Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked questions about the Activating Employers project. If you don't find the answer your looking for here, feel free to contact us.
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Contact UsThere are two areas public contracting of interest to the AE project. The first are Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs). This is a direct method for governments to affect labour market outcomes through work programs which offer individuals skills, training and support to find and maintain employment. While recent developments in ALMPs in the UK, the US and Australia imply a move away from “work first” strategies and towards a move holistic delivery of employment support, there is still little focus on ALMPs which provide workers with career progression opportunities.
An indirect form of government intervention in employment standards is done through procurement spending. Here, the primary outcome is to have a government funded project realised, for example spending on infrastructure which would create jobs in various fields such as construction, hospitality and the social care sector. However, commissioning authorities have discretion to encourage employers to create good jobs connected to the project in the contract tendering process. Concepts such as social value, the idea that government funded projects can provide more than just the primary objective but also deliver socially beneficial outcomes, are becoming more common in bid specifications.
As of now, there us a disconnect in employment strategy between direct and indirect forms of government spending. The AE project aims to bridge the gap between these two mechanisms and provide a model of best practice for commissioners to follow at the national, regional and local government level.
The term “good jobs” is used as an umbrella term for many employment initiatives being spearheaded by national governments today. The Good Jobs Initiative of the Biden administration aims to educate workers as to their employment rights and work with employers to ensure minimum labour standards, such as prevailing wage requirements, are met. In Australia, the Fair Work Commission provides similar protections under the 2009 Fair Work Act, while also providing a platform for those suffering from workplace discrimination or harassment to achieve recourse.
But it is often at the local level where we see a more concrete definition of good work. For example in the UK the Greater Manchester metropolitan area has a Good Employment Charter, an accreditation scheme aimed at getting employer buy-in on improving labour standards. This includes:
- Providing secure work
- Providing flexible work
- Paying a Real Living Wage (RLW)
- Workplace engagement and voice for employees
- In-work development and progression
- “Excellent” people management
- Healthy and productive working conditions
The AE project takes on the broad meaning of good work, but it particularly interested in how public contracting can encourage employers to provide RLW wages jobs which offer employees from disadvantaged groups the opportunity to develop new skills and achieve in-work career progression.
The UK, the US and Australia are three liberal welfare states characterised by their embrace of contracting out and New Public Management philosophy in public service reforms. In regard to labour market policy, all three have historically embraced a Work First approach to employment services, and a lowest cost wins approach to public contract tendering. This strategy has helped to sustain rapid employment growth in low-paid service sectors but has led to an increase in poor quality and insecure work.
The AE seeks to identify the ways in which governments in countries such as the UK, the US and Australia, core proponents of a quasi-market, weakly regulated NPM model of employment services are implementing social value in public contracting, by implication moving towards a New Public Governance model.
All three jurisdictions have witnessed the development of living wage policies that challenge the reliance on low-wage employment as a key feature of the Anglo-American jobs miracle. Combined with a rapidly changing jobs market in advanced industrial economies, this means there is an unprecedented opportunity for governments and commissioners in all three countries to implement progressive, quality focused employment policies.
By comparing three of the largest advanced industrial economies in the world, the AE project can provide a variety of concrete examples of best practice in the public contracting space. The project aims to guide commissioners and policymakers into how best to operationalise and implement the concept of social value within their public contracting processes and regulatory frameworks.
Make sure to sign up to the Activating Employers newsletter and follow the project on social media to keep up to date on project publications and events which will bring together stakeholders in the employment space.
The AE project will act as an invaluable resource for employment practices for public bodies and employers alike. Employers will benefit from the cross-national comparison of employment regulation and via the AE project, be able to better understand how to include social value in public contract bidding. As social value requirements become more and more institutionalised in public procurement, both SMEs and larger companies will benefit AE publications and gain an advantage in the public contract bidding process.
Make sure to sign up to the Activating Employers newsletter and follow the project on social media to keep up to date on project publications and events which will bring together stakeholders in the employment space.