Public Appointments > Research and Reports > Our Research > Time Commitment, Remuneration, and Other Aspects of the Role of Public Appointees 2025
Time Commitment, Remuneration, and Other Aspects of the Role of Public Appointees 2025
8 October 2025
Between December 2024 and May 2025, the office of the Ethical Standards Commissioner undertook a thematic review on the time commitment, remuneration, and other aspects of the role of public appointees, in response to a growing number of anecdotal concerns regarding the experiences of public appointees in Scotland. This thematic review is conducted with a view to:
- Establishing whether, from the perspective of people appointed, the role descriptions included in applicant information packs are accurate.
- Understanding the impact of certain aspects of these roles from currently under-reflected groups and whether they can create barriers to taking them up or remaining in them; and
- Exploring the extent to which the Commissioner’s statutory functions are understood.
Through detailed surveying, interviews, and focus groups sessions, the results of our research show that some of these concerns were substantiated. While those who participated were highly motivated in their roles, they reported significant discrepancies between the advertised and actual time commitment required of them, concerns about the disparity between the time commitment required and remuneration offered, and some areas for improvement in relation to support received once in role. Each of these areas may act as a barrier to appointment for communities currently under-reflected on Scotland’s public body boards, as well as having the potential to impact the retention of board members in some of the most critical non-departmental public bodies in Scotland.
Based on our findings, we made a number of recommendations to the Scottish Ministers, including:
- The Scottish Government read this report, including all comments made by current board chairs and members, and provide a public response to these comments, including any actions that it intends to take as a result.
The Scottish Government has welcomed the findings of our research, reiterating the Scottish Ministers’ commitment to ensuring that public appointments are accessible to all members of the Scottish population who have an interest in contributing to the public life of Scotland.
Ian Bruce, the Ethical Standards Commissioner said:
“I am pleased to share this report on time commitment, remuneration and other aspects of the role of public appointees in Scotland. The report highlights that Scotland’s current public appointees are highly motivated, engaged, and passionate about their contribution to public life. However, the research also clearly demonstrated that board work is currently different to what is advertised in applicant packs in a number of ways. It is encouraging that the Scottish Government have agreed to work with us on reducing the barriers which the report highlighted can prevent a wider pool of people entering into public life in Scotland. This will also be addressed by the upcoming refresh of our diversity strategy. I am very grateful to all of those who took part in our research. We look forward to working with the Scottish Government on implementation of the recommendations in the report and thereby improving the public appointments system in Scotland.”
Full details of our research and recommendations can be found in our report.
