The Social Accountability 8000 Standard

SA8000 is a voluntary social compliance standard that demonstrates your commitment to a humane working environment and represents responsible
production. Adhering to the standard will help to reduce risks, enhance the reputation of you’re the company and brand, meet customer requirements,
improve supplier relationships, create better labour conditions and a safer work environment, and provide clear and credible assurance for ethical purchasing
decisions.

SA 8000 certification addresses issues including forced and child labour, occupational health and safety, freedom of association and collective bargaining,
discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, compensation, and management systems.

Requirements Documentation/Evidence Required

1. Child labour  In order to be certified, companies will need to have a defined company
Under SA8000, child labour is considered any work performed by a child younger than policy and remediation plan, whether or not children are found to be
15 years old, unless the minimum age for work is higher by local law. The standard also working in the factory. And the policy and plan should be effectively
sets requirements for the employment of “young workers” who are younger than 18 but communicated to workers, underage workers (if any) and their families
Requirements Documentation/Evidence Required
older than 15 years old as specified above. (Policy for Prohibition of Child Labour)
A supplier will generally meet the requirements of this section if they adhere to local and  Documentation of hours of work indicate special schedules and duties for
national labour laws. Besides age restrictions, the standard requires that: child and young workers and the production schedules do not evidence any
 Young workers only work outside of school hours if they’re subject to hidden work (e.g. more production than would be feasible according to the
compulsory education laws documented hours worked).
 Young workers do not work more than eight hours per day or work during night  Personal Files - Documentary evidence exists for proof of age upon
hours; and recruitment, including copies of such documents as birth certificate, religious
 Children and young workers are not subject to unsafe working conditions or other local record or passport.
 Community interviews, especially with teachers, social workers and child
welfare advocates, confirm they have worked with the factory to address
any child labour risks.
2. Forced labour  Policy for Prohibition of forced Labour
SA8000 forbids suppliers from employing forced or slave labour, as well as withholding  Employee handbooks, training manuals, grievance procedures, and/or
personal documents, salary or benefits from workers. Withholding workers’ documents contracts exist and employees are aware of their purpose and the extent to
could make it difficult for workers to leave at will. which they benefit workers, thus demonstrating the voluntary nature of
employment.
SA8000 requires that staff have the right to leave the workplace at the end of each
 Employee Interviews
workday and the right to terminate their employment with reasonable notice. Forced
labour is an important aspect of social compliance that has been banned through some
specific legislature outside of voluntary standards.
3. Health and safety  OSH policy
A supplier is required to provide a safe and healthy workplace environment for workers  Goals and objectives for improving worker health and safety and lowering
under the SA8000 standard. Under the SA8000 standard, your supplier must: accident rates
 Minimize or eliminate the causes of all safety hazards in the workplace  Health and safety risk assessment
environment, wherever reasonable  Adequate personal protective equipment
 Assess health risks for new, expectant and nursing mothers  Health and safety committee meeting records
 Provide effective health and safety training to staff  Health and safety incident record
 Provide staff with appropriate protective equipment (e.g. hardhats, gloves,  First Aid Box provided & First Aid Party Members Trained
respirators) at its own expense; and  Fire Drill Record
 Provide staff with free access to clean toilet facilities, potable water and sanitary  Regular reviews of preparedness and preventative action such as machinery
facilities for food storage maintenance and emergency drills

Interviewing workers is critical for an evaluation of OSH conditions. Workers can

