Scottish Government high level action plan in response to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

3: Business and human rights

Thematic Tags

Business and human rights; Due Diligence; Access to justice

Concluding Observation 11a

To establish a legal framework requiring businesses to conduct human rights due diligence, ensuring accountability for violations of economic, social and cultural rights in their operations and supply chains, both domestically and abroad, and guaranteeing effective access to remedies for victims, including non-nationals [...] The State Party should require mandatory human rights due diligence in sectors that have caused extraterritorial impacts and concerns, particularly the financial and banking services.

Context

While key areas such as company law, employment law, international trade regulation, and many industry-specific matters remain reserved to the UK Government, we actively support the business community in Scotland to advance equality and human rights. We do this through strategic use of devolved levers, such as public procurement, grant funding, legislation, and guidance, and through ongoing dialogue with industry and governments. Our actions are guided by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, public bodies are required to consider how procurement can improve economic, social, and environmental wellbeing and reduce inequality. Non-compliance with social, environmental, or labour laws may result in contract termination, reinforcing accountability and ethical standards in public spending.

The Scottish Government’s human rights due diligence guidance sets out recommendations on how we, our executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies should undertake due diligence on an individual or company’s human rights record before entering into an ‘investment relationship’.

Through our fair work policy, we encourage employers across all sectors to adopt fair work practices. Public sector grants and contracts are linked to the Fair Work First criteria, which employers are expected to meet where relevant and proportionate. This ensures that public investment supports inclusive and equitable workplaces.

Human rights are also central to our Vision for Trade which embeds human rights as a core consideration in trade policy. The Plan for Growing Scotland’s Exports sets out our clear expectations for Scottish based companies to adopt ethical business practices, conduct due diligence on business partners, and understand local conditions in export markets.

To address exploitation in business operations and supply chains, the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 introduced a new offence of slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour. In 2018, we published Guidance for Businesses outlining their role in preventing and mitigating trafficking and exploitation, reinforcing our commitment to ethical and rights respecting business practices.

Key Actions

We are continuing to promote fair work practices through our Fair Work policy and Fair Work First approach, including encouraging employers accessing public sector grants and contracts to address workplace inequalities, such as pay and employment gaps for disabled people, racialised minorities, women and workers aged over 50, and to offer flexible and family friendly working practices for all workers from day one of employment.

We are promoting content on flexible working, job security, and diversity and inclusion for employers on the fair work digital resource hub. This contains advice and guidance on implementing fair work practices in relation to areas such as flexible working, job security, and diversity and inclusion. We published guidance in April 2025 which was co-produced with businesses.

On 3 September 2025, the First Minister announced to the Scottish Parliament that we will pause the payment of new business grants to, or investment in, companies involved in the design, production, supply, and support of military equipment, technologies and services whose products or services are provided to specific identified countries, where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by that country.

In July 2025, we published the revised Human Trafficking Strategy setting out our four outcomes to prevent human trafficking in Scotland. We will publish a delivery plan outlining how the strategy will be implemented in the spring of 2026.

In June 2025, the Deputy First Minister provided an update to the Scottish Parliament regarding Scottish Enterprise’s review of its human rights due diligence checks. The Deputy First Minister confirmed Scottish Enterprise identified opportunities for improvements to ensure its human rights due diligence procedures continue to align with good practice. These improvements will be rolled out incrementally over 2025-26.

We are exploring how the proposed Human Rights Bill could place duties upon private actors who are contracted or have been procured to carry out public functions, where possible and within devolved competence, so that private actors carry out these public functions in a manner that respects, protects, and fulfils the economic, social and cultural rights set out in the bill.