4. Recommendations and Outcomes
4.1 Recommendations
Procurement
Recommendation 1
All contracting authorities should seek to maximise quality weightings and fair work criteria should be given a robust weighting within the quality dimension. Fair work weightings should not be lower than 10% of the contract and it must be possible for low scores on fair work to impact whether a tender is won or lost.
Owner
All Contracting Authorities
Timeframe
Within each tender and reviewing frameworks as they arise
Recommendation 2
Training in fair work should be mandatory for all project commissioners and managers overseeing construction contracts. Training should be provided by those who have demonstrable expertise on fair work and support an understanding of what constitutes positive and stretching fair work commitments by contractors.
Owner
All Contracting Authorities
Timeframe
All staff should be trained by Jan 2024.
Recommendation 3
Guidance should be reviewed to ensure it supports the use of collectively bargained rates within procurement contracts and short best practice guidance should be developed for construction procurement that highlights positive examples of practice in the construction industry. Current wording around avoiding the use of umbrella companies should be retained.
Owner
The Scottish Government
Timeframe
As soon as possible and before Dec 2022
Recommendation 4
Contracting authorities should set an expectation that trade unions have access to workplaces on all public construction contracts in line with the aspiration of the HS2 approach. Access should be facilitated throughout the supply chain.
Owner
- All Contracting Authorities
- Lead Contractors
- Trade Unions
Timeframe
With each procurement
Recommendation 5
Guidance should be updated to make clearer the connections between fair work, sustainable procurement duties, community benefits and discretionary and mandatory exclusions. The guidance should support more use of discretionary exclusions when a contractor or sub-contractor has breached its labour law obligations.
Owner
The Scottish Government
Timeframe
Immediate
Recommendation 6
All contracting authorities should include adherence to relevant collectively bargained pay rates as a condition of contract. Introducing this clause within industry standard form contracts is an efficient, proportionate and transparent way to implement this and to ensure that it is applied throughout the supply chain.
Owner
All Contracting Authorities
Timeframe
Immediate
Recommendation 7
In every contract in which fair work questions were asked at the framework stage, tender stage or both, effective contract management by the contracting authority must take place to ensure that the response provided by the contractor is delivered in practice.
Owner
All Contracting Authorities
Timeframe
Immediate
Recommendation 8
All contracting authorities should be signatories to a Fair Work Charter collectively agreed with employers and trade unions. The Scottish Government should also facilitate the appropriate industry leadership group/forum, in negotiation with trade unions, to develop a single charter that sets out principles for advancing fair work in the industry. The single Fair Work Charter should then be used as a pass/fail condition within all construction procurement exercises in Scotland to ensure appropriate fair work standards are applied throughout the supply chain.
Owner
- All Contracting Authorities
- An Industry Leadership Group / Forum
- Trade Unions
Timeframe
- Each Contracting Authority to have an agreed charter by Jan 2023
- A single charter should be agreed by 2024
Strengthening Effective Voice
Recommendation 9
All existing industry-level groups including Construction Scotland and the Construction Leadership Forum should include balanced membership from a range of stakeholders including trade associations, professional bodies, federations and smaller employers. All such groups should also include balanced representation from trade unions.
Owner
Scottish Government
Timeframe
Immediate
Recommendation 10
The relationship between each of the industry leadership groups should be clarified and the Scottish Government’s interaction with each group clearly articulated.
Owner
Scottish Government
Immediate
Recommendation 11
All industry leadership groups should seek opportunities to support, through voluntary agreement, collaborative working and mandatory approaches where possible:
- greater use of collective agreements;
- trade union access to workplaces;
- the use of fair work charters;
- the use of collective dispute resolution procedures on large-scale complex projects giving faster remedy to the workforce.
Owner
All Industry Leadership Groups and Forums
Timeframe
Immediate and ongoing
Recommendation 12
The issue of disputes resolution should be considered in all large-scale public contracts before work begins on-site. The contracting authority, lead contractor and relevant trade union should work together to agree an appropriate and mandatory dispute resolution process that all parties on-site must adhere to. This could be through existing collective agreements or through a standalone procedure, for example a procedure backstopped by ACAS.