confirm or contradict inspection findings and management claims, and highlight
issues that escape the auditor’s attention
4. Freedom of association and collective bargaining  Suggestion box to lodge complaints and provide feedback to management
Requirements Documentation/Evidence Required
SA8000’s freedom of association and collective bargaining requirement allows workers  Organization Policy
the right to organize trade unions of their choosing and to bargain collectively with their  Copies of agreements signed by union leaders of a union freely chosen by
employer. It also protects workers belonging to unions from discrimination, harassment the workers
or intimidation.  Worker representatives elected
 Testimony of workers that the union named in the agreement was chosen
Compliance with this requirement can vary based on local or national laws. SA8000 has by them to represent their interests
a provision to address these local constraints on trade unions, requiring suppliers to  Reports on strikes, walkouts, work stoppage, or related labour
allow workers to freely elect their own representatives in these cases. demonstrations
5. Discrimination  Non-discrimination policy
The SA8000 standard protects workers from discrimination based on race, origin, caste,  Employee complaint records
gender, religion, political affiliation and many other attributes. The supplier should have  Job announcements and advertisements concerning the company are posted
a written anti-discrimination policy that is followed in the recruitment, employment and prominently in the workplace and do not specify race, gender or other
termination of employees. personal characteristics of potential employees.
 Workers and company records confirm that pregnant and nursing women
Under SA8000, suppliers cannot: are employed, and that they receive maternity benefits as stipulated under
 Interfere with a worker’s right to exercise certain practices related to their national or local law.
identity, such as the right to prayer  Wage slips or wage records of workers indicate equal pay for work of equal
 Allow abusive, threatening, exploitative or sexually coercive behaviour in the value
workplace  Records for hiring, promotion, compensation and access to training support
 Require work staff to take pregnancy or virginity tests worker, union representative and management testimony and other
evidence of compliance.
6. Discipline policy practices  Disciplinary policy
When determining disciplinary measures or giving performance reviews, employers  Updated Labour code
should demonstrate respect for workers’ mental, emotional and physical well-being.  Workers, unions and local NGOs are familiar with the company’s disciplinary
Procedures should be defined and followed for matters relating to employee policies and procedures
performance evaluations and disciplinary action. These procedures should be applied  Log is maintained which details any violations of the discipline policy by
consistently and not arbitrarily to every employee. management and it is up-to-date on cases requiring action
If disciplinary action is necessary, SA8000 encourages a progressive course of action,  Records support the existence of appeal procedures in cases where
beginning with verbal or written warnings before more serious disciplinary action is disciplinary measures have been questioned by employees.
taken. Fines or wage deductions for disciplinary purposes also violate SA8000.  Disciplinary actions comply with national laws and related regulations
7. Working hours  Organization Policy
SA8000 requires suppliers to allow at least one day of rest following six consecutive days  Labour agreement
of work. And the normal work week should not exceed 48 hours.  Overtime and wage records
The standard also sets requirements for overtime. Companies must make overtime  Worker testimony on voluntary overtime
voluntary, and overtime cannot exceed 12 hours per week.
Requirements
But like the standard’s requirements regarding collective bargaining, local or national
laws can also grant companies more leniency regarding working hours. SA8000 allows
exceptions for national laws that allow for more work time and agreements reached by
collective bargaining.
8. Remuneration
Workers must be compensated for the adequate performance of their work and they
must be paid in full. Wages earned for regular hours worked (i.e. no more than 48 hours
a week or lower as prescribed by law) must be sufficient to meet the basic needs of the
worker and at least half of his/her dependents. It should not be necessary to work
overtime to earn a basic needs wage. Labour-only contracts or apprenticeship schemes
should not be used to avoid paying benefits or to fulfil ongoing, routine tasks integral to
the work of the organization.
The standard dictates that the company cannot withhold or deduct wages for
disciplinary reasons, unless permitted by national law or a collective bargaining
agreement. The company must also reimburse workers for overtime at a premium rate
defined by national law or collective bargaining agreement. The company must also
comply with local requirements for mandatory income withholdings, such as taxes.
9. Management system
Management must take several additional steps regarding corrective actions,
preventative measures, policies and documentation for full SA8000 compliance.
Some of the main points outlined in SA8000 are as follows:
 Senior management must inform staff of their intention to comply with SA8000 with
a written policy statement
 The company must appropriately document conformance and implementation of the
standard
 The company must set up a Social Performance Team (SPT) to oversee
implementation of the SA8000 standard, as well as identify and assess risks
 The company must develop a written grievance procedure that is confidential and
non-retaliatory; and
 The company must train staff to implement the SA8000 standard
Documentation/Evidence Required
 Employment contracts
 Wage slips, payroll records and/or time cards confirm adequate wage
payments are being made in a timely fashion and clearly explained to
workers
 Worker testimony about their basic needs in comparison to their wages
 Wages equal or exceed the higher of: the minimum wage, the prevailing
industry wage, or wages in a comparable unionized workplace
 Company social accountability policy
 Senior management representative(s) for Social Accountability
 Social Performance Team appointment
 Documentation of SA8000 requirements and their implementation
 Management compliance reviews of SA8000 compliance and corresponding
reports to workers
 Procedures to recruit and monitor subcontractors/sub-suppliers’
 Cost accounting and capacity planning for the facility - indicating stability of
jobs, production capacity, and ability to maintain compliance (e.g. firms with
severe cash flow problems may only comply during short periods of the
year)
 Personnel data files
 System to record hours worked by employees
 Wage lists and pay slips
 Production records; compared to payroll to verify veracity of hours worked
 Documentation of payments to social insurance funds
Requirements Documentation/Evidence Required
 Employee awareness and internal as well as external communication
structures for social accountability policies
 Health and safety risk management system
 First-Aid certificates and capacity
 Documentation on health and safety trainings
 Documentation on hazardous chemicals
 Inspection documents for lifts and machinery
 Accident records and remediation reports
 Employment contract with security guards
 Documentation of maternity leaves

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