This briefing has been developed alongside Professor Ruth Dukes, Professor Melanie Simms and Dr Eleanor Kirk at the University of Glasgow, and draws on conversations with frontline worker organisations, academics, enforcement authorities, government representatives, and policy makers.
The Fair Work Agency (FWA) needs enough resource to find abuse before workers are desperate enough to report it. It needs to earn trust, especially from workers on the margins who fear that reporting means risking their immigration status. And it needs to be accountable, supportive and accessible – so no worker is bounced between agencies without ever finding help.
In Scotland specifically, it needs to coordinate closely with existing bodies – including Police Scotland, the Care Inspectorate, Agricultural Wages Enforcement, the Fair Work Convention – rather than building enforcement from scratch.
We believe the new FWA needs to embed the following principles:
- Resourced: Proactive inspections and a visible presence will deter abuse.
- Trusted: Workers need clear, anonymous ways to report abuse, and a guarantee that enforcement is separate from immigration control.
- Accountable: Transparency builds confidence. Enforcement data should be public, and action taken should be reported to all concerned.
- Supportive: The FWA must work closely with unions, charities and worker support organisations.
- Accessible: When a worker first asks for help, guide them straight to the right support.
- Coordinated: Scotland needs strong country-level coordination – with all agencies working together.
- Complementary: The FWA should build on the Fair Work Convention’s existing framework and Fair Work First requirements.
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a system that actually works for everyone in Scotland. Get it right now, and the FWA can close the gaps that have let exploitation persist for years.
Read the briefing, and get in touch to find out more about this work.