Our Approach
Our consulting approach bridges the gap between international labor standards and operational reality. We help businesses demonstrate good-faith compliance efforts that auditors recognize, while avoiding policies or commitments that are not feasible to maintain long term.
Labor Standards Compliance
Social compliance audits frequently identify gaps in labor standards—not because businesses lack intent, but because audit expectations do not always align neatly with real-world operations. Our Labor Standards Compliance Consulting services are designed to help organizations meet audit requirements based on the ETI Base Code and International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions in a way that is compliant, practical, and sustainable.
We focus on helping businesses understand where their current practices stand, what auditors expect to see, and how to address findings without creating commitments that cannot realistically be maintained.
Wage & Working Hours Analysis
Wage-related findings are among the most complex areas of social compliance audits. Rather than making unrealistic wage commitments, we conduct structured wage and working hours analyses aligned with audit expectations.
Our support includes:
- Review of wage structures and payroll practices
- Assessment of working hours, overtime, and rest periods
- Identification of gaps against legal and audit requirements
- Development of compliant wage documentation and mitigation plans
- Our approach supports transparency and audit compliance without over-promising outcomes such as immediate living wage implementation.
Employment Contracts & Documentation
Incomplete or inconsistent employment documentation is a common source of audit findings. We help businesses ensure contracts and related records clearly reflect working conditions, employee rights, and legal requirements.
This includes support with:
- Employment contracts and worker acknowledgements
- Job descriptions and terms of employment
- Recordkeeping and document consistency
- Alignment between written terms and actual practices
Freely Chosen Employment & Recruitment Practices
Audits often scrutinize recruitment and onboarding practices for indicators of forced or involuntary labor. We assist organizations in reviewing recruitment processes and third-party labor arrangements to ensure compliance with internationally recognized labor standards.
Our services address:
- Recruitment fees and worker-paid costs
- Use of labor agents and contractors
- Identity document handling
- Onboarding and employment practices
Fair Treatment, Discipline & Grievance Mechanisms
Clear disciplinary procedures and accessible grievance mechanisms are critical components of labor standards compliance. We help businesses implement systems that are both audit-ready and workable for management and employees.
Support includes:
- Disciplinary policy review and implementation
- Grievance and complaint handling processes
- Non-retaliation and fair treatment controls
- Employee awareness and communication
Child Labor & Young Worker Protections
Preventing child labor and protecting young workers is a core requirement of the ETI Base Code and ILO conventions. We help businesses establish age verification, monitoring, and remediation procedures that meet audit expectations.
This includes:
- Age verification processes
- Young worker protections and restrictions
- Documentation and monitoring controls
- Corrective action planning if issues are identified
Audit Findings, Corrective Actions & Ongoing Compliance
Addressing labor-related audit findings requires more than one-time fixes. We support businesses in developing corrective actions that address root causes and demonstrate sustainable compliance.
Our services include:
- Pre-audit labor standards reviews
- Root cause analysis for findings
- Corrective action planning and documentation
- Ongoing compliance support and improvement