Assess recruitment fee structures against the Employer Pays Principle to remove worker-borne costs.
Occupational Health & Safety
Worker Welfare and Accommodation Standards for Migrant Workforces
Learn to audit worker accommodation, redesign recruitment around the Employer Pays Principle, and build grievance systems that protect migrant workforces from exploitation.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
Migrant and seasonal workers often arrive already indebted to recruitment agents, housed in overcrowded dormitories, and unaware of who to approach when conditions breach the terms they were promised. This course addresses the practical gap between a company's stated labour standards and the lived experience of workers recruited through multi-tier agency chains. Participants examine recruitment fee structures against the Employer Pays Principle, inspect accommodation against occupancy, fire safety and sanitation benchmarks, and learn to recognise the early indicators of debt bondage and contract substitution before they escalate into forced labour cases. The course draws on the ETI Base Code, SA8000 and the Dhaka Principles for Migrant Workers' Rights to give auditors, welfare officers and site managers a shared vocabulary for assessing welfare risk. Teaching combines dormitory and site inspection walkthroughs, worker interview simulations conducted through interpreters, and corrective action planning exercises using real accommodation audit templates. Participants leave able to screen labour agencies, redesign contracts to remove worker-borne costs, and build grievance channels that migrant workers actually trust and use.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Inspect worker accommodation for occupancy, fire safety, sanitation and catering compliance gaps.
Design worker voice and grievance channels that surface welfare concerns migrant workers rarely report.
Recognise debt bondage, contract substitution and passport retention as forced labour risk indicators.
Build corrective action plans that close accommodation non-conformances identified in social audits.
Draft due diligence criteria for screening and monitoring labour recruitment agencies and sub-agencies.
Translate welfare findings into contractual obligations that hold suppliers accountable for living conditions.
Who Should Attend
Health, safety and welfare managers overseeing migrant or seasonal workforces on site.
Human resources and labour relations staff handling recruitment and onboarding of foreign workers.
Ethical trade and social compliance auditors reviewing accommodation and labour practices.
Site and camp managers responsible for worker housing, catering and welfare facilities.
Procurement and supply chain teams contracting labour agencies and subcontracted workforces.
Corporate responsibility officers reporting on modern slavery and labour standards due diligence.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Ethical Recruitment and Contract Integrity
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Recruitment Fee Structures and the Employer Pays Principle
- Trace recruitment fee flows from labour agencies to migrant candidates and identify hidden charges disguised as training or visa costs.
- Apply the Employer Pays Principle to redesign recruitment contracts so agency and travel costs sit with the hiring organisation rather than the worker.
- Compare fee structures against the Dhaka Principles for Migrant Workers' Rights and flag deductions that breach wage protection clauses.
- Build a recruitment agency scorecard that screens for licensing status, fee transparency and past worker complaints before onboarding.
Session 2Contract Terms, Passport Retention and Freedom of Movement
- Review employment contracts issued in the country of origin against those signed on arrival to detect unlawful contract substitution.
- Assess passport and identity document retention practices and design a voluntary safekeeping system that preserves freedom of movement.
- Examine termination and repatriation clauses for penalty terms that create de facto debt bondage or restrict a worker's right to resign.
- Draft a plain-language contract summary translated into workers' native languages to close the gap between signed terms and understood terms.
02Accommodation Standards and Living Conditions
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Dormitory Design, Occupancy Limits and Fire Safety
- Calculate occupancy limits per dormitory room against floor area, bed spacing and ventilation standards used in accommodation guidance.
- Inspect fire escape routes, extinguisher placement and alarm coverage in multi-storey worker housing and record deficiencies for remediation.
- Evaluate bunk bed configuration, storage space and privacy partitions against baseline welfare accommodation benchmarks.
- Map accommodation blocks against transport routes and site access to identify commuting risks for night-shift workers.
Session 2Sanitation, Catering and Utilities Auditing
- Audit toilet, shower and handwashing ratios per resident against recognised worker accommodation standards and note segregation gaps.
- Assess kitchen and catering facilities for food safety, menu variety and accommodation of dietary and religious requirements.
- Test water potability, drainage and pest control records as part of a routine accommodation utilities inspection.
- Verify that utility deductions from wages for electricity, water and internet are disclosed, capped and independently justified.
03Welfare Support and Grievance Systems
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Welfare Officer Roles and Worker Voice Mechanisms
- Define the welfare officer's remit for pastoral support, complaint intake and liaison between migrant workers and site management.
- Set up anonymous worker voice channels, including hotlines and suggestion boxes, in languages spoken by the resident workforce.
- Run focus group discussions with migrant workers to surface concerns that formal grievance channels rarely capture.
- Train camp bosses and gangmasters on their duty to escalate welfare concerns rather than resolve them informally.
Session 2Remittance Access, Debt Bondage Indicators and Case Escalation
- Recognise indicators of debt bondage, wage withholding and restricted movement that signal forced labour risk under ILO indicators.
- Facilitate access to formal remittance channels and bank accounts so workers avoid predatory informal money transfer arrangements.
- Build a case escalation pathway from welfare officer through management to external hotlines for suspected exploitation.
- Document interventions and outcomes in a welfare case log that supports both worker protection and audit evidence.
04Sustaining Standards Across Recruitment Supply Chains
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Social Compliance Audits and Corrective Action Plans
- Prepare accommodation and welfare files for social compliance audits benchmarked against SA8000 and the ETI Base Code.
- Draft corrective action plans with realistic timelines for accommodation upgrades identified during third-party audits.
- Track repeat non-conformances across audit cycles to distinguish one-off lapses from systemic welfare failures.
- Brief site leadership on audit findings in terms that connect welfare gaps to operational and reputational risk.
Session 2Supply Chain Oversight and Labour Agency Due Diligence
- Map labour supply chains from primary contractor to sub-agencies to identify where welfare accountability weakens.
- Conduct due diligence on labour agencies covering licensing, financial standing and worker feedback before contract renewal.
- Design contractual clauses that place accommodation and welfare obligations directly on labour supply agencies.
- Build a supplier scorecard that ties contract renewal to sustained improvement in worker accommodation conditions.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
Complete your registration
We will contact you within one business day to confirm.
Ready to start?
Reserve your seat and start building the skill.