Social Audit

Social Compliance Audit To Protect Your Brand

Your Products Are Only as Ethical as the Factory They're Made In

Today’s marketplace is about your brand reputation – and it’s founded not only on what you sell but how and where it’s made. Brands are increasingly being scrutinised by consumers, retailers and investors for their supply chain operations. One news item concerning dangerous working conditions, child labour or unethical practices at one of your suppliers may wipe out years of brand-building in a matter of days.

The social audit services of Ace Sure provide importers and sourcing professionals an independent, documented view of how their suppliers actually do business – beyond product quality, beyond the factory tour to the workplace practices that determine whether a vendor is a responsible partner or a reputational liability.

Our social compliance audits are based on the SA 8000 standard which is one of the most credible and extensively recognized social responsibility frameworks in the world. SA 8000 is the go-to standard for ethical supplier assessment for global brands, big retailers and institutional investors. With ESG accountability shifting from a voluntary commitment to a regulatory and commercial imperative, our inspection services in this area are more relevant than ever before.

What SA 8000 Covers - The Eight Elements

Our social audit services team audits suppliers against all eight main elements of the SA 8000 standard – the same framework that prominent brands and retailers around the world utilize in their quality management services and ethical sourcing programmes:

Child Labour

No workers are below the legal minimum age and the factory has age verification systems in place and documented. Any indication of child labour is instant non-compliance.

Forced Labour

All workers freely chosen, free to depart freely upon proper notice, and no deposits, confiscated documents or other constraining methods used.

Health and Safety

Inspection of the workplace for fire safety, emergency exits, machine guarding, ventilation, sanitation, PPE and first aid provision. This is one of the most crucial features of our third party inspection process.

Freedom of Association

Workers are entitled to join or establish trade unions, and to bargain collectively without interference or punishment from management.

Discrimination

Ensuring that choices about hiring, promotion, salary, training, and termination are not discriminatory on any protected basis.

Disciplinary Practices

The factory does not tolerate or practice physical punishment, mental coercion, verbal abuse or other demeaning treatment.

Working Hours

Ensure hours conform with applicable law and SA 8000 criteria, including maximum weekly hours, optional overtime, and at least one rest day per week.

Remuneration

Ensuring that workers get at least the legally required minimum wage, in full and on time and that no deductions are made from wages as a disciplinary action.

Social Audits Are No Longer Optional

The cost of sourcing from a non-compliant supplier is large and escalating. Regulatory pressure on supply chain ethics has ramped up rapidly in major regions – especially the US, UK and European Union – with new legislation establishing legal duties on firms to carry out due diligence on their supply chains.

Beyond legal risk, there is a compelling commercial argument for social audit services. Many of the world’s major retailers now require SA 8000 or equivalent audit results as a condition of doing business. Brands who sell or aspire to supply those channels have little choice but to socially comply. It’s a commercial requirement.

And beyond compliance, regular vendor inspection services and social audits are just excellent sourcing practice. It is how you develop a supply chain you are really proud of – one that represents the values your business stands for.

How Ace Sure Performs a Social Compliance Audit

Step 1 — Review Documentation

Each social audit begins with a detailed examination of all factory documents, such as contracts of employment, payroll records, working hour logs, safety manuals, grievance procedures, and other policies linked to the SA 8000 standards. This creates the official compliance architecture before our team gets onto the production floor.

Step 2 – Facility Inspection

Our auditor performs a full walkthrough of the production plant to make sure physical conditions are in line with stated policies and reviews all aspects of the workplace under SA 8000 health, safety and labour standards.

Step 3 — Interviewing Employees and Management

Our auditors interview workers and management in confidence to get a first-hand understanding of working conditions that goes beyond what can be learned from document inspection. Worker interviews are conducted in a respectful and confidential manner to encourage honest responses without fear of punishment.

Step 4 — Reporting and Corrective Action

We document all findings – areas of compliance, partial compliance and non-conformance – clearly in our final report and provide detailed, practical remedial action recommendations for each identified issue. We help vendors understand what good improvement looks like, not just what ticks a box.

Schedule Social Audit

Our social audit services team has experience in SA 8000, SMETA, BSCI and GOTS frameworks. We provide rigour, impartiality and real knowledge to every examination. To book a social audit or discuss an ongoing ethical sourcing programme.