers —and I mean responsible—are protected from being undercut by those who abuse and ignore the law.

[The Earl of Erroll (CB)]

My Lords, should we not remember Reagan’s great stricture that

“the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help”?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

Well, I am from the Government, and I am here to help. I am here to help those businesses that do well and behave themselves; for them, nothing will happen. If employers abuse the system, the Government will step in and take action.

As this is my last time at the Dispatch Box for 2025, I take this opportunity to wish everyone a merry and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.