Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) Best Practice Guidance

l Auditors should ensure that problems raised by workers are discussed with management in a nonattributable
way. Auditors must ensure that the comments they report cannot be traced back to an
individual worker.
l When workers raise issues which could be directly attributable to one particular worker and / or could
result in reprisals against workers, these can be reported directly to the appropriate audit reviewers via
a supplementary report, available at GSCP (auditors should check the reviewer’s requirements). The
issue should not be raised at the closing meeting, nor uploaded to Sedex.
l Auditors / worker interviewers should leave a contact telephone number, preferably their mobile
number and their local office phone number, with all workers interviewed so that workers can alert the
auditor to volunteer further information or to alert the auditor if there are reprisals or intimidation.
l To protect worker confidentiality, issues which cannot be substantiated (e.g. confirmed by document
review where possible) can be shared with the employment site owner only where there is no risk of
victimisation. An example might be a verbal abuse issue where a large number of interviewees have
raised it – impossible to trace individuals. The auditor must use judgement and above all protect
confidentiality.
7.4 Document Review
7.4.1 Document Availability
The documentation needed for the audit should have been requested during the initial communications with the
employment site.
On the day of the audit, all documentation should be available at the employment site for inspection, including
payroll and working hours records. All documents should be available for a minimum of 12 months prior to the
audit. If records for the previous 12 months are not available, the employment site should explain why this is the
case. Any non-legitimate absence of documentation should be recorded on the audit report as noncompliance.
For a full list of the documents that need to be reviewed See Appendix A3: "Preparation for Audit (Site of
Employment”. Also included in “Guide to Pre Audit Information”.
7.4.2 Document Sampling for Wages and Hours
SMETA Best Practice Guidance (4-Pillar Version 4.0, May 2012)
Auditors should review at least three months’ worth of records from the 12-month set of data (or the available
data for all months of production when the factory is operational less than 12 months) and should include
records for the low season, the peak season, holiday periods and the most recent period available. Particular
emphasis should be placed on how the site manages all aspects of the relevant code.
Auditors should concentrate on operators and wages and hours analysis should cover:
7.4.2.1. Total wages and hours for all workers over the last 12 months should be viewed to establish peak,
low and current production levels.
7.4.2.2. Working hours and wage records are selected to cover both peak and current production levels.
The records for the workers who have taken part in individual interviews should always be
checked. The remainder of records checked should be sampled from the broader pool of
employees.
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