Indicator 3.9.11

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Indicator 3.9.11

by Contact on 8 October 2026

Requirement

The UoC shall ensure that all employees are granted paid leave as defined by applicable legal requirements or any collective bargaining agreements in place.

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • Paid leave can include:

    • public holidays

    • annual leave

    • maternity/paternity leave

    • sick leave.

    • Types of leave can be defined by national law and collective bargaining agreements.

  • Annual leave:

    • is the longest period of rest available to employees

    • allows physical and mental recuperation and a break from the workplace

    • is paid with normal wages or with additional holiday pay on top of the normal wage (e.g. 13th month)

    • can be taken in days or weeks, with employees being allowed at least a 2-week block, as suggested by ILO standards.

    • Laws in many nations set fixed monthly and yearly minimum leave days.

  • ILO Convention No. 132 (Holidays with Pay Convention, 1970) specifies that annual leave is:

    • 3 weeks of leave for 1 year of service,

    • typically accrued monthly, and

    • calculated pro-rata to their contracted working hours.

  • ILO Convention No. 146 (Seafarers’ Annual Leave with Pay Convention, 1976) can apply in aquaculture when vessels used by the site and subcontractors travel between sites in open water. This convention specifies:

    • 30 days of annual leave for 1 year of service.

  • Annual leave days are not the same as public holidays, which are:

    • set by governments for cultural or historical reasons

    • not counted as part of annual leave days.

Evidence of Implementation

  • contracts

  • collective bargaining agreements

  • working hours records.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • employees understand their entitlement to paid leave;

  • employees do not feel discriminated against when they take annual leave.