The SRAG Charter is a framework for creating social value where it counts: good jobs and skills. It assesses employers on engagement, recruitment, retention, development and community connection, and recognises those who can evidence what that delivers.
Employers across construction, hospitality, logistics, utilities, retail and energy are part of the Social Recruitment Advocacy Group. The Charter Mark is how members see where their own practice stands, and how they show it to the people who ask.
Members are assessed against the Charter measures and hold one of five levels. A level describes practice as it is today rather than conferring a permanent status, so it moves as practice moves.
Public Procurement Notice 026 (PPN026) has landed
From January 2027, social value on in-scope central government contracts is assessed on two outcomes: good jobs and skills. On larger contracts at least one social value commitment is published and reported annually. The detailed guidance on how it will be measured is still to come.
The Charter Mark gives you two things in the meantime. A clear view of where your practice stands today, and a structure for evidencing what you already deliver rather than describing it.
It also holds beyond central government. Local authorities, combined authorities and the devolved nations sit outside PPN026 and set their own priorities, and the same evidence serves them.
The detail on measurement and weighting is still to come. In the meantime the SRAG Charter gives members a shared standard: a clear view of where practice stands, a way to compare with peers, and evidence that holds whatever the final measures ask for.
The five levels
Bronze is the entry level of the Charter, held by members that have signed the Social Recruitment Covenant and committed to open, inclusive and diverse recruitment that improves representation of people who face disadvantage in the labour market. It marks a clear starting point rather than a finished journey: the commitment is in place, and assessment against the Charter measures then shows how far practice has developed.
Silver members build on their Bronze commitments and put managed practice behind them. Line managers are trained in reasonable adjustments and inclusive recruitment, guaranteed interviews extend beyond half the organisation, outreach partners are used to reach people the standard process misses, and members measure and report what social recruitment delivers against their own social value objectives.
Gold members have met the Bronze and Silver criteria and moved social value into how the organisation makes decisions. Inclusive recruitment targets are set and owned at senior leadership level, guaranteed interviews run across most of the organisation, partnerships with outreach organisations are consistent and named, and routes into work are widened through work trials, internships and adjusted onboarding. Progress is measured against the targets and published.
Ambassador members meet all the Gold criteria and take social recruitment beyond their own organisation. They encourage their supply chain to adopt inclusive recruitment, put formal policy behind their outreach partnerships, and make the case for social value in their external communication and engagement. Within SRAG they share their practice openly and mentor new members through their first steps, from inclusive job descriptions and fair chance recruitment guidance to piloting social recruitment safely in a single role or location.
Introduced in 2026 for members who have held Ambassador level for at least twelve months, Patron brings an organisation's most senior leaders directly into SRAG's work and uses that platform to open doors for the wider network, convening peer learning and round tables, championing social recruitment in their own sector and beyond it, and bringing the organisations they mentor through to Ambassador level.
Patron is assessed against the same Charter measures as every other level, and it confers no role in how any other member is assessed.
How assessment works
Bronze is held by members who have signed the Social Recruitment Covenant and met the Charter's entry measures. Levels above Bronze are awarded following a structured assessment review against the Charter measures, covering what is in place, what it delivers, the evidence behind it and what's next.
Members tell us the most useful part is not the badge. It is seeing where they sit against a defined standard, and being able to say in a bid where they are now and where they intend to be by a given timeframe that aligns with their commitment.
What the Charter Mark does, and what it does not
The Charter Mark assesses and recognises social recruitment practice. It is not an accreditation of compliance with any procurement policy notice, and it does not guarantee a score in any tender. What it gives a bid team is a defined standard, an assessed position against it, and the evidence to support both.
Get started
Tell us a little about your organisation and we will come back to you with the most useful next step, whether that is Charter Mark assessment, SRAG membership, or simply a conversation about PPN026 and where your pipeline sits.
