Executive Summary
The commitment to fair work in Scotland is long standing and significantly more embedded in policy than elsewhere in the UK. Fair work is defined in Scotland’s Fair Work Framework as paid work that offers effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect. The aim of this research is to explore possible new or adapted policy levers to improve fair work in Scotland. The research was commissioned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the Fair Work Convention (FWC).
This research was desk-based and involved a Rapid Evidence Assessment of academic and non-academic peer-reviewed articles, policy and research reports and evaluations, and working papers (all in English). While the evidence assessment focused primarily on UK-based studies, research from other regions and nations was included where this offered relevant insights. Notably, however, much research on improving job quality focusses on legislative or regulatory interventions, limiting its applicability in the current Scottish context.
The evidence assessment had two aims: to identify and review existing knowledge on policy levers and how these are (or may be) applied in advancing fair work; and, to evaluate any evidence on the effectiveness of levers in generating their intended outcome(s). Further, any potential levers had to be applicable to fair work in general, or to one or more of its components; and had to be consistent with the powers available to the Scottish Government.
Our evidence assessment was wide-ranging covering human resource practice, job quality and employment relations to find evaluations of the impact of workplace practices that may be relevant to fair work and be able to be applied without legislative powers.
We deployed two frameworks – one bespoke and one existing – to shape the existing evidence, form our understanding of substantive levers and identify the mechanisms through which policy can impact on practice. Our bespoke framework of change towards fair work is informed by research on individual and organisational learning from which we pose an ongoing relationship and feedback look between awareness of fair work, understanding of what fair work means, endorsement of fair work, action to deliver fair work, support for and evaluation of actions, and dissemination of lessons learned on fair work, that feedback into awareness of fair work in practice.
The second framework we draw on is Hood and Margett’s (2007) NATO[1] framework to understand the various ways in which policy can impact practice. NATO stands for Nodality, Authority, Treasure and Organisation. Nodality refers to the role and importance of government and policymakers within networks, where they can aid flows of information across key workplace actors. Authority refers to the power of government to regulate to ensure changes in or uptake of particular practices. Treasure refers to the resources that governments and policymakers can deploy to influence or shape practice, either by incentivising good practice or disincentivising poor practice. Organisation refers to the assets (human and material) available to government and policymakers to support the activities of other actors.
By integrating the change and NATO frameworks we identified a total of twelve levers and a summary of these along with key information on their evidence base, potential ownership, dependencies and constraints, and their potential locus and reach is provided in the table that follows. It should be appreciated that some of these levers are aligned and interlinked in different ways with other levers.
All of these policy levers have potential, through different mechanisms, to enhance fair work in Scotland. But there is no single ‘silver bullet’ to deliver fair work. Devolution constrains important levers available to policymakers in Scotland, most notably in relation to employment law powers. However, there are actions within the powers and influence of the Scottish Government that could make a difference to the adoption and deepening of fair work in Scotland.
Fair work spans a wide range of workplace practices, and these are configured in a variety of ways across Scotland’s workplaces. Employers play a key role in fair work because they are the primary drivers of workplace practice, and many of Scotland’s employers consistently deliver good working practices that support fair processes and outcomes. Our proposed levers aim to engage, support and encourage employers, and to support peer-to-peer learning across the employer community.
The levers are both broadly and narrowly targeted but will require the investment of resources to bring about change. This is particularly challenging in the current economic and fiscal context for Scottish Government, public bodies, and employers. However, shifting the dial on fair work requires a range of connected actions, both short-term and longer-term, that develop, support and provide a pathway to impact, and create a tipping point that – in line with the initial approach of the FWC – can better support a Scotland-wide movement towards fair work.
| Lever | Evidence | Ownership | Dependencies/Constraints | Locus & Reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targeted awareness campaign | Best practice literatures | SG and other stakeholders | Resources | Generic and wide-ranging |
| Embedding fair work in employability support | In-support progression | SG through NOLB | Resources to embed in employability services | Wide-ranging for job seekers, including most disadvantaged |
| Support for Real Living Hours | Best practice literatures on rLW extended to hours | Living Wage Foundation, Poverty Alliance and SG | Resources to deliver support to employers in context to move towards rLH | Potentially spans low wage industries with hours’ instability - hospitality, social care and retail |
| Fair work champions in public bodies and ILGs | Best practice literatures | SG (into public sector) and through ILGs | Achieving buy-in from public sector stakeholders | Significant across public sector |
| Further conditionality | Academic and practice literatures especially related to funding processes | SG and public sector | Need for further evaluation of specific funding processes to assess potential impact | Context specific but examples like Small Business Bonus Scheme could reach smaller employers |
| Strategic joint capacity investments with key workplace stakeholders | Best practice evaluations such as union learning funds | SG resources and workplace stakeholders interested in increasing fair work capacity | Resources | Strategic targeting across public, private and third sectors |
| Accredited training in Fair Work | Academic and practice literatures | SG alongside accrediting organisations such as SFC | Buy-in from educational providers and employers | Generic and potentially wide-ranging |
| Fair work charters | Best practice literatures | SG alongside ILG’s | Risk of less impact because they are voluntary | Industry-specific and potentially wide-ranging |
| Fair work accreditation | Academic and practice literatures around professional standards | SG alongside an appropriate accrediting body | Significant investment of resources over time | Potentially wide reach but possible bias towards employers with good existing fair work practice |
| Fair work communities of practice | Academic and practice literatures | Members of CoP | May need upfront stimulus to start CoP and connect CoP | Potentially wide ranging |
| Business support, tools and diagnostics | Academic and practice literatures | SG, public agencies and FWC | Resources | Potentially wide ranging |
| Fair work evidence hub | Best practice literatures | SG and public agencies | Resources | Potentially wide ranging |