Skip to content

Fair Work Evaluation

  • News

Your help is needed to assess ‘Fair Work’ in Scotland. The Scottish Government has determined that Scotland will become a Fair Work Nation by 2025. To evaluate this policy, Dave Watson from the Jimmy Reid Foundation is undertaking independent research to ask union reps their understanding and experience of Fair Work and what more can be done to make it more effective.

When the data from the questionnaire is compiled, all responses will be anonymised. The only reason we ask for your name is so that we can work out who has filled out the survey. Asking for your union position is to be able to identify that the views of workplace representatives, in particular, are gained.

You can either complete the survey online by clicking the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6SDTPPB

or download a word version.

We would also be keen to undertake face-to-face interviews with groups of workplace representatives. If you can help with that, please contact Dave at: contact@reidfoundation.scot

Thank you for your assistance with this project.

Background information

The Scottish Government has determined that Scotland will become a Fair Work Nation by 2025. To this end, it established the Fair Work Convention in 2016, which, in turn, authored the Fair Work Framework consisting of five aspirational dimensions: voice, security, respect, opportunity and fulfilment. Scottish Government policy aims to progress along these dimensions by various voluntary means and by using devolved levers such as procurement and grant conditions. Employment law is reserved to Westminster.


Trade unions in Scotland called for the creation of Fair Work, welcomed its aspirations and sit on the Fair Work Convention. However, they also recognise the limitations of Fair Work and have been critical of its implementation. Little is known about the impact of Fair Work in the workplace, and evaluating its impact is challenging due to limited Scottish workplace data.
The aim of this study is to examine Fair Work and its impact on the workplace, building on an earlier Jimmy Reid Foundation assessment. We will examine the scope of the initiative and seek to identify from workplace representatives their experiences. From this evidence, we will set out recommendations for further action and a toolkit of actions that workplace union representatives can adopt.


We are grateful for the time and contributions of workplace representatives and others who enabled this study and for the support and funding of the Alex Ferry Foundation.

The information you will share with us if you participate in this survey will be confidential. Your information will be assigned a unique code number to this survey. The list connecting your name to this number will be kept secure; only the Director can see the survey you participated in. By completing this survey, you consent to participate in this study. For further information, please email: contact@reidfoundation.scot