Owner
- All Contracting Authorities
- Lead Contractors
- Trade Unions
Timeframe
- With each large- scale project
- The Future of Construction
Recommendation 13
Employers should better engage with existing collective agreements, and unions and trade associations should be prepared to work together to ensure collective agreements support new ways of working and equality, covering elements like flexible working, mental health and maternity issues. The Scottish Government should facilitate unions, employers and trade associations to work together to support effective modernisation within the industry through the collective bargaining structures that already exist.
Owner
- Employers
- Unions
- Trade Associations/
- Federations /
- Professional Bodies
- The Scottish Government
Timeframe
By 2023
Recommendation 14
The Construction Leadership Forum should support development of an effective workforce strategy to facilitate the transition to net zero carbon economy. Workforce planning must consider how to support workers through peaks and troughs in demand.
Owner
- Construction
- Leadership Forum
Timeframe
By 2023
Recommendation 15
All public funding supporting the transition to net zero should include fair work conditionality and drive fair work in the industry.
Owner
- The Scottish Government
- All public bodies
With each funding stream
Recommendation 16
Public sector bodies and construction employers at all parts of the supply chain should increase their use of direct employment and support upskilling and retraining to support high quality careers in the industry and improve attraction and retention. Support for direct employment should also reinforce a commitment never to use umbrella companies.
Owner
- Construction Employers of all sizes
- All public bodies
Timeframe
Immediate
Apprenticeships
Recommendation 17
The Scottish Government should work with SDS, SQA and CITB to reinstate the need to register with trade associations/federations and employers should be required to pay collectively bargained rates as part of the apprenticeship agreement, as was the case prior to 2017.
Owner
The Scottish Government
Timeframe
Immediate
Recommendation 18
SDS should take action to support apprenticeship pay including by:
- conducting a review of current apprenticeship pay in construction and publishing the findings;
- reviewing all documentation to ensure that it promotes and encourages collectively bargained rates or, where these are absent, the real living wage and consistent messages are offered to both apprentices and employers.
Owner
SDS
Timeframe
By September 2022
Recommendation 19
Continued funding and support should be provided for the Fair Work Apprenticeship Coordinator role, which has been valuable for supporting the Effective Voice of apprentices.
Owner
The Scottish Government
Timeframe
Ongoing
Recommendation 20
SDS should ensure there is full and consistent partnership working between SDS, SQA, CITB, trade unions, employers and trade associations/federations in agreeing apprenticeship frameworks, with an aim to see all construction apprentices trained to SVQ level 3 (SCQF Level 6) or above.
Owner
SDS
Timeframe
Immediate
Recommendation 21
SDS to work with CITB, employers, trade associations/federations and trade unions to develop principles for taking forward a shared apprenticeship scheme successfully and in line with fair work principles.
Owner
SDS
Timeframe
By Dec 2022
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Recommendation 22
Scottish Government, through the Construction Leadership Forum, should convene a working group that includes employers, trade associations/federations, trade unions, SDS and CITB to address skills and labour shortages and future labour needs in the industry and to promote the opportunities that exist within the industry. This group should aim to:
- work with employers to identify a pipeline of vacancies and future skills needs;
- define clear skills pathways required to support the transition to a net zero economy, including workers who are changing careers;
- work to ensure clear recruitment processes and platforms are available to employers and support employers to access them;
- create dedicated advertising campaigns encouraging young people and older workers to consider careers in the industry;
- take action to improve diversity in the industry building on good practice examples such as at Glasgow City Building and Royal Strathclyde Blindcraft Industries.
Owner
- The Scottish Government
- Construction Leadership Forum
Timeframe
Advertising campaign to launch in 2023
Recommendation 23
Employers should support a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment at the workplace protecting workers from adverse treatment and employers from potential liability. Embedding a safe culture for reporting must come from the top of the organisation. Employers of all sizes must focus on:
- their internal procedures by providing clear and transparent reporting mechanisms, processes for investigation and management training to identify and take seriously issues of bullying and harassment.
- encouraging and supporting workers to raise any concerns, without fear of retribution.
- ensuring that no detriment arises for workers who raise concerns.
- highlighting external support mechanisms like collective agreements or dispute mechanisms.
Owner
Construction Employers of all sizes
Timeframe
Immediate
Recommendation 24
Unions should provide support mechanisms and dedicated networks for under-represented groups in construction to combat the isolation that workers can feel at work or on training schemes. Employers, trade associations and other relevant actors should signpost to these networks and any dedicated officers who can offer support.
