Becoming a fair work nation

In Scottish Local Government there are already examples of fair work practices being applied. For instance, some councils pay staff the Scottish Local Government Living Wage (SLGLW), which equates to the Real Living Wage with some signed up the Scottish Living Wage Employer Accreditation Scheme, including this council. There may be an opportunity to encourage more councils to join this scheme.
There may also be scope to encourage councils to sign up to the recently introduced Independent Living Hours Accreditation Scotland Scheme to further improve security in pay and working hours. It is noted that this scheme requires the provision of a contract reflecting accurate hours worked with a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours per week unless the worker requests otherwise and ensuring that at least 4 weeks’ notice of shift changes is given and guaranteed payment if shifts are cancelled within the period. The Scheme could be more widely advertised to raise awareness and increase take up. There could also be a drive to discourage councils to use zero hours contracts unnecessarily, with an emphasis put on the use of relief/casual pools to provide cover for staff absence where people are taken on as workers rather than employees.
Regarding the disability employment gap, some councils are part of the DWP run Disability Confident Scheme which supports employers to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace. There are three levels of the Scheme, Disability Confident Committed, Employer and Leader. Councils could be encouraged to aim to attain a higher level of the accreditation, and this could contribute to narrowing the disability employment gap. Also, councils not currently in the scheme could be encouraged to join.
In terms of the promotion of mentally healthy workplaces, this and some other councils are signed up to the Healthy Working Lives Scheme which helps to identify issues and improve health, safety, and wellbeing in organisations in a structured way. It can result in a healthier, more motivated, and productive workforce. This council has the silver level of the award. More councils could be encouraged to sign up and/or progress through the levels. This council also has in place a mental health at work action plan with a range of initiatives to help improve the health and wellbeing of staff e.g. recently put in place a mental health first aid service.
Regarding the gender pay gap, councils have public sector equality duties that require to be adhered to both general and specific. The Scottish specific duties include the publishing of gender pay gap information every two years meaning that any pay gaps are monitored and can be addressed if a concern. Councils have in place national analytical job evaluation schemes to help ensure equal pay. This council has a committee approved equality, diversity, and inclusion plan in place to drive the employment equalities agenda. Several equality groups have been set up to assist in its implementation and in pursuing the various actions, one of which concerns gathering of data on gaps in relation to ethnicity and disability pay. The plan links back to the Council’s equality outcomes which are set every 4 years with progress reviewed every two years. All councils could be encouraged to have in place similar plans which include actions in relation to equal pay, addressing any pay gaps and reducing occupational segregation.
Regarding race equality and addressing disparities in employment and putting in place measures to support minority ethnic people to ensure they can access, stay in and progress in employment, in this council this has been reflected in our employment equality outcomes. There is a diversity, equality, and inclusion action plan in place to work towards the statutory equality outcomes. Other councils will have in place similar equality outcomes to help ensure that the general equality duties are being met. Councils could be encouraged to put particular emphasis on race equality in their equality outcomes with this being a protected characteristic group who are generally underrepresented in Scottish councils.
Regarding youth employment including support for disabled young people and those with additional support needs, some councils are signed up to the Investors in Young People employer accreditation. This puts a significant emphasis on the employment and development of young people and involves the implementation of a range of initiatives that would help accord with this Fair Work practice. More councils could be encouraged to adopt the accreditation which is a structured programme. Many councils have an ageing workforce as well as certain skill shortages. By embracing the employment of young people and using their unique talents and skills this will help organisations to gain a competitive advantage and provide a talent pipeline of future leaders.
In respect of the Fair Work practice of giving employees an effective voice in the workplace, in this council there has been an emphasis in recent years on employee engagement and putting in place measures to improve engagement e.g. setting up discussion forums, undertaking employee opinion surveys, use of social media, blogs, and providing the entire workforce with digital access to the intranet, including frontline staff. Other councils have also been giving engagement a focus and this is likely to be an ongoing process in local authorities. Having an engaged workforce where staff feel involved and included can have several benefits, including more committed and motivated employees, lower staff turnover and less sickness absence, which in turn can benefit the service provided to customers. There are opportunities to share best practice amongst councils on employee involvement and engagement.
Another Fair Work practice is employee participation in decision making in workplaces. There are several examples in councils of employee participation in decision making including collective representation involving negotiations between senior managers and employee representatives; joint consultation arrangements at which issues of common interest out with collective bargaining can be discussed; employee forums where employees meet with managers for discussion and information sharing on specific topics; use of suggestion schemes and surveys; and including trade union reps as advisers at some council committee meetings. There may be scope to expand employee participation in future by considering whether an employee rep could be a part of other key management forums.
Regarding trade union membership, councils have always been unionised environments with recognised trade unions and collective bargaining. Trade union membership is encouraged, and councils aim to work in partnership with the trade unions to help ensure effective industrial and employee relations. Pay and certain terms and conditions are negotiated nationally, but there are also local negotiations in respect of some conditions of service and a variety of local forums where discussion and consultation with the trade unions take place. The use of a practice of ‘fire and re-hire’ mentioned in the Fair Work documentation, would be unlikely to feature in a local authority, with councils normally seeking agreement with the trade unions for any changes following, for example, a restructuring exercise, and to apply recognised and agreed procedures in respect of any displaced staff.
In respect of offering flexible working and family friendly workplaces, councils generally already have a range of flexible working options in place for staff including flexitime, job sharing/part-time working, term time working, compressed working week, annualised hours, and homeworking etc. Following the Covid-19 pandemic there will be an emphasis on examining new ways of working with there likely to be an increase in homeworking or a mix of home and office-based working. Flexible working options can assist in an employer being ‘family friendly’ along with other policy measures such as enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave and pay provisions etc.
One other Fair Work practice mentioned is investment in workplace development and skills. Councils historically have placed an emphasis on the training and development of staff, being people-
centered organisations, and with some professions having defined training programmes which must be undertaken. Some are also signed up to the Investors in People employer accreditation which helps ensure high standards in respect of training and development of staff. In times of financial constraints training budgets can come under pressure and hence the need to ensure that the spend on training and development is made on a priority basis and on activities that will add value to an organisation by up-skilling individuals. Training needs are usually identified through the employee appraisal process, which most councils will have in place. There may be an opportunity for councils to explore opportunities for sharing the cost of training by holding joint events and using more on-line or recorded events.
Improving the utilisation of skills is another aspect of Fair Work. There may be opportunities to put in place arrangements to make it easier for employees to change roles in a council if their skills and knowledge could be put to better use in another job or department. This could be discussed with employees at their annual appraisal meeting. This council introduced a new approach to internal recruitment and temporary movement of staff. This is based on overall 'fit' to a role as opposed to just technical skills, qualification, and experience. Employees complete 'individual profiles' as well as a working preferences questionnaire and this is used to align them to roles where they have a potential 'fit’ and involves advertising vacancies internally in the first instance.
Having a more diverse and inclusive workplace is also mentioned as a Fair Work practice. A diverse workforce comprises people with a wide range of backgrounds, and characteristics. Workplace diversity welcomes different perspectives and increases the opportunity for talent to develop. When employees come from various backgrounds, they bring with them knowledge gleaned from experiences that have shaped their lives and careers. This can provide new ideas, skills, and creative solutions that help organisations to better perform. Diverse workplaces promote open-mindedness and can also make an organisation more appealing to customers and job applicants. To gain the benefits of a diverse workforce it is important to have an inclusive environment where all staff feel able to participate and achieve their potential regardless of characteristic or background, and one in which everyone can feel that they belong and can be themselves. All employees should have the opportunity to develop their skills and talents to their full potential wherever possible, work in a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment, be rewarded and recognised for their work and have a meaningful voice on matters that affect them. It is important therefore that councils continue to ensure that their policies and practices align with aims in relation to equality, diversity, and inclusion, and do not put any groups at a disadvantage, to help enable a diverse range of people to work together effectively. The public sector equality duties underpin the above.

