20. Other legal frameworks to support equality bargaining

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Standard setting in public procurement is an important mechanism for mainstreaming equality. Unions such as public services union UNISON target the commissioning client, typically a local authority, and encourage them to focus on achieving better equality outcomes when deciding how their service contracts should be allocated among different providers.

The process works by persuading the commissioning client to set behaviour standards in its service delivery contract. As UNISON says in its branch guide to equality bargaining in procurement, “local authorities spend billions every year on contracts with private and voluntary organisations for goods, works and services. It is vital, therefore, that they should fully integrate equalities into the procurement process”.

The process is supported by EU law, namely the EU Public Procurement Directive, in force in the UK from April 2016. This Directive requires all public commissioning bodies, such as local authorities, when selecting new contractors, to take “appropriate measures” to ensure that new service providers comply with all EU obligations, national laws and collective agreements, when providing public services. This includes equality laws. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has produced a useful guide to mainstreaming equality when contracting for public services: Buying better outcomes. Large unions have also produced practical guides.

The UNISON branch guide to equalities in procurement is available from its website.