Fair Work First: guidance

Strategic context

Our vision is for Scotland to be a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025, where Fair Work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, organisations and society. The Scottish Government shares this vision with the Fair Work Convention, the independent body which advises government on Fair Work, and whose Fair Work Framework underpins Scotland’s Fair Work policy.

Scotland is leading the way in creating a wellbeing economy; delivering sustainable and inclusive growth for the people of Scotland.

Fair Work First contributes to the goals of growing the economy and eradicating child poverty, specifically by linking Fair Work outcomes to large amounts of government expenditure. The purpose of this guidance update is to further that goal, facilitating effective compliance through continuous improvement, striking a balance between the strength of its application and the associated administrative burden for funders and grant recipients alike.

The strategic ambitions for Fair Work are set out in our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan: Becoming a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025 (published 2022) and the Anti-Racist Employment Strategy – A Fairer Scotland for All (published 2022). Together these seek to address structural barriers and systems that create unequal conditions and opportunities for one group of people over another and to eradicate systemic racism, disablism, sexism, and ageism which are still a real experience for many people.