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GeSI Guidelines
The standards within these guidelines are to help promote safe and fair working conditions as
well as responsible, social, environmental and ethics management by promoting sustainability
standards across all GeSI Member’s supply chain.
Companies are encouraged to implement the requirements contained in these guidelines and
go further in implementing key performance indicators (KPI’s) to measure conformance.
Companies are also encouraged to take all reasonable measures to promote and secure
compliance of these guidelines with their suppliers, sub-contractors, and employees.
Companies applying the guidelines are expected to comply with all relevant laws, regulations
and standards in all of the countries in which they operate and to go beyond compliance to
applicable laws, drawing upon internationally recognized standards, taking responsibility to
continually improve social and environmental conditions and ethical behavior.
Labor
Companies following these guidelines are committed to uphold the human rights of workers,
and to treat them with dignity and respect as understood by the international community.
This applies to all workers including temporary, migrant, student, contract, direct employees,
and any other type of worker.
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1. Contract of Employment
All employees should have and be issued a copy of an employment contract signed by both
parties (Employer and Employee) that defines the terms and conditions of employment. A
Contract of Employment should at least contain but not be limited to the following items:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Working hours showing at least a guaranteed wage
Overtime pay rates and compensation for working out of normal working hours
Payment and frequency of payment
Notice period
2. Child Labor
Child labor is strictly prohibited. Where no local legislation exists to define the minimum legal
age, no person should be employed below the minimum age which is the age of completion of
compulsory schooling, or not less than 15 years (or not less than 14 years, in countries where
educational facilities are insufficiently developed) in accordance with international
conventions.
Where local laws do not exist to define working hours and working conditions for workers
under the age of 18, the Company should not employ children for work that is hazardous,
unsafe, or unhealthy.
 Children under the age of 18 should not be employed for any hazardous work or work
that is inconsistent with their individual development
 The use of legitimate workplace apprenticeship programs, which comply with all laws
and regulations, is supported.
Young workers should not be employed for:
 Working with dangerous machinery equipment and tools, or work which involves the
manual handling or transport of heavy loads
 Working in an unhealthy environment that may, for example, expose children to
hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels or
vibrations damaging to their health
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 Working under particularly difficult conditions such as long hours (more than 8 hours
per 3 day) or during the night
 Working where the child is unreasonably confined to the premises of the employer
(1) “Child Labor” as defined by ILO-IPEC (http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm)
and Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
(2) “Hazardous Work” as defined by ILO Convention 182 article 3d and ILO
Recommendation 190 article 3.
3. Forced Labor
Strictly prohibit any form of forced, bonded (including debt bondage), compulsory labor,
slavery or human trafficking.
Employees should be free to leave work or terminate their employment with reasonable
notice and all employment should be voluntary.
Employees should not be required to do the following as a condition of employment:
 Pay deposits of money to become employed
 Surrender any government-issued identification, passports, or work permits as a
condition of employment
Employers should not withhold payment or place debt upon employees. Any excessive fees
are unacceptable and all fees charged to workers should be disclosed.
4. Working Hours
Ensure that normal working hours and overtime of individual employees do not exceed the
maximum limits set by local law. Where no local law defines a working week and/or overtime,
Companies are encouraged to adopt the following:
 A normal working week of an 8-hour day or a 48-hour week in line with ILO Convention
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 Overtime should be compensated at a premium rate. Overtime in line with limits as
specified in SA8000:2008 Section IV (Social Accountability Requirements) Article 7 in
respect of 12 hours overtime per week
 At least one day off following every six consecutive working days
 Grant employees the right to paid vacations
Best Practices for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
 Target should be 100% of workers are within the local labor law or 48 hours weekly (6
daily work days) as per ILO Convention if no local labor law exists
The analysis includes all hourly paid workers in all departments.
The Working Hours/Overtime calculation (calculated over a 3 month period):
The Total Number of Workers that have Exceeded Working Hours beyond the Limits (as
defined above) /Total Number of Workers = % of Workers that are Exceeding Limits
 Target should be 100% of workers are within the Local Law or is to receive 1 day off
following 6 consecutive working days
The analysis includes all hourly paid workers in all departments.
The Rest Day calculation (calculated over a 3 month period):
The Total Number of Workers that Have Not Received Rest Days (as defined above)/Total
Number of Workers = % of Workers that are Exceeding the Limits
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5. Fair Wages
Pay a fair and reasonable wage to employees in compliance with legal and industry minimum
standards.
Overtime pay rates should be above regular wages in compliance with local laws.
Employees should have the right to detailed payment frequency and terms of payment in the
Contract of Employment clearly outlining payment due.
Payment should be rendered in a timely manner and detailed in a pay slip or similar
documentation.
Companies should not use deductions from wages as disciplinary measure.
6. Disciplinary Practices
Treat all employees with respect.
The use of corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion, or any form of abuse (including
mental, physical, or verbal) or harassment (including sexual harassment) and threat of such
treatments is prohibited. All disciplinary policies and procedures in support of these
requirements should be clearly defined and communicated to workers.
7. Discrimination
Promote equal opportunities treatment and diversity of all employees and hired resources
(e.g. temporary and outsourced).
Companies should not engage in or support any form of discrimination in hiring, employment
terms, wages, access to training, promotion, termination, retirement procedures or decisions
including but not limited to:
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 Race
 Color
 Age
 Veteran Status
 Gender Identification
 Sexual Orientation
 Pregnancy
 Ethnicity
 Disability
 Religion
 Political Affiliation
 Indigenous Status
 Nationality
 Trade Union Membership
 HIV Status
 Medical Condition
 Social or Marital Status
 Social Origin
8. Freedom of Association and Rights to Collective Bargaining
All workers should have the right to form, join, and organize trade unions of their choice and
to collectively bargain on behalf of themselves with the Company.
Companies should respect this right, and effectively inform workers that they are free to join
an organization of their choosing.
Companies should not in any way interfere with the establishment or administration of such
workers’ organizations for collective bargaining. Workers should be informed that
participating will not result in any negative consequences to them such as retaliation,
intimidation, discrimination, or harassment.
In situations where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining are restricted
under law, workers are allowed to freely elect their own representatives.
GeSI Measurements and Continuous Improvements
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Management System
Companies and Suppliers should create and maintain a management system and a set of
documents and records to ensure regulatory compliance and conformity that includes the
following:
 Improvement Objective
Establish performance objectives, targets and implementation plans to continuously
improve social and environmental performance. Measurements of these objectives are
used to monitor compliance to requirements. Suppliers are encouraged to use a Plan-DoCheck-Act type of approach for improvements
 Communication
Policies that follow the local law, regulatory compliance requirements, public and industry
association guidelines or internally prepared guidelines should be clearly communicated to
employees
 Training
Managers and employees should be trained to comply with Supplier’s and Company’s
policies, procedures, and improvement objectives to meet applicable legal and regulatory
requirements
 Risk Assessment, Risk Management and Self-Audit
Identified risks stemming from labor, health and safety, environmental and ethics practices
require immediate assessment and corrective action implementation. Such assessment
could include audits to ensure conformity to legal and regulatory requirements.
References
1. JAC Supply Chain Sustainability Guidelines document - Version: 01_20140116
http://gesi.org/article/48
2. ILO-IPEC
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http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm
3. Social Accountability International-SA 8000
http://www.sa-intl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=937
4. Global Reporting Initiative
https://www.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
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