Fair Work Oversight Group minutes: August 2024

Attendees and apologies

• Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Employment and Investment, Chair
• Councillor Katie Hagmann, COSLA 
• Rebekah Cameron-Berry, Support for Councillor Katie Hagmann
• Andrew Carter, Public Sector Employer (NHS)
• Anna Ritchie Allan, Close the Gap
• Clare Reid, Prosper
• David Lonsdale, Scottish Retail Consortium
• David Taylor, ACAS 
• Denise Christie, Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC)
• Emma Congreve, Fraser of Allander Institute, Strathclyde University
• Kimberley Wong, Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights
• Lewis Hedge, Deputy Director Fair Work, Scottish Government
• Marek Zemanik, CIPD
• Professor Patricia Findlay, Fair Work Convention 
• Stephanie Griffin, Equality and Human Rights Commission

Apologies

• Charandeep Singh, Scottish Chambers of Commerce
• Heather Fisken, Inclusion Scotland
• Dr Ima Jackson, Glasgow Caledonian University
• Linda Somerville, Scottish Trade Union Congress

Items and actions

Welcome

The Minister introduced himself to the group and set out his vision for Fair Work in Scotland. He also commented on the opportunities relating to engagement with the new UK Government and his desire to work constructively with them on Fair Work. 

He informed the group that he had written to the Fair Work Convention co-chairs to ask them to consider the challenges and opportunities linked to upcoming UK Employment Rights Bill. 

Action log

A question was asked about the timeline around investigating the expansion of Fair Work Conditionality. It was clarified that the Scottish Government (SG) is currently implementing the real Living Wage and effective voice conditions for grants, the focus is on getting this right and evaluating the process before moving on to future commitments. 

Progress report discussion

SG led a top-line presentation on progress around the Fair Work Action Plan. Members were asked to feed in throughout the presentation with questions and insights. 

Members raised concerns around the Fair Work Working Group which sits under the Retail Industry Leadership Group. There were frustrations linked to the number of meetings taking place and the pace of progress. SG were asked to investigate whether the Scottish Government’s Tourism Strategy (Scotland Outlook 2030) included hospitality. 

The Minister agreed to take a more direct interest in the Retail Industry Leadership Group (ILG) subgroup on Fair Work group and agreed that it needed a new chair as a matter of urgency. He acknowledged the challenging position of the group but expressed his hope that a consensus could be reached, and progress made. 

An action was taken to consider in relation to Fair Work Agreements update it was asked if there was any intention of going beyond the industries that were specifically mentioned to understand what other ILG/industries were doing re Fair Work. 

There was a discussion around actions related to health and work and how women’s experiences of health and safety in the workplace were often overlooked leading to gender-blind approaches. It was noted poor health has now overtaken caring responsibilities as a key reason for female inactivity. SG took the action to hold a follow-up conversation with Close the Gap to gather more detailed insight into the points raised relating to women’s experiences of health and work. 

The experience of occupational health for individuals with protected characteristics was also raised as a concern and the suggestion was made that a targeted campaign around what employers can do to improve health in the workplace and reduce inactivity could raise awareness and provide a quick win. 

The group asked whether the Fair Work Evidence Plan would detail how Fair Work is contributing to large social issues in Scotland, such as child poverty, or whether its focus would be more internal relating to outcomes of the Fair Work Action Plan. It was clarified that the first priority for the evaluation is whether initiatives are doing what they should be and the impact of those initiatives. 

Members offered support in evaluation pointing to banks of evidence from their clients relating to Fair Work practices. 

The Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS) was raised, with questions relating to job quality and whether the sample size will increase as a result of moving to online first. It was agreed that the Office of the Chief Economic Advisor would respond to whether the TLFS will include this additional information. 

Action 3.1 discussion

Several members raised questions around engagement of micro and small businesses, especially as they tend to be struggle with capacity and many are not linked to wider networks of support. Micro-businesses also may lack HR support and rely on external consultants, this could provide a way in to talk about Fair Work. 

There was reassurance that the presentation was the first step in engaging organisations and further targeted engagement would need to take place with key groups, such as those representing micro and small businesses. Members suggested ILGs, Business Gateway and enterprise agencies as potential avenues to explore. 

There was a discussion around the language of Fair Work and whether it would resonate with employers. While some of the group, were interested in a consistent approach others suggested a flexible use of language around core messages could be a productive way forward. 

Several members spoke about their networks and the range of resources available to organisations. There was a lot of support for a separate steering group to take this work forward.

The research community were flagged as a missing stakeholder who should be engaged as part of the ongoing work. 

Several comments related to the need for a neutral host for information with concerns around the perception of Scottish Government involvement in Fair Work resources, this was found to be especially important relating to the private sector. 

A concern was flagged around creating a new website with extensive resources, evidence, and links, and not being able to show the impact or engagement with that site. Caution was advised in developing anything new in the Fair Work space. 

There was a discussion around time as a barrier for small organisations and the idea of real versus perceived time constraints. It was suggested that work needs to be done to challenge the idea of Fair Work as a monolith requiring significant investment. Presenting Fair Work as a journey with a series of small incremental steps leading to change would combat this challenge. 

Practical suggestions for resource options included a comms campaign outlining small, practical steps to take; a YouTube series of short digestible videos; engaging with influencers and respected voices in various sectors. To help in reaching smaller micro businesses, it was suggested that physical mailouts may help to raise awareness and engagement, as a first step.

An action was taken to arrange a follow-on conversation/establish time limited working group to take forward action 3.1 with interested members. Some pointed to other stakeholders that may be interested in taking part such as ILGs, specifically hospitality, Business Gateway and enterprise agencies. 

Any other business and close

The STUC has been informed that the Fairer Workplaces Fund would be closed and raised this at the meeting. The STUC raised concerns and disappointment over this decision. The Minister provided an update on the closure of the Fairer Workplaces Fund, noting the fiscal context that had led to a package of spending decisions, including the Fairer Workplaces Fund being withdrawn. 

The Fair Work Hospitality Inquiry report will be launched in Edinburgh on 22 September, an example of industry leadership groups as key vehicles for promoting Fair Work. 

The next meeting of the Fair Work Oversight Group will take place in December 2024. An action was taken for SG to get in touch with members with a proposed date.

The Minister thanked members and closed the meeting. 

Actions arising

• SG to update group on the developments on the Transformed Labour Force Survey in due course
• SG were asked to investigate whether the Scottish Government’s Tourism Strategy Scotland Outlook 2030 ' included hospitality
• SG to raise Fair Work with the Retail ILG and consider opportunities for wider engagement with ILGs
• SG to follow-up with members relating to women’s experiences of health and safety at work
• SG to follow up on questions arising around the TLFS during members’ discussions, specifically:
  • whether the TLFS will include additional questions relating to job quality
  • whether the move to the TLFS will increase the sample size available for Scotland
• members to notify of their willingness to join a time limited working group, including Fair Work Oversight Group members and other relevant service providers and industry groups to take forward Action 3.1
• SG to provide a date for the next Fair Work Oversight Group meeting to take place in December 2024