SA8000® Certification Mark

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Adding value with our service portfolio

Certification:ts-sa-8000-en-example

Management system certification / Voluntary assessment

Basis for Certification (certification standard):

International standard SA8000®

Standard owner:

Social Accountability International (SAI)

   

What does the standard SA8000® cover?

The standard SA8000® defines the requirements for a certifiable social accountability management system.

SA8000® is based on the international workplace standards of the global labour agreements of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This includes among others:

  • The organisation has established a suitable management system, including mechanisms for risk identification, self-assessment, preventive and corrective actions and continuous improvement of labour conditions.
  • The organisation analyses and considers the requirements of the applicable standard. These requirements cover topics such as child labour, forced labour, safety and health, freedom of assembly, the right of collective bargaining agreements, discrimination, disciplinary measures, working time, compensation and management systems.
  • The certified organisation takes steps to ensure regular surveillance of the management system and employees' labour conditions.
  • The certified organisation takes into account the labour conditions of its employees, partners and suppliers.
  • What does “certification” according to SA8000® by TÜV SÜD mean (accredited certification body is TÜV Italia)?
    • The customer has submitted to voluntary assessment (audit) according to defined criteria (certification standard).
    • A certificate and/or the authorisation to use a certification mark are only issued if the assessment (audit) does not reveal any major nonconformities with the requirements of the certification standard.
    • The certificates and/or certification marks are valid for a restricted period of time. Interested parties can check the validity of individual certificates in the certificate database of the Social Accountability Accreditation Services. 
    • To maintain certificate validity, announced audits must be conducted at six-month intervals with a positive result. There is at least one audit per certification cycle.
  • How do we audit?
    • Document review:
      Evaluation of the organisation’s requirements and/or documentation to ensure the systematic control of all processes relevant for the management system.

    • On-site audit:
      Verification in the form of interviews on site at the customer's premises that the above requirements are effectively implemented in practice. Random on-site checks of processes based on factory inspections, records, such as training and qualification certificates, recording of working time, occupational health and safety records, complaints management and records related to defined objectives and the resulting improvement projects.
      In an SA8000® audit topics such as child labour, forced labour, safety and health, freedom of assembly, the right to collective bargaining agreements, discrimination, disciplinary measures, working time, compensation and management systems, social accountability throughout the supply chain will be assessed by means of random checks.
  • What is beyond the scope of certification according to SA8000® ?
    • SA8000® certification does not constitute product certification. Certification thus does not provide any direct statements on the quality of a product or service of the certified customer. Certification according to the SA8000® standard does not mean that the company manufactures products or provides services of higher quality.
    • Certification according to SA8000® does not guarantee that an organisation complies with requirements for social accountability and appropriate labour conditions in each individual case, even though this is one of the key objectives of the management system.

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