Growing Fair Work in Retail
A collaborative resource produced jointly by the Scottish Government and the Retail Industry Leadership Group (RILG) to support the sector achieve its Fair Work goals.
1. What is Fair Work and why is it beneficial?
Scotland’s workforce is a key asset: we have an abundance of talented workers and entrepreneurs. This is evident in retail and it is vital for the health and growth of our economy that the sector continues to attract the best people which, in a competitive labour market, is helped through providing good and secure employment.
Scotland is committed to fair work practices. Fair work balances the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers, benefiting people, organisations and society.
The five dimensions of fair work are: opportunity, respect, security, fulfilment and effective voice. Fair work is not rigid but flexible and versatile – workplaces can adopt fair work practices that work for them and adapt them to suit the business and its employees.
This is a busy time for changes to employment policy and law. We want to see for all workers, regardless of sector, better pay and an end to low pay and in-work poverty; an end to the practice of workers being fired and rehired with lower terms and conditions; we want better protections for personal time off for workers; and an end to any inappropriate use of zero hour contracts.
Economic analysis shows that despite its strong record the retail sector can at times lag behind other sectors when it comes to fair pay and benefits. The 2020 report from the Fair Work Convention highlighted retail as one of the sectors which could do better across multiple dimensions of Fair Work – with wages, trade union membership and job-related training all showing comparatively low scores.
Embedding Fair Work is an important contributor in addressing inclusion and diversity in the workplace and bolstering equalities. Whilst there have been positive steps taken by the industry in supporting greater inclusion amongst businesses, the adoption of better fair work practices across all of retail will improve equality and opportunities and support our national goal to reduce the effects of child poverty: employers adopting the real Living Wage, for example, would lift an estimated 20,000 children out of poverty.
For more information on Fair Work policy, planning and guidance, please visit:
Contact
Email: DBBRRetailStrategy@gov.scot