Fair Work Action Plan 2022 and Anti-Racist Employment Strategy 2022: island communities impact assessment

6. Assessment of Anti-Racist Employment Strategy

The actions listed in the Anti-Racist Employment Strategy have broadly been considered earlier in this document, where they sit throughout the Fair Work Action Plan. However, where additional assessment or comment is required, it has been included below.

Action 1

Establish a platform for exchanging learning and good operational practice among employers - practice that is anti-racist and intersectional in its approach.

This action sits within RAP action 3.1.

This platform would form a central component of a central Fair Work resource. Increasing the number of employers using an anti-racist approach could help to reduce racial discrimination in the workplace which would provide a positive impact for both island employers who felt that they would require support to implement new measures and racialised minorities who live in island communities who would benefit from it.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is major positive.

Action 2

Undertake evaluation of the 'Minority Ethnic Recruitment Toolkit' to ensure it remains fit for purpose (anti-racist and intersectional) and is applied across the public sector. Consider augmenting the toolkit to include other accessible support sources, including those for retention and progression.

This action sits within RAP action 3.1.

This action also contributes to the development of a central Fair Work resource and could increase the number of racialised minority individuals entering the labour market and develop a labour market that is representative of the population it serves.

Delivering a toolkit tailored to the recruitment of racialised minorities could assist in overcoming the barrier of structural racism and narrow the employment gap between racialised minorities and the white population.

For employers island communities, with lower racialised minority populations, work on this area is unlikely to have reached the same stage as for employers in larger urban centres on the mainland. This action will have a significant positive impact on improving practices as well as in retaining staff and retaining staff, both significant priorities for employers on Scotland's islands at a time of depopulation.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is major positive.

Action 3

Promote and disseminate learning and practice that shows positive change in employers' end to end processes to increase representation of racialised minorities.

This action sits within RAP action 3.1.

The dissemination of learning and practice will contribute to the Fair Work resource under action 3.1 of the RAP and progress towards developing a labour market representative of the population it serves.

This action could overcome racial discrimination in recruitment processes through demonstrating best practice examples and support island employers build their capacity to increase minority ethnic representation. Racialised minority groups could experience increased representation within the labour market, particularly within more secure and senior positions in which there is currently underrepresentation.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is major positive.

Action 4

Develop an intersectional and anti-racist training framework for public and private sector employers by which to assess their training needs and improve the quality of training offered in the organisation.

This action sits within RAP action 3.7.

Developing an anti-racist training framework could reduce labour market stigma responsible for racially motivated structural and systemic barriers to employment. Embedding race equality training in all positions and responsibilities within an organisation could lead to an improved workplace culture, greater support for racialised minorities in the workplace and better-informed policies and practices to address racial inequality. This could directly benefit young people from racialised minorities in island communities who could face inequalities related to employers' lack of awareness and capability to tackle racism.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is minor positive.

Action 5

Produce guidance on positive action to support employers across the public sector and promote this guidance through a series of engagement sessions.

This action sits within RAP action 3.5.

Guidance on the use of positive action measures will be a significant benefit to both employers and workers who face labour market inequalities. This benefit could be felt across all sectors and across the country.

One business stakeholder felt that organisations may not have the skills to implement these Fair Work practices, especially when applying positive action to recruitment processes, and this might be most acutely felt in small, rural employers, such as island employers.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is minor positive.

Action 6

By the end of 2025 we will review and disseminate learning and best practice on the conclusion of the 2024 Workplace Equality Fund.

This action sits within RAP action 3.4.

While the sharing of learning from the 2024 Workplace Equality Fund will be beneficial in terms of building lessons learned into future approaches to Fair Work, it is not possible to assess the impact on island communities of this action at this stage.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is uncertain.

Action 7

Oversee pilot to improve engagement of employers and employability services with racialised minority communities. Includes work to support EQIA process among employers. To improve the quality of assessments and how the practice can be embedded at the start of a process or policy development.

This action sits within RAP action 4.3.

Engagement with employability services could increase the recruitment, retention and progression of people from racialised minorities in the labour market through tailored accessible support.

