Interim National Care Service Advisory Board: Advice to Scottish Ministers - Fair Work

Advice to Scottish Ministers

To support the delivery of fair work across the social care sector in Scotland, the interim Board recommends that Scottish Ministers undertake the following actions:

Sectoral Bargaining

• support and implement Voluntary Sectoral Bargaining arrangements at the earliest opportunity. The work that has been undertaken in Scotland to design and develop the voluntary mechanism for delivery is well progressed and has been co-designed with providers and trade unions and, as such, already has broad support
• commit to funding, beginning in 2027/28, which will deliver a ‘Real Living Wage Plus’ package. This should enable pay enhancement beyond the Real Living Wage as well as improvements to wider terms and conditions
• set out a timescale for negotiating the required settlement before the dissolution of Parliament, to allow all negotiating partners to prepare for effective implementation
• commit to concluding negotiations in advance of the publication of the 2027/28 Scottish Budget, to ensure sufficient and timely funding is available to deliver on any agreement made through the voluntary sectoral bargaining joint council

Care Reform Act 2025: Fair Work Strategy

• Invite the NCS Advisory Board to play an active role in helping to develop a Fair Work Strategy for publication in summer 2027 in line with the provisions set out in Section 33 of the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 – recognising the need to satisfy the consultation requirements set out in the Act, while avoiding duplication with existing groups already engaging in this area.