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Species

Indicator 3.3.12

Requirement

Indicator applicability: children aged 13 or 14, or below the age of completion of mandatory schooling. The UoC shall ensure that where children conduct light work for more than 2 hours on a non-school day, an additional 0.5-hour break period is included within the shift.

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • Excessive working hours can have a detrimental physical and mental impact on all people, but particularly on children under the age of 18 who have not yet reached adulthood.

  • Protecting children from excessive working hours is an important part of the prevention of child labour.

  • Children engaged in light work should have regular breaks.

  • Where a child is conducting light work for a period of more than 2 hours (only applicable on a non-school day under the ASC Farm Standard), they shall be given a 0.5-hour break period.

  • Some examples that demonstrate compliance with the ASC Farm Standard:

    • Child A works on a Saturday morning from 9:00 – 11:00. She has a 30-minute break and works again from 11:30 – 12:30.

    • Child A’s example is compliant because she is working no more than 3 hours on a non-school day, and she is given a break of 0.5 hours within the work shift.

      • Child B works on a Tuesday afternoon from 15:00 – 17:00 and then goes home.

        • Child B’s example is compliant because he is working no more than 2 hours on a school day.

  • Some examples that demonstrate non-compliance with the ASC Farm Standard:

    • Child C works on a Saturday morning from 9:00 – 11:30 and then goes home.

      • Child C’s example is non-compliant because she has worked more than 2 hours without a break.

    • Child D works on a Tuesday afternoon from 15:00 – 17:30 and then goes home.

    • Child D’s example is non-compliant because he has worked more than 2 hours on a school day.

Evidence of Implementation

  • age verification records

  • working hours records

  • payslips and pay records

  • young employees’ contracts.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • whether anyone under the age of 15 or below the age of completion of mandatory schooling is employed at the UoC;

  • working hours and rest hours of employees under the age of 15 or below the age of completion of mandatory schooling;

  • that information in contracts, age verification records and payslips match;

  • young employees’ description of their working hours.

Indicator 3.3.11

Requirement

Indicator applicability: children aged 13 or 14, or below the age of completion of mandatory schooling. The UoC shall ensure that children conducting light work: a) do not work more than 14 hours per week (excluding breaks); and b) do not work more than 2 hours per day on a school day (excluding breaks); and c) do not work more than 3 hours per day on a non-school day (excluding breaks); and d) have a combined time for school, work and transportation to and from school and work totalling less than 8 hours per day (excluding breaks).

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • Excessive working hours can have a detrimental physical and mental impact on all people, but particularly on children under the age of 18 who have not yet reached adulthood.

  • Protecting children from excessive working hours is an important part of the prevention of child labour.

  • Children engaged in light work have restrictions on the number of hours that they can work:

    • on a school day to ensure that work does not interfere with their schooling

    • on a non-school day and across a week to ensure that they:

      • are not working an excessive number of hours

      • have adequate time for education, rest and play.

      • Requiring that a child conducting light work spends no more than 8 hours per day at school, work and on transportation is important for allowing them to have adequate rest and leisure time.

Evidence of Implementation

  • age verification records

  • working hours records

  • payslips and pay records

  • young employees’ contracts.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • whether anyone under the age of 15 or below the age of completion of mandatory schooling is employed at the UoC;

  • working hours and rest hours of employees under the age of 15 or below the age of completion of mandatory schooling;

  • that information in contracts, age verification records and payslips match;

  • young employees’ description of their working hours.

Indicator 3.3.10

Requirement

The UoC shall not allow overtime hours for employees under the age of 18.

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • Any hours over and above the standard contracted hours are considered overtime. For example, an employee could be contracted to a standard four hour week and if they were to work the fifth hour, this would be deemed as overtime.

  • Employees under the age of 18 are not allowed to work any hours over their standard contracted hours.

  • Excessive working hours can have a detrimental physical and mental impact on all people, but particularly on children under the age of 18 who have not yet reached adulthood.

