West Lothian Council's Commitment to Fair Work Criteria

West Lothian Council is committed to advancing the Fair Work Criteria, specifically:

• We have an appropriate channel for effective employee voice
• We recognise Trade Unions across all employee groups for the purpose of collective bargaining and they are involved in key governance structures
• We provide facility time to Trade Unions and engage in regular dialogue with employees and their representatives to address workplace issues and disputes
• Employees are offered support through contact with their supervisor, the employee assistance programme and our Four Pillars of Wellbeing
• We promote a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment
• We survey staff to inform corporate and local priorities and development
• We invest in workforce development
• Our People Strategy links to the Corporate Strategy and Plan and a key outcome is the development of workforce skills and capacity
• We provide informal and formal learning opportunities for employees at all levels in the Council and all employees have access to our e-learning platform
• We undertake workforce and succession planning
• We have apprenticeship programmes and support staff with vocational qualifications
• Annual Development Reviews are used to explore individual development plans
• We do not have contracts that fall into the definition of zero hours or minimum hours contracts
• Workers can join a list to be available for casual work but there is no obligation to offer or accept work
• We regularly review casual work to ensure it is not used for long term appointments
• We take action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace
• We have a Policy Statement on Equal Pay and a Policy on Equality - Employment and Service Provision setting out our commitment to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and promote good relations between different groups
• We have an Employee Gender Based Violence Policy aligned with the Scottish Government's Equally Safe strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls
• We publish our Equality and Diversity Framework and Equality and Mainstreaming Outcomes on our website
• We gather data to understand our workforce diversity and pay gap information, and our outcomes seek to address perceived barriers to employment with the council
• We have internal policies to tackle barriers to work including policies on menopause, employee mental well-being and flexible working
• All employees must undertake an Equality and Diversity module annually and managers must complete a Mentally Health Workplace module with refreshers
• We make reasonable adjustments for employees with a disability or impairment that could affect their ability to carry out their role
• We commit to paying the Real Living Wage
• We are an accredited Living Wage employer
• We offer flexible and family friendly working practices for our employees
• We are a Carer Positive Employer
• We have a wide range of family friendly policies and provisions including maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave, as well as leave to support dependents and bereavement leave
• We support employees to undertake public or reservist duties
• We support a range of working practices including part time and term time working
• We oppose the use of fire and rehire practice
• We only consider effecting change where there is a legitimate business need and strive to achieve change through agreement
• We are committed to working with our Trade Unions partners to ensure there is effective consultation and negotiation relating to change