Fair Work Commission meeting: 2 October 2018

Members discussed a range of practical issues in readiness for its forthcoming Call for Evidence which included:

• An update on the website and email address to support the Call for Evidence and work programme for the Commission
• Organisations to be directly notified of the call for evidence
• The projected timeline for engagement activities
• The types of organisations the Commission wished to engage with

Commissioners agreed the approach to and content of the call for evidence. Final questions, format and timescale were agreed.

Commission members provided feedback on some early engagement meetings. The purpose, nature and form of future meetings were discussed. The aim is to reach out within Wales to a varied and representative group of stakeholders.

Two papers from the Independent Expert Adviser were considered. The first outlined existing data sources relevant to the fair work agenda, identifying gaps and issues. The second discussed some current government initiatives of relevance to fair work. The importance of recognising current levers and actions was noted and how these could be convened under the banner of fair work.

The Commissioners discussed a number of substantive issues including:

• The wide range of pay and non-pay factors which can characterise ‘fair work’
• How employees can benefit through better wellbeing at work
• The importance of identifying how employing organisations can benefit from fair work policies and practices e.g. through productivity gains
• Fair work in the context of self-employment
• Taking account of sectoral and other variation
• The range of potential actions which might be taken by government to encourage fair work