  • Protecting children from excessive working hours is an important part of the prevention of child labour.

Evidence of Implementation

  • age verification records

  • working hours records

  • payslips and pay records

  • young employee contracts.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • whether anyone under the age of 18 is employed at the UoC;

  • that information in contracts, age verification records and payslips match;

  • young employees’ description of their working hours.

Indicator 3.3.9

Requirement

The UoC shall ensure that all employees under the age of 18 have at least 48 consecutive hours of rest within a seven-day period.

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • Excessive working hours can have a detrimental physical and mental impact on all people, but particularly on children under the age of 18 who have not yet reached adulthood.

  • Protecting children from excessive working hours is an important part of the prevention of child labour.

Evidence of Implementation

  • age verification records

  • working hours records

  • payslips and pay records

  • young employee contracts.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • whether anyone under the age of 18 is employed at the UoC;

  • that information in contracts, age verification records and payslips match;

  • young employees’ description of their working hours.

Indicator 3.3.8

Requirement

The UoC shall facilitate school attendance for any children living at the site.

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • Ensuring access to education helps prevent child labour.

  • No child under 18 working at the UoC may be:

    • deprived of educational opportunities (including attending school during school hours or after school activities)

    • forced to leave, drop out, or otherwise depart school early

    • forced to combine school attendance with long working hours.

  • When employees and their families live on site, the UoC supports access to schools for employees’ children. This may mean, for example:

    • providing parents the time to drop off and pick up their children

    • providing a bus service or bicycles to reach school when the nearest school is outside walking distance

    • raising awareness among employees about the importance of children attending school.

    • If children live off the UoC site, but on another site or at accommodation provided by the UoC, this indicator applies.

Evidence of Implementation

  • age verification records

  • information about which children live on the site.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • whether there are any children living on the site with their families;

  • the availability of schools in the local area

  • whether children living on site are attending school and how they get there.

Indicator 3.3.7

Requirement

The UoC shall ensure any young employees only conduct work where the following conditions are met: a) a risk assessment is conducted to determine that the work is non-hazardous; and b) the young employee receives appropriate training prior to work; and c) the young employee receives appropriate supervision; and d) parental/guardian consent is given; and a) work is for limited hours (see Indicators 3.3.9, 3.3.10, 3.3.15-3.3.18).

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • The UoC:

    • understands whether a child is allowed to be classed as a young employee

    • understands the legal requirements for children to attend school in their country of operation

    • ensures that young employees do not engage in work that is hazardous

    • complies with the working hours limits set out in this criterion.

  • Children aged 15, 16 and 17 may be employed by the UoC as young employees, as long as:

    • the work is not hazardous

    • they are appropriately supervised and trained

    • they are above the age of mandatory schooling

    • they have parental/guardian consent to work

    • the national, regional, and/or local law permits children to work.

    • Children below the age of completion of mandatory schooling are not allowed to be employed as young employees but may be permitted to conduct light work. For example, if school is mandatory in a country until the age of 16, a 15-year-old child may not be employed as a young employee, but only employed for light work.

  • Children are prohibited not only from any work that has been deemed hazardous for adults, but also from work that may not be hazardous for adults but that may be for children, for example:

    • a job that requires long periods of isolation without human contact, which can cause mental harm such as stress, anxiety and depression to a child;

    • physical work carrying heavy loads, which can lead to physical injury and permanent damage to a body that is still developing.

Evidence of Implementation

  • risk assessment documents

  • training records

  • age verification records

  • job and activity descriptions

  • evidence of parental/guardian consent.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • the kinds of tasks that all employees are carrying out;

  • whether there are any children employed by the UoC;

  • whether there are any children living at the UoC with their families;

  • who provides supervision of young employees and how;

  • young employees’ description of their tasks and working hours.

