Fair Work Commission meeting: 15 January 2019

The Commissioners reviewed recent engagement meetings and discussed which stakeholders should be approached further to follow up on the evidence or deal with outstanding matters.

Timing would only allow following up on evidence which clearly would add value through testing or clarifying evidence rather than exploring new themes.

The Commission discussed some key themes and identified matters which were common throughout the evidence and matters which were sector specific.

The new First Minister’s manifesto proposals in connection with fair work were discussed. Commissioners considered how they might be reflected in their upcoming report.

Commissioners noted the broader context in which their work is taking shape including:

• the UK’s exit from the European Union
• UK government policy direction for employment law and practice
• emerging developments for devolution
• International considerations / challenges / influences

The Commissioners discussed the detail of what their report would contain, its format and the nature of recommendations. Discussion took place of a phased approach of short to longer term priorities.

Consideration was given to the stakeholders in the fair work network that would need to be drawn upon to implement fair work and the structures which might assist in delivering this. 

The Commission acknowledged that it could not encompass everything within its own limited timescale. Some recommendations would require further work to be undertaken to scope and build the evidence base for a particular course of action.