Barbour Supply Chain Code of Conduct
V2, 2023
Barbour strives to uphold fair, safe, dignified and respectful working conditions for everyone in our value chain.
Barbour’s Supply Chain Code labour rights commitments are based on the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Code and the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Decent Work Agenda and fundamental core conventions.
1. No Forced Labour – employment is freely chosen, and there shall be no forced, bonded, or prison labour. Workers are free to leave their employers at any time, with reasonable notice. Overtime shall be voluntary, Opt-In and there shall be no penalties for declining overtime requests. There shall be freedom of movement within the workplace, including access to drinking water and toilets. Workers shall not be required to lodge any deposits or documents, or to be subjected to any form of coercion to secure employment: employers must abide by the Employer Pays Principle, covering all employment costs. Employers shall not take advantage of Vulnerable Workers: including migrant workers, isolated workers, agency and temporary workers, women, new and expectant mothers, Young Workers, older workers, disabled workers, and others. See Barbour’s Supply Chain Forced Labour Policy (2023).
2. Freedom of Association – freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining shall be respected, to form, join and organise trade unions and other worker organisations without harassment, interference or retaliation. Where these rights are restricted under law, the employer shall facilitate, and not hinder, the development of worker committees to assure fair representation. Worker representatives must enjoy freedom and support to carry out their representative functions in the workplace, and externally when necessary.
3. Working conditions shall be safe and hygienic – a senior manager shall be assigned responsible for, and trained in minimum standards, of health and safety in the workplace, providing periodical safety risk assessments of each role on site to detect, highlight, prevent, and mitigate, any threat to employee health and safety, including assuring all buildings are structurally-sound. Workers shall receive regular and recorded health and safety training, repeated for new or reassigned workers. Hygiene standards apply to all drinking stations, canteens, toilets and housing provided.
4. No Child Labour – the ILO defines minimum age as, “not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years”, except in countries where a higher age is specified by law. All facilities are required to review official proof of age documentation prior to hiring. Should minors be found working within a site, management will follow Barbour’s Supply Chain Child Labour Remediation and Young Workers Protections Policy (2023), informing all Brand Buyers and acting responsibly in the repatriation and re-entry into paid schooling, granting at least minimum wage support, until mandatory school-leaving minimum age or working age is reached. Young Workers (aged 15-17) shall not be subjected to health and psychological hazards, working overtime, or night work.
5. Wages and Benefits – employers shall compensate workers for all work completed, to at least the minimum wage as required by law, or the prevailing industry wage if identified, with all legally-required benefits, maintaining equal compensation. Employers shall provide written and understandable compensation information prior to hiring, which shall be delivered upon during the full duration of employment without lowering, with payslips for every pay period, explained verbally to illiterate workers. There shall be no unlawful deduction of workers’ wages, and workers shall be informed in advance for all legitimate wage deductions, but there shall be no deductions for disciplinary purposes. There shall be no false apprenticeships to coerce workers into low wage employment.
6. Working hours shall not be excessive – working hours must comply with national standards or as collectively bargained, and shall not regularly exceed 48 per week, to the maximum of 60 hours in any seven day period. All overtime shall be voluntary, and at minimum, there shall be one day off in seven (or two days off in fourteen, where prescribed or allowed by law). Overtime hours shall be compensated not below legal hourly or overtime rate.
7. No discrimination – all employment decisions and protections shall demonstrate respect and equality towards workers, and shall not be based on race, caste, national or social origin or societal position, religion, age, disability or health status, gender, marital or maternal/paternal status, sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation.
8. Regular employment – a recognised and mutually agreed legal employment relationship shall be provided in written form. Obligations to workers under labour and social security laws and regulations shall not be avoided, and the use of labour-only contracting, sub-contracting, excessive use of fixed-term contracts, or home-working arrangements shall not be used to provide less than equal and legal protections. Employers shall arrange entitlement-to-work documents, where needed.
9. No harsh or inhumane treatment – workers shall be protected from physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment, abuse, attacks, coercion, intimidation, exploitation or threats, in any employer sites, or on the way to and from work.
10. Environmental Management – Suppliers shall uphold our commitment to the protection of the environment and continual improvement of environmental performance, for energy, water and natural resource usage, emissions and discharges, carbon footprint, waste management and impacts on biodiversity.
11. Compliance with all relevant national and international laws – all Business Partners shall comply with applicable laws and regulations in the country of manufacture and operations, maintaining inspections and permits, and obligations to monitoring and reporting, and meet Barbour Corporate Code of Ethics policy.
Reporting Grievances: talk to Barbour confidentially about Supply Chain Ethics, via [email protected].