1. No Child Labour
There shall be no recruitment of child labour. Children under the age of 15 shall not be recruited or employed (or higher age if required by the law). Children and young persons under the age of 18 shall not be employed at night or in hazardous conditions.
The policies and procedures shall conform to the relevant International Labour Organisation (ILO) policies.
2.Employment is freely chosen
There shall be no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour. Workers must not be required to lodge deposits or their identity papers on commencement of employment. Workers must be free to leave their employer after reasonable notice.
3. Freedom of association and employee representation
Suppliers should respect the rights of employees to join or form an association of their choosing (such as workers council, union, or workers association).
Where law restricts the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, the employer should facilitate, and not hinder, the development of parallel means for independent and free association and bargaining. Representatives must not be discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative function in the workplace.
4. No Discrimination
There must be no discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, nationality, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union or political membership.
5. Wages and benefits of employment
Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week must meet, as a minimum, national legal requirements. Wages should cover the need to meet both basic needs and some discretionary income. In the UK, we ask that suppliers ensure all their employees are paid at least the ‘Real Living Wage’ as defined here. Note that those on a training contract are excluded from the real living wage in recognition of the training they are receiving.
All workers should be provided with written and understandable information about their employment conditions and wages before employment and provided with wage slips for each period they are paid. Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure is not permitted, except those required by law. Any such deductions must not be taken without the expressed permission of the worker concerned.
6. Hours of work and regular employment
Accurate attendance, payroll and production records shall be maintained. Suppliers must commit to working towards compliance with ILO guidelines and national laws, whichever offers greatest protection.
Overtime must be voluntary, and all employees should receive at least one rest day in every seven. Overtime should be paid at a premium rate.
To every extent possible work performed should be on the basis of a recognised employment relationship. Obligations to employees under labour or social security laws and regulations should not be avoided through the use of home working schemes, subcontracting or apprenticeships where there is no intent to provide regular employment.
The conditions for the termination of a contract should be laid out before employment commences and conform to established and transparent company practices and local law.
7. Discipline
Employee abuse in physical, sexual or verbal form of intimidation is not acceptable and prohibited.
8. Health and safety
A safe, clean and hygienic environment should be provided, taking into account the specific hazards of the industry. Adequate steps should be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health at work. Workers should receive regular and recorded health and safety training. All workers should have access to clean toilet facilities and drinking water. Where provided accommodation should be clean, safe, and meet the basic needs of workers. A senior manager should be appointed as the Health and Safety representative for the company.
9. Whistleblowing
We require our suppliers to provide an internal mechanism for reporting, investigating and remedying any wrongdoing in the workplace, and to ensure that whistle blowers do not suffer any detrimental treatment as a result of raising a genuine concern. If you would like support in setting up a whistleblowing policy and system, please get in touch to see how we can help.
10. Environment
We take the environmental impact of our operations very seriously, and work hard to minimise our impacts as far as possible. As a minimum, we expect all suppliers to comply with local and national environmental legislation.
11. Anti-Slavery and Trafficking
We are committed to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains. All suppliers must comply with our Modern Slavery Policy.
