The Fair Work Agency (FWA) is the UK's employment rights enforcement body. It helps protect workers, supports fair competition and makes sure businesses are following workplace law.

The Fair Work Agency Navigator gives you a single view of the key areas the FWA monitors, so you can quickly see where you're doing well and where your records might need a little attention.

You'll find it by clicking Fair Work Agency in your BrightHR menu.

The Navigator is split into four handy sections: Home, Information checker, E-learning and Documents.

On the Home page you'll find your Fair Work information summary. Just click between the Probation, Minimum Wage and Annual Leave tabs to see how things are looking.

Probation

See how many of your employees are currently in their probation period and when it's due to end, whether that's within 2 months, in 2-4 months or in 4-6 months.

Any probation periods ending within 2 months will be flagged as Review soon, so you can make your decisions on time.

You'll also see how many employees don't have a probation date recorded, so you can get these added and keep your records accurate.

Minimum Wage

Here you'll see a breakdown of how your employees' pay compares against the National Minimum Wage, split by age group: 21 and over, 18-20, under 18 and apprentices.

Each group shows who is Compliant, Below threshold or Missing wage info.

Please note, if an employee doesn't have a date of birth on their profile, BrightHR can't work out which minimum wage rate applies to them.

You'll see a message letting you know how many employees this affects.

Annual Leave

See how much annual leave has been booked and how much is still left to book this leave year, for you and the employees you manage. Want to see the detail? Just click View annual leave balance!

TOP TIP: Encourage your employees to plan their leave throughout the year to help avoid a rush at the end of the leave year. The FWA can ask to see your annual leave records from the last six years, so make sure you keep them to hand and up-to-date!

Checking the Details

Spotted something that needs looking at? Hit the Check information button on the Probation or Minimum Wage tab and you'll be taken straight to the Information checker, already filtered to show just those employees.

The FWA may ask to see your records, so it's handy to have your reports ready to go. In the Export reports section of the Home page, you can create the key reports you need in just a few clicks.

Simply tick the reports you'd like:

• Employee information - a summary of the personal and contract information recorded for all employees. • Absence - a breakdown of taken, pending, cancelled and upcoming absences per employee. • Payable overtime - every overtime record approved as payable overtime. • Blip timesheet - detailed - every shift and break that's been recorded, including ongoing shifts. • Blip timesheet - summary - an overview of completed shifts and break times. • Rota - details - every shift and break added to your rota, including notes, breaks and payroll details. • Rota - summary - the total hours your staff have worked, and per shift.

Choose your Report period, tick Include terminated employees? if you'd like former employees included, then click Generate reports.

Key information for new employees

Don't forget, every new employee needs a written statement of employment particulars. The main terms, like pay, hours and place of work, must be given on or before their first day, and the wider statement covering pensions, training and disciplinary procedures must follow within two months.

Please note, the FWA can act on missing or inaccurate written particulars, so make sure you keep these up to date.

The Information checker lets you see all of your employees' key information in one place and quickly spot anything that's missing.

Finding your employees

At the top of the page you'll see handy filters for All employees, Employees in probation and Min. wage below threshold or missing. You can also search for an employee by name or switch on Include terminated employees.

Just click on an employee to see their information.

Reviewing an employee's information

Their information is split into easy-to-read sections, including personal information, role information, annual leave, bank details, salary information, sensitive information, right to work and emergency contacts.

Anything that hasn't been filled in yet will be marked as Missing, and you'll also see helpful labels such as Probation ending in 2 months or Min. wage below threshold.

Need to fill in a gap? Simply click Edit on the section you need to update.

TOP TIP: You can also click View documents to see and manage the documents saved to that employee's profile.

E-learning

In the E-learning section you'll find short courses covering the key areas the FWA monitors, such as UK holiday laws, statutory sick pay, minimum wage and deductions, employment status and holiday pay for part-year workers.

Each course shows you how long it takes, and many only take a couple of minutes! Just search for the course you'd like, or scroll through the list, and hit Start course.

Documents

Looking for a policy or template? The Documents section is packed with useful documents, including annual leave policies, agreements, guidance on employment status and document retention, and templates to help you prevent sexual harassment at work.

Simply search for the document you need, click on it to see a preview and description, then click Download to get your copy.