The opportunities could be maximised by councils seeking to collaborate with one another in the sharing of good practices and possibly also looking to share resources where this is possible.
Within individual council organisations trying to involve as wide a range of employees as possible using working groups in the development and implementation of practices.
Working with stakeholders to identify if there are any practices in a council that do not fit with Fair Work practices and seeking to amend or remove them.
Raising awareness of the practices and promoting the benefits of the adoption of each individual practice, with there being a wide range, some of which are linked and others sitting separately.
Promoting the benefits of adopting each practice and publicising success stories in other organisations of where adoption of a Fair Work practice has resulted in a business improvement.
Exploring how any barriers to the adoption of specific practices can be overcome.
Examining whether any employer accreditations that link to the practices can be applied/built on and then encouraging employers to work through the levels.
Encouraging partnership working with recognised trade unions in relation to the practices.
Incorporating the practices into plans and models of new ways of working following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Resources are scarcer in councils due to budget constraints in recent years and reductions in the numbers of posts. There are therefore less staff available with the required skills and knowledge to develop and pursue the initiatives.
There are fewer financial resources available to fund initiatives with them requiring in many cases to be implemented at as low a cost as possible.
There are competing demands on the time of staff, due to fewer numbers employed by councils, with operational work sometimes requiring to take priority over developmental related work.
In some cases, it may prove difficult to persuade senior management and elected members to adopt certain of the Fair Work practices, particularly those involving a significant cost, with many decisions in councils requiring committee approval.

