PPN 026 and the Temporary Labour Social Value Opportunity.[cite: 2]
A strategic update to SLTE-002 on good jobs, fair pay, skills and supply-line transaction evidence.
2026[cite: 2]
Document control
Document control and research position.[cite: 2]
| Document no. | SLTE-026[cite: 2] |
|---|---|
| Prepared date | 6 August 2026[cite: 2] |
| Document type | Independent research paper / strategic policy update[cite: 2] |
| Classification | Open research / strategic update[cite: 2] |
| Research basis | SLTE-002, AMTF-001, ULESV-001, CLCRH-001 and the published PPN 026 source set[cite: 2] |
| Primary use | Decision support for buyers, contracting authorities, framework operators, contractors, agencies, social-value teams and labour-chain assurance functions[cite: 2] |
Document index
| No. | Assessment area | Short description | Position | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RO | Reader orientation | Purpose, relationship to SLTE-002 and central interpretive boundary.[cite: 2] | Orientation | --- |
| 1 | Section 1 - Executive Summary | The policy change, temporary-labour opportunity and principal conclusion.[cite: 2] | Foundation | --- |
| 2 | Section 2 - Research Sequence and Update Rationale | How AMTF-001, CLCRH-001, ULESV-001 and SLTE-002 lead into this update.[cite: 2] | Foundation | --- |
| 3 | Section 3 - What PPN 026 Changes | Scope, timing, weighting, model criteria, KPIs and pending guidance.[cite: 2] | Policy update | --- |
| 4 | Section 4 - Why Temporary Labour Is Inside the Opportunity | Why existing contract workforces are directly relevant to good jobs, fair pay and skills.[cite: 2] | Opportunity frame | --- |
| 11 | Section 11 - Opportunity Conversion Matrix | How current temporary-labour weaknesses can become contract-relevant social-value interventions.[cite: 2] | Synthesis | --- |
Reader orientation
How to read this update and the limits of the opportunity claim.[cite: 2]
This document is an independent strategic update to SLTE-002-Supply-Line Transaction Evidence in UK Temporary Labour.[cite: 2] SLTE-002 concluded that modern temporary labour governance is moving from supplier-level assurance toward worker-linked, route-specific, project-attributed transaction evidence.[cite: 2] PPN 026 strengthens the commercial relevance of that conclusion by increasing the procurement weight attached to good jobs and skills, requiring social-value commitments to be monitored through contract mechanisms, and requiring at least one social-value KPI for contracts valued at £5 million or more.[cite: 2]
The update does not repeat the full source-to-question map in SLTE-002.[cite: 2] It asks a narrower question: what does the newly published Social Value Model mean for temporary labour already used to deliver large public contracts?[cite: 2]
Temporary labour is not merely a delivery input. Under PPN 026, the quality, pay, accessibility, development and future pipeline of the contract workforce can become a material part of tender evaluation and contract performance.[cite: 2]
The paper is objective and platform-neutral. It does not assume that any particular technology, supplier, payroll route or commercial model is required.[cite: 2] It identifies an opportunity and the evidence discipline needed to use that opportunity credibly.[cite: 2]
IMPORTANT BOUNDARY
PPN 026 does not create automatic social-value credit for using temporary labour, replacing a non-compliant route or meeting statutory duties.[cite: 2] Award criteria must be relevant, proportionate and additional to ordinary contract delivery, and MAC 1b and 1c expressly look for outcomes beyond statutory minimums.[cite: 2] The opportunity arises from genuine improvements and properly evidenced delivery, not from relabelling compliance.[cite: 2]
Section 1
Executive Summary[cite: 2]
The policy change, the opportunity and the necessary caution.[cite: 2]
- 10% minimum weighting for covered contracts from £1m to under £5m[cite: 2]
- 20% minimum weighting for covered contracts valued at £5m or more[cite: 2]
- 6 model award criteria across good jobs and skills[cite: 2]
- 12m maximum interval for published KPI performance reporting[cite: 2]
PPN 026 was published on 5 August 2026 and is intended to apply to in-scope central government procurements commenced on or after 1 January 2027.[cite: 2] It applies to covered procurements with a total contract value of at least £1 million including VAT.[cite: 2] The model raises the minimum social-value weighting to 20% for contracts valued at £5 million or more, while retaining a minimum 10% weighting for contracts from £1 million to under £5 million.[cite: 2]
The model also narrows the subject matter. Its two outcomes are Good Jobs and Skills, expressed through six model award criteria: high-quality jobs, fair working conditions, fair pay, training/retraining, in-work progression and talent pipelines.[cite: 2]
The opportunity is not that temporary labour makes social value easy. The opportunity is that a large existing contract workforce can be improved and evidenced through the same delivery activity, rather than treated as invisible to the social-value model.[cite: 2]
The strongest temporary-labour opportunity is therefore twofold:
- Outcome opportunity: improve the real quality of temporary work - pay, conditions, worker understanding, access, retention, skills and progression.[cite: 2]
- Evidence opportunity: connect those improvements to the relevant contract, worker population, location, reporting period, baseline, target and accountable party.[cite: 2]
Temporary Labour as a Social Value Field.[cite: 2]
- Good jobs.[cite: 2]
- Fair working conditions.[cite: 2]
- Fair pay.[cite: 2]
- Skills and progression.[cite: 2]
- Evidence that follows the worker and the contract.[cite: 2]
Section 11
Opportunity Conversion Matrix[cite: 2]
Turning temporary-labour failings into genuine, evidenced outcomes rather than relabelled compliance.[cite: 2]
The opportunity is best understood as a conversion problem. Existing temporary-labour weaknesses can become social-value interventions only when the contract changes the outcome and preserves the evidence.[cite: 2]
| CURRENT CONDITION | MOST RELEVANT MACS | POTENTIAL INTERVENTION | EVIDENCE NEEDED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown or hidden payroll route[cite: 2] | 1b/1c[cite: 2] | Make the route visible before work, identify employer and payer, remove unauthorised substitution, give workers plain-language information.[cite: 2] | Route disclosure; worker acceptance; employer/payer; payslip; deductions; exceptions.[cite: 2] |
| Default umbrella use with weak worker understanding[cite: 2] | 1b/1c[cite: 2] | Use a clearer route or enhanced worker-tested transparency, direct complaint access and evidence of pay-package quality beyond minimum.[cite: 2] | KID/terms; worker-understanding check; gross-to-net; holiday; query and correction.[cite: 2] |
| Labour-only CIS or PSC used as ordinary site labour[cite: 2] | 1a/1b/1c[cite: 2] | Move appropriate work to a defensible employment route, then improve job quality and pay rather than treating reclassification alone as social value.[cite: 2] | Route substance; status basis; employment record; pay; working conditions; baseline.[cite: 2] |
11.1 The conversion rule
Failure removal is the starting point. Social-value credit requires the additional worker or community benefit created by the improved route.[cite: 2]
For example, stopping unlawful underpayment is compliance. Paying above the statutory minimum under a clear, progressive package may support MAC 1c.[cite: 2] Providing a legally required payslip is compliance. Giving temporary workers a tested pre-start explanation, direct challenge route and equivalent access to flexible working or workplace support may support MAC 1b where it is additional and contract-relevant.[cite: 2]