Owner
Trade Unions
Timeframe
Immediate
Recommendation 25
Contracting authorities should require participation in the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority’s construction protocol within large-scale procurement projects.
Owner
- All Contracting Authorities
- With each large-scale procurement
Timeframe
Monitoring Outcomes for Workers
Recommendation 26
The Fair Work Convention should return to this Inquiry after five years to examine how well recommendations have been adopted and evaluate the industry against the fair work outcomes within this report.
Owner
Fair Work Convention
Timeframe
2027
4.2 Outcomes
The final recommendation notes that the Fair Work Convention should return to this Inquiry after five years to examine how well recommendations have been adopted and evaluate the industry against fair work outcomes.
The Convention will work with public authorities, employers, trade associations, trade unions and workers to monitor, on an ongoing basis, the adoption and implementation of all of the recommendations within this report.
After five years, the Convention will then consider the impact that the adoption of these practices is having on the experience of fair work by the workforce. The Fair Work Convention will also consider how well social dialogue has been maintained and built upon within the industry. It will further seek to monitor the outcomes presented in this section for workers in the industry which the Convention sees as key measures of how fair work is being strengthened.
For many of the suggested measures listed in this section, existing statistics and publications will allow for tracking over time. However, there are some data gaps and challenges – in particular where data is not currently available at a sector level. Where data is not available, the Convention will seek to carry out research to fill data gaps - through surveys with construction workers and apprentices, for instance. It is recognised that once research is fully scoped, it may be that certain data gaps cannot be feasibly filled or that alternative measures would be more effective and efficient. Nonetheless, the Convention will seek to present a full picture of the extent to which recommendations have been adopted and the subsequent impact on fair work in the sector.
It is therefore proposed that the Evaluation of the sector following this Inquiry be conducted in two phases:
- Stage 1: Baseline Evaluation. This will seek to fill data gaps where existing sources are insufficient, to enhance understanding of the state of Fair Work in the sector.
- Stage 2: Full Evaluation. Following on the from the Baseline Evaluation, this research will seek to examine the extent to which key measures have changed since the Inquiry, and the impact on Fair Work in the sector. It is proposed that this be carried out approximately 5 years after the conclusion of the Inquiry.
Proposed measures to be considered are as follows:
Security
- Levels of direct employment, self-employment and employment via an umbrella company.
- The proportion of workers who have access to a pension, paid sick leave and paid annual leave.
- The proportion of apprentices who gain secure employment, paid at the collectively agreed rate for their trade within six months of their apprenticeship.
- The proportion of workers earning at least the living wage.
Opportunity
- The levels of women, ethnic minority workers and disabled workers in craft roles and in the industry as a whole.
- The levels of women, ethnic minority workers and disabled workers undertaking apprenticeships in the industry.
- The levels of women, ethnic minority workers and disabled workers within senior positions in the construction industry.
- The level of workers with protected characteristics reporting that they have access to dedicated support networks.
Fulfilment
- The proportion of employers reporting they have provided training to their staff in the preceding year.
- The proportion of employees reporting they were offered training by their employer in the past three months.
- The proportion of employees reporting receiving job-related training in the past three months.
- The proportion of apprentices undertaking industry recognised qualifications at SVQ Level 3.
- The proportion of workers in construction with ‘green skills’ as defined by the green skills action plan.
- The proportion of establishments with at least one employee with skills and qualifications more advanced than required for their current job role.
- The proportion of establishments reporting at least one skills shortage vacancy.
Respect
- The level of self-reported illness caused or made worse by work.
- The number of working days lost to work-related ill-heath.
- The level of fatal accidents within construction.
- Proportion of adults who report stress, depression or anxiety was caused or made worse by their job.
- The proportion of workers expressing confidence that they can raise concerns about health and safety, bullying and harassment or other issues at work.
Effective Voice
- Trade union density in the industry, proportion of employees who are trade union members and proportion of employees where trade unions are present in their workplace.
- The proportion of workers in the construction industry whose pay and terms and conditions has been set by collectively agreement.
- The proportion of apprentices whose pay and terms and conditions has been set by collective agreement.
- The proportion of public contracts where collectively bargained rates are included as a condition of contract.
- The proportion of public contracts where collective dispute resolution procedures are available to be used by workers on that contract.
- The proportion of workers expressing confidence that they or their union representative will be involved in decision making at the workplace.
- The proportion of apprentices with access to a dedicated support officer throughout their apprenticeship.