Item 10 Appendix 1
West Dunbartonshire Council · 13 August 2025
Back to Corporate Services Committee — 13 August 2025 and its agenda
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Assessment No 1298 Owner jennifer.slater Resource Transformation Service People and Technology FirstName Surname Job Title Head Officer Victoria Rogers Chief Officer - People and Technology Members Jennifer Slater - HR Adviser John Duffy - People, Quality & Governance Lead Alison McBride - Strategic People & Change Manager (Please note: the word 'policy' is used as shorthand for strategy policy function or financial decision) Policy Title Real Living Wage Accreditation The aim, objective, purpose and intended out come of policy The primary aim of this proposal is to present options associated with real Living Wage (rLW) accreditation and the anticipated consequential costs for the Council to determine if the Council will work to attain the rLW accreditation. Service/Partners/Stakeholders/service users involved in the development and/or implementation of policy. Chief Officers, Strategic HR, Finance, Legal, Economic Development and Procurement Does the proposals involve the procurement of any goods or services? No If yes please confirm that you have contacted our procurement services to discuss your requirements. No SCREENING You must indicate if there is any relevance to the four areas Duty to eliminate discrimination (E), advance equal opportunities (A) or foster good relations (F) Yes Relevance to Human Rights (HR) No Relevance to Health Impacts (H) No Relevance to Social Economic Impacts (SE) Yes Who will be affected by this policy? All local government employees except those covered by SNCT terms and conditions. Who will be/has been involved in the consultation process? The proposal was presented to the Trade Unions at the Convenor meeting on 15 July 2025 and the final report was shared following pre-agenda on 23 July. Appendix 1
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Please outline any particular need/barriers which equality groups may have in relation to this policy list evidence you are using to support this and whether there is any negative impact on particular groups. Specific group to consider Needs Evidence Impact Age A higher representation of those from the younger age group among lower earners Scottish Government publication on 'Public sector pay strategy 2023-2024: equality impact assessment' Real Living Wage will help provide such individuals with a positive benefit as well as working towards reducing the pay gaps and overall income inequality Disability A higher representation of disabled people among lower earners Scottish Government publication on 'Public sector pay strategy 2023-2024: equality impact assessment' Real Living Wage will help provide such individuals with a positive benefit as well as working towards reducing the pay gaps and overall income inequality Gender Reassign Marriage & Civil Partnership Pregnancy & Maternity Race A higher representation of those from a minority ethnic group among lower earners Scottish Government publication on 'Public sector pay strategy 2023-2024: equality impact assessment' Real Living Wage will help provide such individuals with a positive benefit as well as working towards reducing the pay gaps and overall income inequality Religion and Belief Sex Proportionally low paid workers in the grades covered by the proposal, predominantly woman, are positively impacted more by this policy. Female %: Grade 1 - 85.49%, Grade 2 - 70.91% and Grade 3 - 81.91% By establishing a real living wage minimum salary level those employees have greater opportunity to participate in social activities whilst also working towards reducing gender pay gap Sexual Orientation Human Rights Health
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Social & Economic Impact Committment to Fairer Scotland Duty Currently paying above the rLW rate however, if next years rate was to increase beyond what is predicted it could add further financial strain to existing budget gap Potential erraditcation of G1 -3 in current pay and grading structure if there was a more significant increase than the Scottish Local Government Living Wage (SLGLW) Out of 32 local authorities WDC is one of only 7 without the Real Living Wage accreditation £8.3 million funding gap in 2026/27, projected to rise to £41.3m by 2029/30 SLGLW is £13.06 for 2025/26, increasing to £13.52 on 1st April v rLW for 2024 is £12.60 with the 2025 rate yet to be announced Opportunity to join other local authorities in this commitment and also to be an influential leader for other local businesses in West Dunbartonshire Could result in a need for greater FTE reductions in future May need to address this through review of current pay and grading structure Cross Cutting Increasing importance of looking at impacts using an intersectional persepctive is noted by the Scottish Government Intersection of impacts cross Sex, Ethnicity, Age and Disability Potential combined positive effects for multiple protected groups as opposed to just one
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Actions
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Policy has a negative impact on an equality group,but is still to be implemented, please provide justification for this. Will the impact of the policy be monitored and reported on an ongoing bases? Yes, rLW announced around October each year for implementation the following May. Pay Gap data reported annually through equalities monitoring. Pay increase negotiated annually. Q7 What is you recommendation for this policy? Intoduce Please provide a meaningful summary of how you have reached the recommendation EIA 1298 details the potential benefits of committing to the rLW particularly for those in lower grade posts which are generally populated by women, younger people, those with a disability and those from an ethnic minority group. The Council already pays the SLGLW (£13.06 as of 1st April 2025) which is currently above the 2024/25 rLW. Based on analysis of the rLW increases over recent years, predications for 2026/27 would not result in an additional cost for the Council as the increase would be in line with the already agreed SLGLW pay increase. However, it is important to note that the current volatility makes predictions challenging and consequently, the predicted increase for 2026/27 can only be considered indicative.
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