Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government include Fair Work criteria wherever it is relevant and proportionate to do so.

A Scottish Procurement Policy Note 03/2021, was published on 15 March 2021 on the implementation of the Fair Work First criteria within procurement processes commencing from 1 April 2021, where relevant and proportionate to do so.

The Scottish Government has updated its internal procedures and processes to include a stronger focus on the Fair Work First criteria and will implement this approach going forward.

Information about the size of businesses which are Scottish Business Pledge members was not recorded prior to May 2018 and the total number of Business Pledge members that are a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) is not available. Since May 2018, 175 SMEs have become a member of the Business Pledge and 42 SMEs have transitioned to the relaunched Scottish Business Pledge.

The deadline for members of the original Scottish Business Pledge to transition to the new criteria has been extended to 1 September 2021 due to the continuous economic impact the Coronavirus is having.

Scottish Enterprise undertook a regulated procurement process for 72 separate contracts in FY 2019/2020, resulting in the appointment of 60 unique suppliers. The application of Fair Work First was considered for all tenders, and was applied and scored on 17. Two of these were judged to be ‘Acceptable’, 13 to be ‘Good’, and 2 judged to be ‘Excellent’ following evaluation. It was not appropriate to score Fair Work for the remaining contracts, as these were either for the supply of goods, or would not have been able to be scored in a fair and equitable manner in line with procurement regulation.

Where Fair Work First is not a scored criteria, all bidders are still asked to address Fair Work practices in their tenders, and provide evidence of fair employment practices. This includes paying the real Living Wage and promoting payment of the real Living Wage throughout their supply chain. In 2019-2020, 36 unique suppliers committed to pay the real Living Wage, and 16 unique suppliers were fully accredited real Living Wage employers.

Information about the size of business for Scottish Business Pledge members was not recorded prior to May 2018 and the total number of Business Pledge members that are a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) is therefore not available. Of the 698 Business Pledge members that require to transition to the relaunched Business Pledge criteria, only one SME has indicated its intention not to transition.

The Fair Work Employer Support Tool was launched on 29 January. Less than 2 months post launch, 107 employers have registered to use the tool and 98 have started assessment. Fifty-five employers have completed, received feedback and accessed the online advice and resources. As anticipated, no employers have retaken the assessment at this point. Customer testing, prior to launch, suggested that employers were likely to re-take the assessment and update progress between 9-12 months after first using the tool, utilising the intervening time to consult staff, plan and implement change within the workplace. We will continue promotion of the tool as a mechanism to embed fair work more widely in Scotland’s workplaces.

We will continue promotion of the tool as a mechanism to embed fair work more widely in Scotland’s workplaces.

The evaluation of the Workplace Equality Fund for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20 is underway. The outcome of this work will be publicly available early in the next parliament.

Fair Work First milestones are agreed as part of the grant application and will be monitored as part of standard grant monitoring processes.

In Scottish Government contracts Fair Work First is applied and monitored, on a case-by-case basis taking into account what is relevant and proportionate to the contract. This would be a regular agenda item at contract and supplier management meetings. Published annual procurement reports also report on fair work elements in Scottish Government contracts.

Public bodies are responsible for making their own decisions in line with procurement regulations, based on local governance arrangements.

Fair Work First aims to reward and encourage employers to adopt fair work practices, rather than attach blunt conditions and subsequently penalise employers who cannot meet them. We have published guidance to support the adoption of Fair Work First by employers and those administering public sector funding.

The Ministerial Working Group for Fair Work Action Plans is chaired by me and the remainder of the current membership of the group is as follows :

• Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science
• Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government
• Minister for Older People and Equalities
• Minister for Children and Young People
• Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands
• Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport
• Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment
• Minister for Community Safety

Membership of the group will be reviewed to reflect evolving priorities. The working group has met on four occasions: 28 November 2018, 13 June 2019, 5 February 2020 and 21 October 2020. Minutes from the meetings of this group are not currently published, but this will be considered going forward.

The Scottish Government Fair Work agreement covers the following bodies:

• Accountant in Bankruptcy
• Disclosure Scotland
• Education Scotland
• Social Security Scotland
• Scottish Public Pensions Agency
• Student Award Agency for Scotland
• Transport Scotland
• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
• Scottish Prison Service
• Food Standards Scotland
• National Records of Scotland
• OSCR
• Revenue Scotland
• Scottish Fiscal Commission
• Scottish Housing Regulator
• Registers of Scotland.

The former Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work, wrote to all public bodies in August 2019 encouraging them to adopt Fair Work agreements similar to that entered into by the Scottish Government and the relevant Civil Service Trade Unions. There is no central record of which bodies have entered into such agreements. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture wrote jointly in December 2020 to public bodies reiterating the Scottish Government’s expectation for them, alongside the Scottish Government, to lead the way in mainstreaming Fair Work.

South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) promotes Fair Work to the businesses that it works with. Applicants for SOSE funds are required to evidence how they are addressing the Fair Work Agenda. In assessing this evidence, SOSE identifies where improvements can be made, or where examples of good practice are in place.