Fair Work Action Plan 2022 and Anti-Racist Employment Strategy 2022: Fairer Scotland duty assessment

7. Conclusions

The refreshed RAP and ARES have the potential to highly benefit socio-economically disadvantaged groups. Primarily, increasing the provision of the real Living Wage and real Living Hours commitments will be effective tangible measures that can mitigate the negative impact of socio-economic disadvantage dimensions such as low income, low wealth and material deprivation.

Strengthening effective voice through appropriate channels can also mitigate socio-economic disadvantage by means not related to finances. Increasing employee participation, retention rates, confidence and knowledge are all potential consequences of employees' collective voice having representation and influence in the workplace. These impacts can be positive for socio-economic disadvantaged individuals who are often from a background unfamiliar with workplace progression and opportunities.

As outlined in the recommendations, a key method to increase the benefits of the RAP and ARES for socio-economic disadvantage would be to reference it explicitly in the actions, particularly those concerning intersectionality.