This action also supports the equality duties of employers under the Equality Act 2010 through encouraging equality impact assessments and improving the quality of these. This could ensure that workplace processes and policies are non-discriminatory and remove barriers for racialised minorities in island communities.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is minor positive.

Action 8

We will work with Labour Market Analysis colleagues to run a series of dissemination sessions when labour market statistics on ethnicity are published to make employers (and stakeholders) aware of data that is available and to support them to use national data to help inform their practice.

This action sits within RAP action 1.5.

Workshops disseminating official statistics and improving understanding of this data in relation to fair work would be warmly welcomed by island employers.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is major positive.

Action 9

We will continue to press the UK Government to mandate ethnicity pay gap reporting, legislate for the prohibition of caste discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

This action sits within the aggregated action narrative of RAP as follows: "We will also lobby the UK Parliament for key changes to reserved legislation to address racialised systemic inequity, including mandating employers to report their ethnicity pay gap."

This action could establish a more equal and fair labour market through legislation. Mandating ethnicity pay gap reporting could narrow the 8.38% pay gap between the White and Non-White ethnic groups of Scotland. While prohibiting caste discrimination could enhance the Public Sector Equality Duty of employers under the Equality Act to remove systemic discrimination and increase the recruitment, retention and progression of racialised minorities in the workforce.

However, the ability of small organisations in island communities to collect and publish usable data in relation to the ethnicity pay gap without experiencing General Data Protection Regulation conflicts could withhold the positive impacts of this action. Further, stakeholders expressed serious concerns regarding the anonymity of pay gap data, especially in island communities where the number of racialised minorities are lower than other parts of Scotland.

Further, the degree of impact felt by racialised minorities in Scotland is dependent on the decision of the UK Government.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is uncertain.

Action 10

Work with partners to establish senior leadership networks to build capability and understanding of racism and racial inequality in the workplace by the end of 2023.

This action sits within RAP action 1.4.

When discussing island employers' capacity to work on issues of racism and racial inequality in the workplace, stakeholders felt that support from the Scottish Government was vital in delivering this effectively.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is minor positive.

Action 11

Co-deliver a series of engagements with the public sector by end of 2023 to support employers to address the recommendations of the Scottish Parliament's Equalities and Human Right's Committee's inquiry report into race equality, employment, and skill which recommended employers assess their organisations' understanding of racism and structural barriers; employers subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty as a minimum, voluntarily record and publish their ethnicity pay gap and produce an action plan to deliver identified outcomes.

This action sits within RAP action 1.2.

The delivery of engagements with equality organisations would be welcomed by public sector employers in island communities, providing a level of support which is needed more acutely than on the mainland.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is major positive.

Action 12

Ensure messaging around anti-racism and intersectionality is taken account of in Fair Work First guidance as used in procurement and grant funding processes.

This action sits within RAP action 2.2.

Updating the Fair Work First Criteria could increase organisational awareness of labour market inequalities and increase employer's understanding of how best to meet the needs of vulnerable workers.

Updating the Fair Work First criteria would have a positive impact on some groups within island communities who face labour market inequalities, in particular women in island communities who stakeholders felt faced significant barriers in remaining and progressing in work.

However, any national plan would need to be aware of the differing demographics of Scotland's islands when setting the criteria that employers should work towards. The implementation of this would be greatly advanced by the needs of island communities being included alongside the protected characteristics being assessed.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is neutral.

Action 13

The Scottish Government to undertake an equal pay audit examining pay gaps by gender, disability, race, and age by March 2024. We will act on findings to review and refresh our recruitment and retention policies to address workplace inequalities by end of 2025.

This action sits within RAP action 1.1.

Where audits are carried out of the gender, disability, race and age pay gaps of the Scottish Government workforce, targeted action can be taken to address and reduce workplace inequalities. Where the impacts of pay gaps exist, they can be felt most acutely in some island communities where the labour market and local economy has been characterised by stakeholders by high rates of low wage and insecure work, with rural poverty evident. Tackling pay gaps for Scottish Government employees in island communities would have a positive benefit in a similar way to the positive benefit that would be felt by similar employees in mainland communities.

The provisional ICIA score for this action is minor positive.