How to demonstrate you are a Fair Workplace Employer… and win that tender!
You’re a small business owner, interested in selling to the public sector but amongst the questions you are being asked in a tender there is a question about sustainability and/or fair work practices. You are not sure how to even start answering this question?!?!
One of the myths of selling to the public sector that I often hear is that the public sector only want to buy from bigger businesses, not SMEs and definitely not solo businesses. When I come across questions about fair work practices and sustainability in tenders, I can see why business owners like you think this.
The fact is that the public sector have made changes to how they buy goods and services to make it easier for small business owners to bid for more contracts.
Some of these changes are:
A simpler application process has been established and
Large contracts can be split into smaller parts (lots) to create more opportunities.
Suppliers to public sector organisations must comply with workplace standards and labour laws. A question or questions within a tender can judge a suppliers compliance with these standards and laws.
How to evidence your practices in a tender
In some tenders these are a series of yes/no questions. In other tenders you are asked to demonstrate how you are a fair work practice employer with a text narrative, where do you even start?
We advise business owners to consider these five points, as a starting point to responding to this type of question:
How will you ensure your employees voice is heard? For example, trade union representation or employee forums.
How do you invest in workforce development? Do you invest in both your training and the training of any of your staff? How do you decide what training you and/or your staff will access? Do staff have a training plan? Do you employ trainees or apprentices?
Do you employ staff on zero hours contracts? If you do this will not rule you out. However, within your response you should provide more information. For example, if you offer staff the type of contract that suits their life and availability or if you move staff to permanent contracts after a set period of time.
What action do you take to ensure your business is as diverse as the community it serves? This includes, but is not limited to gender equality - are men and women performing the same duties paid the same salary? One step towards addressing equality and diversity is ensuring all staff receive some training on this. ACAS offer some free online training which would give you a starting point. Also making sure you have an Equality and Diversity Policy will help you to consider this within your business.
The final point to consider is do you provide fair pay for workers? The main measurement for this is paying all staff at least the Scottish Living Wage (this is slightly higher than the national minimum wage (also called a living wage, which is a tad confusing). You can become an accredited living wage employer.
Evaluation of Fair Work Practice Questions
When buyers are evaluating a bidder’s response, they should consider the bidder’s context. This includes:
Their size – obviously a business with only one director employed in it will vary in how they can comply with this than businesses who employ 10, 20 or hundreds of members of staff.
The sector they are operating in – some sectors traditionally employ staff on sessional or zero hours contracts, they require staff to pay for their own training, etc. In other sectors employers may work largely with associates or sub-contractors. And
How the five fair work first criteria will apply to the delivery of the contract.
By considering the five points outlined about you can begin to implement policies and procedures in your business which make sure you are considering sustainability – not only now but as you grow your business.
Often our clients can struggle with how these 5 points apply to their small (sometimes solo) business. If this feels familiar to you, why not book a call with one of the team?
Why not book a virtual coffee and have a chat with us about how you can grow your business by winning public sector contracts?