Labour Standards Assurance System LSAS Level 1 – The Requirements. LSAS is a Management System Specification which has 4 levels: Foundation (Level 1) Implementation (Level 2), Established (Level 3) and Progressive (Level 4).

Within this blog I am only dealing with LSAS Level 1 Foundation requirements as these are the starting point and a requirement for suppliers within scope of supply to achieve at least LSAS Level 1 within 12 months of the contract award date.

In general LSAS Level 1, the Foundation level is about having a basic framework in place which deals with Labour Standards issues within the supply chain.

LSAS Level 1, Section 1, Policy – That the company have a policy in place which is documented, approved by “top” management and is appropriate to the size and scale of the company. Has a commitment for addressing compliance with legal and other standards. Defines a set of minimum labour standards and makes a commitment to continual improvement. Some of these requirements are similar to what you would find within other management system standards such as ISO 9001, however, instead of being aimed at product/service it is aimed at the workers within the supply chain. As with many management system standard the key is commitment so in order to demonstrate this commitment it would be normal for the policy to be endorsed by top management.

LSAS Level 1, Section 2, Management Representative – Again, the requirements of this section are very similar to those within ISO 9001 for example, whereby top management should appoint a representative who has responsibility and authority to establish, implement and maintain an effective labour standard assurance management system and report the results in terms of performance back to top management. A way of complying with this section would be to have an organisation chart identifying the management representative as well as a job description defining stating the responsibilities and authority level. This is just one suggestion there are other ways of meeting this requirement.

LSAS Level 1, Section 3, Labour Standards Status Review – This section requires the company to have conducted a risk assessment in relation to labour standards. The risk assessment should be reviewed to ensure it has addressed all labour standards risks within the scope of supply.

LSAS Level 1, Section 4, Legal & Other Requirements – The company should implemented a procedure which identifies information on relevant employment and human rights legislation in regard to its direct operations. All staff should have access to this information and understand how it applies in relation to their roles and responsibilities. For companies with more than one location the use of an intranet would be an effective way of communication as well as a centralised control on updates.

LSAS Level 1, Section 5, Objectives, Targets & Programmes – The company should establish, implement and maintain “documented” objectives and targets related to the assurance of labour standards. The objectives should be achievable and have targets for implementation.

LSAS Level 1, Section 6, Roles & Responsibilities – The roles, responsibilities and authorities should be documented and communicated in order to facilitate effective management of labour standards within the company’s direct operations and through its supply chain.

LSAS Level 1, Section 7, Competence, Training & Awareness – This section requires the company to ensure that training, experience and personnel criteria for those working within labour standards have been defined. Also that training and development plans have been created, where applicable. It is worth while noting the order in which the words appear in this section heading. Competence first, then Training and lastly Awareness.

LSAS Level 1, Section 8, Communications – There should be an effective system in place to communicate labour standards findings and issues to top management. Each company should chose a system that fits within the resources and technology that is available to them.

LSAS Level 1, Section 10, Operational Control – The company should identify the critical control points and risks associated to labour standards within its “direct” operations.

LSAS Level 1, Section 11, Supply Chain Management – There are a number of requirements within this section even for Level 1. There should be a “documented procedure” in place to address the management of supply chain labour standards risks and issues. The supply chain should be mapped and it should be clear the level it has been mapped to. Whether the policy of labour standards has been communicated to directly contracted suppliers and contractors.

LSAS Level 1, Section 12, Emergency Response – The company should have a basic plans in place to mitigate against adverse impacts in the event that significant labour standards risks manifest themselves. This would be in the form of a documented procedure for handling any significant risks or critical issues that may come to light.

LSAS Level 1, Section 15, Management Review – The company top management should review the organisation’s labour standards assurance system and performance, at planned intervals, to ensure continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness. This is almost the same as the requirements for management review within ISO 9001 with the exception of the words, “labour assurance.” A company who already has a quality management system, environmental management system and/or health and safety management system could quite easily integrate the requirements of the labour standards into other management reviews.

For LSAS Level 1, there are no requirements for Documentation & Records (Section 9), Performance Monitoring & Measurement (Section 13) and Corrective Action (Section 14).

For any company that thinking of starting or has started and would like some information or assistance on the interpretation of the requirements of LSAS Level 1, or any level then you can send an email directly to us at enquiry@gcl-intl.com or create a posting through our Facebook Site www.gcl-intl.com/facebook or Twitter www.gcl-intl.com/twitter

Other Sources of information:
http://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/suppliers/code-of-conduct/