Growing Fair Work in Retail

2. Overview – Fair Work in Retail

The retail sector makes a significant contribution to Scotland’s economy.

The following statistics provide a snapshot of Retail at the time of publishing:

• 14,435 businesses as of March 2024: 8.3% of registered businesses in 2024
• Employs 230,000 people in 2023: 8.7% of employment in 2023
• £5.4 billion in GVA in 2023: 4.5% of Scottish non-financial sector GVA in 2023

Retailers in Scotland are striving to be an employer of choice and embrace the aspiration for more skilled and better paid jobs and more inclusive workplaces. Pay in retail has grown faster than across the economy as a whole in 7 of the past 8 years according to ONS/ASHE data. Most retailers offer a range of benefits on top of wages and many sought to provide colleagues with additional support during the cost-of-living crunch. The industry has a positive story to tell too on opportunities for employment for those with fewer qualifications or at entry level and on progression. It is working to improve diversity and inclusion. However, the sector recognises more needs to be done if it is to become an employer of choice in Scotland.

Retail in Scotland is varied in scope and nature; enompassing everything from one worker in a corner shop to the largest private sector employer in Scotland and everything in between. Taking these differences into account, we acknowledge that a prescriptive, one size fits all approach to Fair Work is simply not viable.

Following conversations with critical individuals across the Retail sector and members of the Retail Industry Leadership Group (RILG), we have prepared this Growing Fair Work in Retail document to support retailers achieve their Fair Work goals.

We have focused on the following five dimensions of Fair Work:

• Security
• Respect
• Opportunity
• Fulfilment
• Effective Voice