Independent report

Working Lives: the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance in the UK – final report

The final report of Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) commissioned assessment on the scale and nature of labour non-compliance and other work-based harms in the UK.

• From: Fair Work Agency and Department for Business and Trade
• Published: 11 May 2026

Documents

Working Lives: the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance and other work-based harms in the UK – executive summary (web version)

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Working Lives: the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance and other work-based harms in the UK – executive summary (PDF version)

PDF, 2.68 MB, 24 pages

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Working Lives: the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance and other work-based harms in the UK – final report

PDF, 3.94 MB, 365 pages

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Working Lives: the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance and other work-based harms in the UK – technical appendices

PDF, 1.64 MB, 114 pages

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Details

Labour market non-compliance covers a broad and varied spectrum of mistreatment of workers. This ranges from accidental and relatively minor infringements to deliberate and extreme harms.

This research project was commissioned by the DLME in 2022 to help meet its statutory requirement to provide an assessment of the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance in the UK to inform its annual strategy.

DLME functions were transferred into the Fair Work Agency (FWA) in April 2026 and as such, the final report is now being published.

Published 11 May 2026