Fair Work Statement
This statement confirms Dundee Science Centre’s commitment to fair working practices in support of the Scottish Government’s ‘Fair Work First’ policy.
Fair Work First is the Scottish Government’s flagship policy for driving high quality, inclusive, and fair work across the labour market by applying fair work criteria to grants, other funding, and contracts, where relevant to do so. The Scottish Government is encouraging employers to adopt fair work practices, specifically:
Payment of at least the Real Living Wage
- Providing appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice, such as trade union recognition
- Investment in workforce development
- No inappropriate use of zero hours contracts
- Action to tackle the gender pay gap and to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace
- Offer flexible and family friendly working practices for all workers from day one of employment
- Opposing the use of fire and rehire practices
We demonstrate our commitment to fair work in the following ways:
Real Living Wage
Dundee Science Centre is accredited as a Living Wage Employer, voluntarily paying staff no less per hour than the rate set by the Living Wage Foundation, and we are committed to continuing to provide this benefit.
Employee Voice
Dundee Science Centre has individual and collective voice channels to listen to and engage with staff. We are committed to working in partnership with our employees, and we regularly meet to engage and consult on employment matters. We have well established forums to engage and consult with employees through weekly team meetings providing early awareness and escalation of Health, Safety and Wellbeing issues and improvement opportunities. As a values-driven employer, we recognise that despite our strong employee offer, there is always more we can do.
At an individual level, line managers are encouraged to have regular one-to-ones with staff, and this practice has been widely adopted across the organisation. The opportunity to have one-to-one discussions exists outside of the performance and development review process, which fosters effective working relationships.
Workforce Development
One of the key aims of the People Strategy is for all staff to have the opportunity to develop personally and professionally to support individual and organisational achievement. We aspire to ensure that all employees have time at work to develop the skills they need for the work they do. Dundee Science Centre currently provides a number of resources to enable employees to maximise their potential and will continue to develop its offering in the future.
Zero Hour Contracts
Dundee Science Centre offers a number of different contract types including zero hour contracts with all staff having the ability to either agree to contracted hours contracts or Zero Hours with the security of Real Living Hours, guaranteeing shifts and consistency in income.
Gender Pay Gap and EDI
In addition to advancing equality pay parity, Dundee Science Centre is committed to equality for all our staff and as such have no Gender Pat Gap to address. Dundee Science Centre’s Inclusion and Diversity strategy aims to embed equality and diversity across all of the Science Centre’s work and seeks to promote a culture of inclusivity. We recognise that achieving this will always be a work in progress and are committed to this. Monitoring of ethnicity and disability pay gaps will continue to progress as data capture and reporting improves, following the implementation of the employee data system.
Family Friendly Policies
In 2021, a full review of our family friendly policies at Dundee Science Centre took place, ensuring full compliance with legal requirements. Dundee Science Centre also has policies on Flexible Working, Emergency Time Off for Dependants, and Special Leave to allow employees to balance their personal and work commitments.
Opposing Fire and Rehire Practices
Dundee Science Centre opposes, and does not engage in, ‘fire and rehire’ practices.