Explaining to decision makers/budget holders that some initiatives can be implemented at a relatively low cost and should be viewed as a key investment, with staff time to undertake the work often being the main issue.
Through sharing of good practice and resources, this could result in the more efficient development and implementation of initiatives/practices.
Spreading the period of implementation over time and focussing on priority initiatives first so the basics are in place which can then be built on and developed in future.
Securing buy in from senior management and the support of elected members and trade unions, through emphasising the business and other benefits of implementing the initiatives.
The addition of Fair Work practices to exiting programmes and linking them to current actions so that the work is an extension of what was initially planned, with appropriate parties involved.
Through aiming to assess the impact and effectiveness of Fair Work Practices in councils to demonstrate to decision makers the business and other benefits of these practices. This could be done through examining and comparing relevant data before and after the implementation of the practices and then monitoring the trends going forward. Relevant data could include figures on labour turnover; recruitment and retention; sickness absence; equality and diversity; engagement levels; productivity; transition to net-zero emissions; and numbers of discipline, grievance, and harassment cases. As well as data gathering, qualitative information could be obtained through the inclusion of questions on Fair Work Practices in employee opinion surveys and views could be sought from other stakeholders such as local trade unions.

Funding constraints for councils and other organisations at present mean that there are limited resources available for putting in place any costly additional initiatives/practices.
It is likely that councils will reduce further in size in the years ahead with fewer staff available to undertake developmental work putting additional pressure on the system.
Often it is operational related work that requires to take precedence in councils, with developmental work sometimes being a lower priority.
Some organisations may have a concern about applying the Real Living Wage just now if they are in a challenging financial position, with this potentially adding to their costs and may be seen as making a business less competitive.
Access to training and development opportunities for certain of the protected characteristic groups e.g. part-time employees who often tend to be female.

There is an opportunity for councils to work collaboratively sharing resources and good practices in relation to Fair Work practices.
Offering to apply the Real Living Wage may help organisations reputationally and assist with attracting better quality candidates for job vacancies and to retain existing staff. In the post Brexit jobs market this could create an advantage for some e.g. Care sector.
In the case of councils, applying Fair Work practices should help in meeting public sector statutory equality duties, with many of the practices related to equality and diversity.
Placing a focus on providing training and work experience opportunities for young people, which lead to more secure employment e.g. internships, apprenticeships, shadowing and mentoring.

Publishing of cases studies demonstrating good practices that have been applied in other organisations who have become Fair Work employers.
Encouraging sectors where there is a low take up of Fair Work practices to seek to start to adopt the key basic practices and to build from there.
Continue to use ‘Fair Work First’ to link grants and funding to the adoption of Fair Work practices possibly seeking to add to the requirements under the scheme.
To continue to develop national data in relation to Fair Work practices and to make this available to organisations.
Encouraging the use of equality impact assessing in organisations out with the public sector. Assessing the equality impact of decisions, policies and practices is one of the public sector equality duties. This ensures that any decisions, policies, and practices implemented are fair and transparent, and do not negatively affect protected characteristic groups under the Equality Act 2010. It also means that decisions are evidence-based, with details on impacts gathered in a clear and structured way so that information can be properly assessed. Any adverse impacts can then be identified early and mitigating actions put in place. It would be a good practice measure for any organisation to assess the equality impact of its decisions.

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Possibly seeking a change of legislation to provide the right to flexible working from the start of employment, rather than after 26 weeks’ service. Restricting the reasons employers can refuse flexible working requests and introducing a requirement for employers to offer alternatives if the flexible working arrangement the employee requests is not suitable.

To aim to implement as many Fair Work-related practices as possible and maintain an active equality, diversity, and inclusion agenda to not just to accord with, but to go beyond minimum statutory requirements. And to promote Fair Work practices at as many forums as possible to help encourage other organisations to adopt them as well.

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