Workplace Culture That Promotes Human Rights

A workplace culture that promotes human rights tends to stop at the edge of the payroll. The people carrying the most risk are frequently the ones you do not employ.

Labour hire workers, contractors, cleaners, security staff and workers further down a supply chain often sit outside every system you have built. They are not in the HR platform, not assigned training, not covered by your reporting routes, and least able to raise something without consequence.

Extending the culture outward is practical rather than philosophical. Include contractors in induction and reporting routes. Make your speak-up channel available to anyone on site, not only employees. Ask suppliers what their workers can report and to whom. And treat a supplier who cannot answer that as a risk rather than an administrative gap.

Modern slavery reporting has pushed larger buyers to ask these questions, and the questions travel downward.

The Australian Human Rights Commission publishes guidance. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s modern slavery course and workplace compliance system.