Fair Work First Statement

Fair Work is work that offers all individuals an effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect. SVE support the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First Policy and believe Fair Work can unlock personal and professional development, enhance creativity, increase efficiency and deliver impact for our members and partners. To achieve our mission we need highly motivated, supported and fulfilled staff members, and so our commitment to the principles of Fair Work First is integral to our organisation.

Effective Voice

As a small team our employees, or colleagues as they are called at SVE, strongly influence the decision- making process. Colleagues often co-create or review organisational policies with Board Members, influence decision making through team meetings and contribute to the design of their own work routines and programmes. Colleagues have regular 121 meetings with managers where they can raise concerns or provide feedback.

Opportunity

We run fair and transparent recruitment process with all job opportunities advertised internally. All colleagues have Personal Development Plans updated yearly, with learning and development opportunities sourced and monitored regularly.

Security

We offer meaningful work and clear contractual hours. Where we need to offer fixed term contracts due to funding constraints we are open and transparent about this and take decisions in a timely manner to offer security and certainly to colleagues. We refused to have zero hour contracts or offer unpaid internships. SVE offer enhanced entitlements and benefits such as enhanced sick pay, enhanced family leave (maternity, shared parental, adoption leave) and pension.

We are a Living Wage Accredited Employer.

We oppose the use of Fire and Rehire practices.

Fulfilment

We offer meaningful impactful work that makes a difference in communities. We support team development and belonging through staff meetings, wellbeing activities, and individual learning programmes. Training programmes that are an investment are considered centrally, to ensure fairness and equity, but all employees have access to a self-directed individual fund for learning and development. We are open to secondment/ sabbatical opportunities, and a number of colleagues have advanced skills in this way, in recent years.

Respect

We have strong policies addressing bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation in the workplace. Colleague are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity at work and have a personal responsibility for ensuring that they treat others with the way they would expect to be treated themselves.

We respect that colleagues often juggle work with family and caring responsibilities and know that having supportive policies is a key way to create an equal workforce. All of our colleagues have the option of working some of their working week at home, and many work flexible hours such as part-time hours, compressed hours etc.