It is important that the terms and conditions of the contract and the approach to contract and supplier management is agreed with the winning bidder(s). This will help to ensure that any commitment to adopting the Fair Work First criteria, and/or any wider fair work practices, offered by the winning bidder(s) are adopted and complied with for the duration of the contract.
A public body should collect information and establish monitoring arrangements to enable the reporting of Fair Work First within regulated procurements. Possible monitoring arrangements are detailed below.
Possible monitoring arrangements |
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Arrangement |
Details |
Standard agenda item |
The fair work practices of a supplier, including any commitments made to progress towards adopting the Fair Work First criteria, should be considered as an integral element of the contract and supplier management process and should be included as a standard agenda item at supplier review meetings to be considered alongside all other contract management matters. |
Evidence sought from contractors |
To demonstrate compliance with agreed contract conditions, for example, reviewing how they are delivering upon their commitment to adopt the Fair Work First criteria. It is important to ensure monitoring includes the use of any agency or sub-contractor workers throughout the duration of the contract, including any new members joining the workforce engaged on the delivery of the contract. This may, for example, take the form of information on pay policy and terms and conditions of workers involved in the delivery of the contract, including what the main contractor is doing to ensure commitments are being maintained for agency workers and down the supply chain. For example, if payment of the real Living Wage was committed to, then this can take the form of a statement from a director that workers’ pay has been adjusted annually to maintain parity with any national increase in the real Living Wage or collective bargaining rates where relevant. |
Trade Union involvement |
To ensure the Fair Work credentials of such employers, trade unions are an important source of information. |
Involve workers in monitoring arrangements |
In certain circumstances a public body could consider how workers can support the monitoring process by reporting any non-compliance with agreed terms and conditions, for example through a trade union representative or adopting a dispute resolution process, agreed by trade unions and communicated to all workers. |
Opportunities to extend existing fair work practices |
It is important to consider and act on any additional commitments which the contractor made to embed fair work practices, or opportunities that may arise to extend existing fair work practices during the lifetime of the contract. |
Promote benefits of adopting fair work practices to your contractors |
A public body can also promote the benefits of adopting wider fair work practices to its contractors as part of contract management and monitoring arrangements. |
Undertake an audit |
Where there are material concerns regarding a contractor’s compliance with any commitments or the contractual obligations it has made, a public body could consider whether to undertake an audit of the contractor’s fair work practices. Effective voice would be an important consideration here. |
Use a balanced scorecard |
The Fair Work First criteria can be embedded within a balanced scorecard approach as part of the performance monitoring and continuous improvement for the contract, enabling the delivery of the contractor’s commitments to adopting the Fair Work First criteria and any wider fair work practices to be measured. Further guidance is available on the Procurement Journey Contract and Supplier Management – Managing & Improving Performance, including balanced scorecard suggestions. |
