Fair Work First: guidance

Purpose of the Fair Work First Guidance

Who the guidance is for

This guidance is intended for:

• Officials and officers who are involved in awarding public sector grants and sponsoring or otherwise funding public bodies (grant funders; see page 10),
• Organisations that apply for and/or receive funding through public sector grants or are publicly sponsored or otherwise funded (grant applicants/recipients; see page 11)

In this respect, public bodies and other public sector partners should give due regard to their dual role as an employer and in administering public funding.

Throughout the guidance, the terms ‘employer’, ‘business’ and ‘organisation’ are used interchangeably to describe the range of private, public and third sector organisations within the labour market and to which Fair Work First can be applied.

Those who also act as buyers and suppliers in public sector procurement should refer to the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014: statutory guidance and Best Practice Guidance for guidance on the application.

What the guidance aims to achieve

It is designed to encourage and support employers to adopt fair work practices within their organisation, focusing on the Fair Work First criteria.

Through Fair Work First, the Scottish Government is primarily interested in the action the employer is taking to deliver high quality and fair work, and workforce diversity and inclusion. While Fair Work is relevant for all employers and all workers, the context in which it can be applied will vary depending on factors such as the type and size of the organisation and the sector and location in which it operates.

The guidance aims to help organisations to identify and progress their fair work priorities as part of a continuous improvement approach and to demonstrate that they are meeting the Fair Work First criteria, including the real Living Wage and effective voice conditionality in public sector grants. It provides advice on how the criteria can be adopted, providing scope for organisations to do so in a way that is relevant and proportionate to the activity they have agreed to deliver.

Learning from good practice

The guidance provides examples of what the Fair Work First criteria mean in practice to guide organisations in their approach. Employers should not feel limited by these examples in considering how workplace practices can be strengthened to enhance workers’ experiences at work.