What should fair and decent work look like for outsourced workers?

As part of FLEX’s work to develop worker-centred standards for outsourced services, FLEX and GMB Union brought together outsourced cleaning workers to share their experiences and identify the changes that would make the biggest difference to their working lives.

In the focus group we explored workers’ views on a number of key themes and what these mean to them in practice, including :

These discussions helped identify the issues that matter most to workers and what meaningful improvements should look like.

Rather than starting with predefined solutions, the session placed workers’ own experiences at the centre, recognising that workers are best placed to identify the challenges they face and the changes needed to improve their working lives.

When asked to rank the issues most important to them, workers identified fair pay as their highest priority. Participants highlighted inequalities experienced by outsourced workers carrying out the same roles as directly employed colleagues, including differences in pay, weekend enhancements and recognition for additional responsibilities.

The issue is why do some [insourced] workers get paid more, especially at weekends when they get enhancements, but you’re working alongside them doing the same job and you’re on a lower wage?

Focus group participant

However, workers emphasised that fair work is about more than pay. Their experiences highlighted a wider question about how outsourced workers are recognised, respected and supported in the workplace.

Participants described having to purchase their own clothing when employer-provided uniforms were unsuitable, creating additional costs for workers trying to carry out their roles effectively.

I do three 12-hour shifts. I’ve literally got two T-shirts and I’ve bought all my own trousers because the trousers they give us are terrible

Focus group participant

Workers highlighted that having suitable uniforms, equipment and resources should be a basic part of being supported to do their jobs. These issues were not only about cost, but about whether workers feel valued and able to carry out their roles with dignity.

Workers also raised concerns about access to suitable changing facilities. For workers carrying out essential cleaning duties, having appropriate facilities was seen as a basic part of being treated with dignity at work.

There’s nowhere to get changed. You have to change in your cleaning cupboard or in a toilet on the ward

Focus group participant

The discussion highlighted a wider message from workers: decent work is shaped by more than formal policies or minimum requirements. It is also about how workers are treated day-to-day, including whether they receive fair recognition, have the resources they need, and are able to carry out essential work in conditions that reflect their value.

The insights from this session will help shape FLEX’s worker-centred standards for outsourced work, supporting ongoing work to strengthen worker-centred human rights due diligence approaches.

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