Useful Resources

Indicator 3.3.6

Requirement

The UoC ensure any child employed aged 13 and 14, or below the age of completion of mandatory schooling, only conducts light work if permitted by applicable law and where the following conditions are met: a) a risk assessment is conducted to determine that the work is non-hazardous; and b) the child receives appropriate training prior to work; and c) the child receives appropriate supervision; and d) parental/guardian consent is given; and e) the work does not interfere with schooling; and f) the work is for limited hours (see Indicators 3.3.9 and 3.3.14)

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • The age of completion of mandatory schooling refers to the national, legal age at which children are allowed to leave school.

  • If children are below this age, they cannot be employed as young employees and come under the category of only being allowed to conduct light work. For example, if school is mandatory in a country until the age of 16, a 15-year-old child may not be employed as a young employee, but only employed for light work.

  • Allowing children to conduct light work means that there are stricter working conditions in place than for other employees, including:

    • the type of work they are able to do

    • the hours they can work

    • the extra support that they need

    • the place that work must have in the wider context of their lives.

  • Children aged 13 and 14 may be employed by the UoC for light work when:

    • they are appropriately supervised and trained by adults

    • the work is non-hazardous

    • the work does not interfere with their schooling

    • the work does not take place during normal school hours

    • they have parental/guardian consent to work

    • work is limited to specific times of the day.

    • Children helping parents at home with daily chores or participating in other activities unrelated to the function of the UoC are not covered in the scope of the ASC Farm Standard.

Evidence of Implementation

  • age verification records

  • job and activity descriptions

  • training records

  • working hours records

  • evidence of parental/guardian consent.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • the kinds of tasks that all employees are carrying out;

  • whether there are any children employed by the UoC;

  • whether there are any children living at the UoC with their families;

  • who provides supervision of young employees and how;

  • young employees’ description of their tasks and working hours.

Useful Resources

Indicator 3.3.5

Requirement

The UoC shall not employ children under the age of 13 under any circumstances.

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • Employing children under the age of 13 carries risks for their physical, mental, social and moral development and wellbeing.

  • There are no circumstances in which employing a child under the age of 13 is permitted under the ASC Farm Standard.

Evidence of Implementation

  • age verification records

  • employee contracts.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • whether there are any children living at the site or otherwise present;

  • whether employee contracts match the age verification records;

  • employees’ knowledge of any children having been on site.

Indicator 3.3.4

Requirement

The UoC shall report to ASC if the UoC is a family farm and if any children work on the site, according to ASC data submission procedures.

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • This is a reporting requirement, not a disclosure requirement, which means that all data is held confidentially by ASC, who does not share it publicly.

  • Companies should never publicly share personal employee data.

  • The information collected through this reporting requirements will enable ASC to:

    • gain insights into family farms where children may help out their parents, which will inform the future development of ASC’s child labour requirements

    • foster open discussions about the challenges of family farms.

Evidence of Implementation

  • confirmation of data uploaded to MyASC.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • that data uploaded to MyASC is consistent with results of the wage gap analysis.

Indicator 3.3.3

Requirement

The UoC shall implement an age verification mechanism for all employees and shall maintain records of verified ages.

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

  • An employment process that includes an age verification mechanism helps to confirm that employees are of the age category indicated, thereby enabling the UoC to prevent all forms of child labour.

  • Age is verified by legal documentation in a robust age identification process where the UoC requires proof of identity:

    • preferably an official photo ID card such as a national ID or passport, or

    • birth documentation.

    • If there are concerns that the identification may not be authentic, the employer can interview the applicant including information on their background (for example about schooling history, family and family members) to make sure that the potential employee is being honest about their age, and the information provided is plausible.

    • If there is no identification available, the employer can interview family members and community members, using significant events to help to place the year of the person’s birth. For example, finding out if the person was born before or after the big flood in the village.

Evidence of Implementation

  • age verification records.

Auditors Should Confirm

  • how management implements age verification

  • the ages of employees.