Child labour is a type of work that deprives children of their childhood and is harmful to their physical and mental development. Not all work done by children is considered child labour and needs to be eliminated. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the child’s age, the type, duration and conditions of the work and its consequences for the child’s health, morals, education and development need to be considered.

Light work and youth employment can be considered beneficial when they do not harm children’s health, personal development or education and/or when they help children to gain skills and experience that prepare them for their professional future.

The general minimum age for admission to work or employment is 15 years (13 years for light work). This applies to work that fully safeguards the child’s dignity, health, safety and morals, and does not interfere with its schooling.

Stricter rules apply for hazardous work, which may endanger children’s physical or mental health, safety or morals. This is one of the worst forms of child labour and includes work with dangerous equipment or in dangerous locations, excessive working hours or exposure to any type of abuse. The minimum age for hazardous work is 18 years (16 years under certain conditions).

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A company can cause  adverse impacts on child labour through its own activities, or it can contribute or be linked to such impacts through its business relationships along the full value chain. The risk for child labour needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis, as it depends on:  

1)   the characteristics of the economic activity or type of good or service provided, and 

2)   the operating context in which it is provided. 

While it can potentially occur in all economic sectors and be linked to all types of goods and services, some goods and services are known to have a higher risk for child labour, especially in certain regions of the world. Consequently, each company needs to map its own operations, full value chain and business relationships, and analyse the child labour risk of each economic activity in its specific context. Some economic activities have characteristics that increase the risk for child labour. For example, this includes activities that involve unprotected migrant labour, unregulated enterprises in informal economies, or small family enterprises. 

Often, the risk for child labour is greatest not with direct suppliers, but further up the value chain. To combat child labour effectively, efforts need to extend beyond immediate suppliers close to final production and include actors in upstream activities involved in the extraction of raw materials and agriculture that provide inputs to other industries.

—> For a more detailed answer, refer to the pdf with the full Q&A. 

In addition to the type of good or service provided, the operational context in which it is produced or delivered is one of the key factors to evaluate the risk for child labour. As child labour is both a cause and consequence of other human rights violations, it is more likely to occur in countries or geographic areas where certain contextual factors are given. Risk factors include e.g. poverty, poor enforcement of child labour laws, inadequate social protections, or a large informal economy.  

International indices that measure the presence of these factors can serve as a rough approximation to evaluate the risk of child labour in a country or operational context. Examples include:  

◦ ILO national child labour survey reports: summarise official national statistics on child labour. 

◦ UNICEF’s Children’s Rights in the Workplace Index: measures child labour and decent work for young workers, parents, and caregivers in different countries.

◦ Global Multidimensional Poverty Index: measures countries’ poverty rate, which correlates with the prevalence of child labour.

◦  The World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index: includes information on countries’ regulatory enforcement and corruption.

Each context and accordingly its child labour risk evolves over time, which is why the evaluation of child labour risks needs to be repeated periodically. Although less frequently, child labour can occur in high-income countries and other low-risk contexts too. In particular, the risk for child labour can increase due to economic or humanitarian crisis, armed conflict, or migration.

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Child labour can take many forms and can be linked to the operations or value chain of every industry, good or service. Often but not always, it occurs in less regulated markets in higher tiers of the value chain. The risk for child labour is generally higher in developing and emerging economies. However, under certain circumstances it can also occur in developed economies where it is not necessarily expected.  

Some examples of child labour from different industries include: 

—> For a more detailed answer, refer to the pdf with the full Q&A.

The new due diligence regulation requires Swiss companies to evaluate if they offer goods or services with a “reasonable suspicion” that they have been manufactured or provided using child labour. Some SMEs and companies with a low risk for child labour will be exempt from this obligation. 

If a risk for child labour is identified, companies need to implement a management system to conduct  due diligence in their supply chain. This includes: 

• Supply chain traceability and policy: a system to trace back the supply chain and a policy for products and services with a “reasonable suspicion” for being linked to child labour. 

• Risk analysis: a process to identify and evaluate the risk for adverse impacts on child labour in the supply chain. Depending on the economic activities that compose the supply chain, the risk for child labour may be greater in higher tiers of the value chain. 

• Risk management: a risk management plan with measures to minimize the identified risks. 

• Reporting: the company’s highest management body needs to report annually on its compliance with the due diligence obligations. 

The Swiss legal requirements on due diligence for child labour are below international standards in various aspects. For example, they do not cover all human rights, all companies, or the full supply chain. To make sure your company fulfills international standards, other national laws or the rising expectations of business partners and investors, implementing a full human rights due diligence might be beneficial or even necessary. 

—> For a more detailed answer, refer to the pdf with the full Q&A.

Read more about what the new Swiss regulation means for companies on our website. 

Which measures are most effective to address adverse impacts on child labour depends on the specific situation and context. However, there are some key recommendations for companies seeking to implement measures with a sustainable positive impact: 

• Consider the severity of the adverse impact, and your company’s leverage over the actor that is causing the impact.

• Understand the context in which child labour occurs and address the root causes that drive children into labour at a specific time and place. To identify root causes, it is necessary to take a broader human rights approach instead of a narrow focus on child labour only. 

• Avoid unintended consequences and negative side effects of your measures. In particular, focus on ending child labour and avoid displacing it into other, less regulated industries which are not linked to global supply chains. 

• Focus on prevention to avoid causing harm to children in the first place. Child labour, especially hazardous work, can have serious long-term consequences for children’s health and development which might be difficult to remediate later on. 

• Collaborate with local governmental or developmental actors and industry peers. By forging alliances with the right local actors, you get access to the relevant child protection expertise which is necessary to implement the best measure in each context.  

• Strengthen public child protections systems to make measures more sustainable. These systems are crucial to ensure an early identification and mitigation of child labour risks, and improvements will remain in the community even after a company leaves. 

—> For a more detailed answer, refer to the pdf with the full Q&A.