Becoming a Fair Work Nation: consultation analysis

1. Introduction

Background and policy context

The Scottish Government continues to put Fair Work at the heart of the economic recovery and renewal, and Scotland's just transition to a net-zero wellbeing economy. The Scottish Government's vision, shared with the Fair Work Convention, is that by 2025, people in Scotland will have a world-leading working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and for society.

The Fair Work Convention's Fair Work Framework (2016) supports achievement of this vision, with the ambition to make Scotland a Fair Work Nation set across five dimensions: Fulfilment, Security, Effective Voice, Opportunity and Respect. Further actions to embed Fair Work in Scotland were set out in the Fair Work Action Plan (2019).

Scotland has made significant progress on Fair Work despite employment law being reserved to the UK Parliament at Westminster. The Becoming a Fair Work Nation: Consultation recognised that Scotland is on a journey to achieving this vision and that the Scottish Government can only get this right with support and collaboration. Fair Work requires a culture and values shift in our approach to work and workplaces, building on the progress already made to ensure it continues to evolve to meet the Scottish Government's social and economic ambitions and respond to an evolving labour market. Fair Work is one of the pillars in the Scottish Government's National Strategy for Economic Transformation. The Strategy puts Scotland on the path to meeting the 2030 climate targets, whilst reorientating our economy towards wellbeing and Fair Work, to deliver higher rates of employment and wage growth, tackle poverty and address inequality.

In addressing inequality, the role of employment cannot be understated. That is why an integral part of Fair Work is addressing the challenges experienced by specific groups who are disadvantaged in the labour market, including minority ethnic people, women, disabled people, young people and the over 50s workforce; and taking an intersectional approach. To become a Fair Work Nation, the Scottish Government would expect to see workplaces that are truly inclusive and reflective of Scotland's diverse population. Fair Work lends itself to cultivating diverse organisations where people from all sections of society are valued, developed and their talent utilised. This is not simply a moral imperative, there is conclusive evidence that a respected, secure, and diverse workforce has clear and substantive benefits to business^[1], making Fair Work an economic and social imperative.

The twelve consultation questions (eleven open and one closed) sought views on what action needs to be taken to achieve the Scottish Government's vision of a Fair Work Nation, and who needs to lead and support that action, considering the challenges and opportunities in respondents' sectors and workplaces. It covered what the vision to become a Fair Work Nation means in practice, what actions are required to achieve it, who needs to lead and support that action, opportunities, challenges, priorities, and how to ensure Fair Work continues to contribute to social and economic objectives. The consultation was open from 1 October to 23 December 2021.

The consultation findings will inform the update to the Scottish Government's suite of Labour Market Action Plans and help Scotland to make further progress on its journey to becoming a Fair Work Nation.

Profile of respondents

In total, 95 consultation responses were received. Most were submitted via the online consultation platform, Citizen Space. Those received in an alternative format, for example, a PDF document, were entered into Citizen Space by the Scottish Government. Full responses to the consultation, where permission for publication was granted, can be found on the Scottish Government's website. In addition, five organisations hosted seven events^[2] for stakeholders to discuss the issues in the consultation. Findings from these events were submitted as responses to the consultation.

Four fifths of responses (76) were from organisations. The remaining 19 were from individuals. Appendix 1 details the profile of organisations that took part in the consultation. The largest share of organisational responses came from the third sector (21), representative/membership associations (20) and local authorities (10).

Analysis approach

The Lines Between was commissioned to provide robust, independent analysis of the consultation responses. This report presents the range of views expressed by consultation respondents. A public consultation means anyone can express their views; individuals and organisations with an interest in the topic are more likely to respond than those without. This self-selection means the views of consultation respondents do not necessarily represent of the views of the population.

Qualitative analysis outlines the key themes identified in responses to each question. The analyst team coded each response against a coding framework which was developed based on a review of the consultation questions and a sample of responses. In a small number of instances where alternative format responses contained information that did not align to specific questions, analysts exercised judgement about the most relevant place to include this material for analysis purposes.

A few organisations provided very detailed responses relating to their particular expertise. There is not scope in this report to accurately summarise these responses; however, the responses are referenced where possible. Where appropriate, quotes from individuals and organisations are included to illustrate key points and to provide useful examples, insights and contextual information. Full responses to the consultation, where permission for publication was granted, can be found on the Scottish Government's website.

Weight of opinion

While qualitative analysis of open-ended questions does not permit the quantification of results, we signify the weight of a particular view using the following framework which indicates which are the most common or prevalent themes across responses:

• The most common theme / the most prevalent theme in responses (and second most common) that is, the most frequently identified.
• 'Several' respondents (more than 20) that is, a recurring theme but not most common.
• 'Some' respondents (10-19) that is, another theme.
• 'A few' or 'a small number' of respondents (fewer than 10) that is, a less common theme.
• 'Two/one respondents' that is, a singular comment or view expressed by one or two.

Report structure

This report is set out as follows:

• Chapter 2 presents the opportunities arising from Scotland becoming a Fair Work Nation, summarising the analysis of Q2, Q3 and Q7.
• Chapter 3 covers Q4, Q5 and Q6 about the challenges of delivering Fair Work.
• Chapter 4 addresses Q8 and Q9, which examine what specific actions need to be taken, and by whom, to maximise Fair Work opportunities and overcome barriers.
• Chapter 5 presents an analysis of equality and diversity issues which were raised across all questions
• Chapter 6 summarises analysis of further ideas in relation to Fair Work provided at Q11 and Q12.
• Conclusions are set out in Chapter 7.
• A profile of the organisational responses in included as Appendix A and the consultation questions are included as Appendix B.

Due to common themes on equality and diversity emerging across all chapters these issues have been collated and summarised in Chapter 5 to ensure equality considerations are explicit in this report.

Employment law is reserved to the UK Parliament at Westminster. However, consultation Question 10 asked respondents' views on how Fair Work could be addressed in employment law if this matter was devolved to the Scottish Parliament. As employment powers were mentioned by respondents throughout the consultation, the common themes evident at Q10 are detailed in the relevant sections of Chapters 2, 3 and 4.