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Quiz: Are your employment basics ready for the FWA?

Are your employment basics ready for the Fair Work Agency?

This 5‑minute quiz helps you quickly check if your holiday pay, minimum wage and HR records are in good shape – and where simple fixes could reduce risk.

 

From April 2026, a new government body called the Fair Work Agency (FWA) will be looking more closely at everyday employment rights – things like minimum wage, holiday pay and record‑keeping.

This quick quiz helps you spot where you’re on solid ground and where small gaps in contracts, holiday or records could cause problems later.

 

What is the Fair Work Agency?

From April 2026, the Fair Work Agency will bring enforcement of key employment rights – like minimum wage, holiday pay and record‑keeping – into one place.

It’s not a whole new rulebook. Instead, it puts a sharper spotlight on everyday employment basics:

  • Pay: Are people genuinely at or above the right minimum wage once unpaid time, deductions or uniforms are included?

  • Holiday: Are holiday entitlement and holiday pay calculated fairly, especially for variable hours and overtime?

  • Records: Could you quickly show how decisions were made if an employee or inspector asked tomorrow?

You don’t need to become an employment law expert – but you do need these basics organised, consistent and easy to evidence.

  1. Do you have a named person responsible for employment law and Fair Work compliance (even if it’s the business owner)?
  2. Have you briefed your leaders/people managers on what the Fair Work Agency is and which rights it will enforce (e.g. minimum wage, holiday pay, record-keeping)?
  3. Do all workers have up-to-date written terms (contracts or written statements) that reflect how they actually work and are paid?
  4. Do you have current written policies covering at least: holiday, sickness/SSP, working time, and use of agency/temporary workers?
  5. Are you confident everyone is paid at or above the correct National Minimum/Living Wage once you factor in things like unpaid time, deductions or uniforms?
  6. Do you have a clear, consistent way to calculate holiday entitlement and holiday pay (including variable hours, overtime or commission where relevant)?
  7. Can you easily show, for each worker, how much holiday they’ve taken and how much they were paid for it?
  8. If the Fair Work Agency asked tomorrow, could you quickly show accurate records of hours worked (e.g. timesheets or rotas) for each worker?
  9. Are you keeping at least six years of pay and working time records in an organised, searchable way (rather than scattered spreadsheets, emails or paper files)?
  10. If an inspector asked tomorrow, could you quickly show how you handled a recent issue (e.g. a pay query, sickness absence, grievance or flexible working request)?
  11. If you use agency workers, umbrella workers or labour providers, do you have written agreements and basic checks in place to make sure they’re meeting minimum pay and holiday rules?
  12. How do you mainly manage HR admin today (employee data, holidays, sick leave, documents)?
  13. If a manager left suddenly, could someone else quickly pick up their team’s HR records and history without starting from scratch?
  14. Do managers receive basic training or guidance on key employment rights (pay, holiday, sickness, working time, treatment of agency workers)?
  15. Do staff know how to raise concerns about pay, holiday or treatment – and are issues recorded and followed up?

We don’t store your answers. Results appear instantly below.

0/15 answered

 

Where Breathe fits in

The areas FWA is expected to focus on – contracts, policies, holiday, pay and records – are exactly what Breathe keeps tidy in one simple HR system.

With Breathe you can:

  • Centralise contracts and policies so they’re not buried in inboxes.
  • Track holiday and sickness clearly, with balances and history in one place.
  • Keep employment records organised, making it easier to show how decisions were made if questions ever arise.

So while the Fair Work Agency sharpens the spotlight, Breathe helps you stay confident that your everyday employment basics are under control – and evidence‑ready when you need them.

 
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