Responsible recruitment training for a UK retailer’s suppliers in Malaysia

In early 2021, Impactt developed and delivered responsible recruitment training on behalf of a UK-based retailer for their Malaysia-based suppliers. All of the suppliers employ migrant workers from various countries. The purpose of the training programme was to address audit reports that had found irresponsible recruitment practices such as deception and charges of recruitment fees towards migrant workers. The objectives of the training were to establish.

• A strong policy and protocol on the recruitment of migrant workers process and recruitment fees.
• Robust commercial and contractual arrangements with agencies.
• Clear processes for selecting agency partners and monitoring performance.
• A transparent policy on remediation for when fee payment is identified.
• Protocol for when and in which cases recruitment agents are allowed to use sub-agents and its subsequent monitoring process for sub-agents.

The training was conducted in groups where several suppliers attended the training sessions remotely over six-weekly webinars (2 hours each). This set-up enabled peer sharing between facilities on the challenges and creative solutions they have implemented to improve their recruitment practice. In addition, Impactt provided one-to-one advisory sessions to suppliers that occasionally included calls and conversations with their labour providers.

The training programme resulted in.

• Suppliers having a better understanding of requirements for responsible recruitment of migrant workers.
• A new system being introduced to prevent violations/irresponsible practices when recruiting migrant workers.
• Extensive conversations between suppliers and their labour agencies on recruitment costs migrant workers, including costs of sub-agents in the recruitment process.
• The renewal of commercial contracts between suppliers and their recruitment agencies that include specific clauses related to migrant worker recruitment costs and other responsible practices such as transparency of information before workers depart to the host country.