Ethical Trade Policy
BeYou is dedicated to providing a safe and secure place of work for all our employees. BeYou strives to provide a place of work where all employees feel safe and all employees know their employment rights,
This policy sets out the minimum labour standards that BeYou and our suppliers to comply with:
- Employment is freely chosen
- Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining to be respected
- Working conditions are safe and hygienic
- Child labour shall not be used
- Living wages are paid
- Working hours are not excessive
- No discrimination is practised
- Regular employment is provided
- No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed
1. Employment is freely chosen
1.1 Neither the employees of BeYou or our suppliers are forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour
1.2 Employees are not required to lodge “deposits” or their identity papers with BeYou and are free to leave after reasonable notice.
2. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining to be respected
2.1 Employees of BeYou and our suppliers, without distinction, have the right to join or
form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively.
2.2 BeYou adopts an open attitude towards the activities of trade unions and their organisational
activities.
2.3 Employee representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace.
2.4 Where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted under law, BeYou facilitates and does not hinder, the development of parallel means for independent and free association and bargaining.
3. Working conditions are safe and hygienic
3.1 BeYou and its suppliers provide a safe and hygienic working environment, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards. Adequate steps are taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with, or occurring in the course of work, by minimising, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
3.2 BeYou employees receive regular and recorded health and safety training, and such training shall be repeated for new or reassigned workers.
3.3 BeYou provides access to clean toilet facilities and to potable water, and sanitary facilities for food storage.
3.5 BeYou assigns responsibility for health and safety to a senior management representative.
4. Child labour shall not be used
4.1 BeYou does not employ any child, in accordance with International guidelines on child labour
4.2 Children and young persons, employed under higher education work experience programmes, aged under 18 are not to be employed at night or in hazardous conditions.
4.4 BeYou’s policies and procedures shall conform to the provisions of the relevant ILO standards.
5. Living wages are paid
5.1 Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmark standards, whichever is higher. In any event, wages should always be enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.
5.2 All BeYou employees are provided with written and understandable information about their employment conditions in respect to wages before they enter employment and about the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time that they are paid.
5.3 Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure are not permitted nor shall any deductions from wages not provided for by national law be permitted without the expressed permission of the employee concerned. All disciplinary measures are recorded.
6. Working hours are not excessive
6.1 BeYou working hours comply with national laws, collective agreements, and the provisions of 6.2 to 6.6 below, whichever affords the greater protection for workers. Sub-clauses 6.2 to 6.6 are based on international labour standards.
6.2 BeYou working hours, excluding overtime, are defined by the contract, and do not exceed 48 hours per week.*
6.3 All overtime is voluntary. Overtime is used responsibly, taking into account all the following: the extent, frequency and hours worked by individual employees and the workforce as a whole. It shall not be used to replace regular employment. Overtime shall always be compensated when agreed upon by the directors.
6.4 The total hours worked in any seven day period does not exceed 60 hours, except where covered by clause 6.5 below.
6.5 BeYou working hours may exceed 60 hours in any seven day period only in exceptional circumstances where all of the following are met:
- this is allowed by national law;
- this is allowed by a collective agreement freely negotiated with a workers’ organisation representing a significant portion of the workforce;
- appropriate safeguards are taken to protect the employees’ health and safety; and
- the employer can demonstrate that exceptional circumstances apply such as unexpected production peaks, accidents or emergencies.
6.6 Workers are provided with at least one day off in every seven day period or, where allowed by national law, two days off in every 14 day period.
7. No discrimination is practised
7.1 BeYou does not discriminate in regards to hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation
8. Regular employment is provided
8.1 To every extent possible work performed must be on the basis of recognised employment relationship established through national law and practice.
8.2 Obligations to employees under labour or social security laws and regulations arising from the regular employment relationship are not avoided through the use of labour-only contracting, sub-contracting, or home-working arrangements, or through apprenticeship schemes where there is no real intent to impart skills or provide regular employment, nor are any such obligations be avoided through the excessive use of fixed-term contracts of employment.
9. No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed
9.1 Physical abuse or discipline, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation are prohibited.
This document was last updated on November 27, 2019
