The Fair Work Agency has updated the route for workers to pursue unpaid employment tribunal awards, keeping employer non-payment in the spotlight as the UK’s labour market enforcement regime becomes more centralised.
Workers who win an employment tribunal award but are not paid can apply to have the respondent fined and named publicly. The scheme allows unpaid awards to trigger both financial penalties and reputational consequences, creating a clearer enforcement risk for employers that fail to comply after a tribunal decision.
The GOV.UK guidance directs applicants to the Employment Tribunals Financial Penalties team at the Fair Work Agency, reflecting the agency’s role since it began operating in April 2026. The agency now brings several labour market enforcement functions into a single body, including areas linked to pay and work rights.
The naming scheme was introduced after the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices recommended that employers who do not pay tribunal awards within a reasonable period should be named publicly. It sits alongside the penalty scheme, which was established in 2016 as a free route for individuals to pursue outstanding awards.
Only employment tribunal awards of £200 or more are in scope to be considered for naming. Claimants must register with both the penalty scheme and the naming scheme for an employer to be eligible for public naming. A naming round is expected to take place approximately quarterly, featuring employers that have failed to pay an award within the required period.
The penalty scheme allows individuals to register an unpaid award 42 days after the date of an employment tribunal judgment. Once an enforcement officer verifies the claim, a warning notice is sent to the employer. If the award remains outstanding after 28 days, the employer can be issued with a penalty notice requiring payment of a penalty equal to 50% of the original award amount plus 8% interest per year.
Employers are given an opportunity to make representations before being named. The guidance sets out exceptional circumstances, including risk of personal harm, national security concerns, factors suggesting naming would not be in the public interest, or proof that the award has been paid in full.
Tribunal outcomes depend on payment as well as judgment. Non-payment weakens confidence in employment rights, prolongs disputes, and increases pressure on individuals who have already carried a claim through the tribunal process. Employers also face costs beyond the original award, including penalties, interest, public naming, and reputational damage.
The update sits alongside a wider shift towards stronger employment enforcement. Proposed changes to zero hours arrangements are already in consultation, while ministers are also examining carers’ rights and other workforce protections. The policy direction is towards clearer worker entitlements, more formal enforcement channels, and closer scrutiny of companies that do not meet statutory obligations.
Tribunal payment should not be treated as a postscript to litigation. Once an award or Acas settlement becomes payable, responsibility needs to move quickly between legal, HR, payroll, finance, and senior management. Weak handoffs can turn a resolved dispute into an enforcement and reputational issue.
Smaller companies may be particularly exposed where tribunal decisions are handled informally or where cash flow pressure delays payment. The guidance makes clear that non-payment can move into an official enforcement process. Larger employers face a different risk: inconsistent internal ownership, local management failures, or failure to process payments quickly after a judgment.
The reputational effect of naming may be stronger than the financial penalty in some sectors. Employers competing for staff, public contracts, investor confidence, or consumer trust may find public non-payment of tribunal awards more damaging than the underlying award value.
The Fair Work Agency’s role gives the scheme a clearer institutional home. As the agency develops, employment compliance is likely to become more coordinated. Tribunal payment controls, record keeping, and settlement processes now sit within a broader enforcement environment in which failure to comply can move beyond a private dispute and into public scrutiny.
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