Hired Labour

Fairtrade Standard

This standard applies to organizations which employ hired labour to supply Fairtrade certified products

11179 Tea Worker Sri Lanka 870
Tea worker Jayanthi picking tea in Sri Lanka
Image © Kyonne Leyser

Principles underlying this Standard

  • Management of the Fairtrade Premium. The Fairtrade Premium Committee, which includes workers representatives, is responsible for the management of the Fairtrade Premium in accordance with Fairtrade standards.

  • Freedom of association and collective bargaining. Workers have the right to join an independent union to collectively negotiate their working conditions.

  • Working conditions. Working conditions are equitable for all workers. Salaries must be equal or higher than the regional average or than the minimum wage in effect. Health and safety measures must be established in order to avoid work-related injuries.

Download the Standard for Hired Labour

Current version

This Standard applies to all Fairtrade certified Hired Labour Organisations as of 1 January 2025. For organizations certified before this date, transition periods apply as specified in the Standard. This version supersedes all previous versions.

EN | Fairtrade Standard for Hired Labour

ES | Criterio de Comercio Justo Fairtrade para Trabajo Contratado

FR | Standard du Commerce Equitable Fairtrade pour les Organisations dépendant d'une Main d'Oeuvre Salariée

PT | Critério de Comércio Justo Fairtrade Para Trabalho Contratado

Interpretation Note

Main changes

For information on the changes made since the previous version, see:

EN | Main changes document

ES | Documento sobre los Principales Cambios

FR | Document de Changements Principaux

PT | Documento das principais mudanças

Freedom of Association Protocol

Fairtrade International requires that companies certified under the Hired Labour Standard sign a Freedom of Association Protocol declaring their proactive support of workers' rights and freedoms.

EN | Freedom of Association Protocol

ES | Protocolo de libertad de Asociación y Sindical

FR | Protocole de liberté

PT | Protocolo de Liberdade de Associação e Sindical

Previous version of the Standard

Standard Operating Procedure for Wage Floors Calculation

Supplementary documents to this standard

To accompany this standard, Fairtrade International has produced two explanatory documents to help producers understand and apply the Standard.

Explanatory document on Hired Labour

Explanatory documents for the Fairtrade Premium Committee in Hired Labour situations

EN | Explanatory Document for the Fairtrade Premium Committee

EN | Guidelines for revised rules for Premium use

ES | Documento explicativo sobre el Comité de la Prima de Comercio Justo Fairtrade

ES | Orientaciones sobre las reglas revisadas de la Prima

FR | Document explicatif sur la Prime du Commerce Equitable et L’Organe Mixte

FR | Lignes directrices concernant les règles révisées pour la Prime Fairtrade

These documents will help the Fairtrade Premium Committee plan and report on Premium projects

EN | Fairtrade Premium Planning and Reporting Template

ES | Plantillas para informes y plan de la Prima Fairtrade

FR | Modèle pour le plan de la Preme et les rapports Fairtrade

Simple risk identification and analysis

EN | What is risk and how can I analyze it?

ES | ¿Qué es un riesgo y cómo analizarlo?

FR | Qu'est-ce que le risque?

These documents will support management to plan and report on how comply with Fairtrade certification

EN | Planning and Reporting Template for Management (PDF) (DOC)

ES | Plantillas de planes e informes sobre Trabajo Contratado para uso de le administración

FR | Modèle de planification & rapport pour la direction

Explanatory Document on correction of wages in high inflation context

Fairtrade Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Guide and Tools for Hired Labour

Product-specific standards for hired labour

Additional standards apply to organizations that employ hired labour to supply particular Fairtrade products. Part of the standard also applies to the companies that trade with them.

Secondary products

Secondary products and their derivatives have been included in the scope of Fairtrade certification. For further information on the definition, pricing rules and non-exhaustive list of secondary products and their derivatives please see the Explanatory Note for Secondary Products.

EN | Explanatory note

EN | Fairtrade Secondary Products List