The influence of ‘soft’ fair work regulation on union recovery: A case of re-recognition in the Scottish voluntary social care sector

Abstract

This longitudinal case study contributes to debates concerning how ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ forms of regulation can interact to contribute to the advancement of worker rights. More specifically, the article explores the contribution of Scotland's soft fair work (FW) programme and the UK's hard statutory recognition procedure to union re-recognition in a voluntary sector social care provider. In combination, hard and soft regulations are found to have added breadth to the pressures for re-recognition exerted by the union, bringing reputational and financial costs associated with derecognition to the employer. Concerns nevertheless arose regarding the depth of impact from this interaction due to union compromises on key issues in the final recognition agreement. Due to the specific public service context of the study, doubts are also expressed regarding the potential for unions in other hard to organise sectors to achieve similar outcomes.