WORKING CONDITIONS

WORKING CONDITIONS 

Employment is freely chosen

  • There is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour.
  • Workers are not required to lodge “deposits” or their identity papers with their employer and are free to leave their employer after reasonable notice.

Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected

  • Workers, without distinction, have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively.
  • The employer adopts an open attitude towards the activities of trade unions and their organisational activities.
  • Workers representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace.
  • Where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted under law, the employer facilitates, and does not hinder, the development of parallel means for independent and free association and bargaining.

Working conditions are safe and hygienic

  • A safe and hygienic working environment shall be provided, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards. Adequate steps shall be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with, or occurring in the course of work, by minimising, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
  • Workers shall receive regular and recorded health and safety training, and such training shall be repeated for new or reassigned workers.
  • Access to clean toilet facilities and to potable water, and, if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage shall be provided.
  • Accommodation, where provided, shall be clean, safe, and meet the basic needs of the workers.
  • The company observing the code shall assign responsibility for health and safety to a senior management representative.

Child labour shall not be used

  • There shall be no new recruitment of child labour.
    Companies shall develop or participate in and contribute to policies
  • and programs which provide for the transition of any child found to be performing child labour to enable her or him to attend and remain in quality education until no longer a child; “child” and “child labour” being defined in the appendices.
  • Children and young persons under 18 shall not be employed at night or in hazardous conditions.
  • These policies and procedures shall conform to the provisions of the relevant ILO standards.

Living wages are paid

  • Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmark standards, whichever is higher. In any event wages should always be enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.
  • All workers shall be provided with written and understandable information about their employment conditions in respect to wages before they enter employment and about the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time that they are paid.
  • Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure shall not be permitted nor shall any deductions from wages not provided for by national law be permitted without the expressed permission of the worker concerned. All disciplinary measures should be recorded.

Working hours are not excessive

  • Working hours comply with national laws and benchmark industry standards, whichever affords greater protection.
  • In any event, workers shall not on a regular basis be required to work in excess of 48 hours per week and shall be provided with at least one day off for every 7 day period on average. Overtime shall be voluntary, shall not exceed 12 hours per week, shall not be demanded on a regular basis and shall always be compensated at a premium rate.

Labour Standards

Compliance to labour standards applies to all forms of employment in the supply chain: permanent, temporary, casual, agency worker, apprenticeship, trainee, contractor and subcontractor including homeworking.

To maintain ILO Convention, suppliers are required to have at least one of approved third-party verified audit/certification frameworks in place, as follows:

  • Sedex SMETA audit
  • BSCI-Amfori audit
  • WRAP audit

MEETING OUR LABOUR STANDARDS

To uphold our Labour Standards, the necessary measures include:

  • Suppliers must clearly communicate these standards to all employees in their language to ensure understanding of workplace human rights.
  • This communication is extended to subcontractor employees, with signed commitments required.
  • Effective tracking, reviewing, and modifying procedures must be in place to meet or exceed these standards.
  • Compliance is verified through meetings, senior management assessments, and third-party audits.
  • Suppliers must provide accurate compliance documentation and promptly address issues from audit reports.
  • Our nominated representatives need unfettered access to facilities for compliance checks.
  • We urge partners to exceed legal minimums and offer support for continuous improvement.