What is it?
PAS 24000 is the new internationally recognized Social Responsibility framework aimed at ensuring a minimum level of social performance that includes issues such as labor relations, human rights, health, safety, and business ethics.The standard, published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) , defines the management requirements that allow certified organizations to meet the expectations of interested parties in the medium and long term, with a view to continuous improvement, including with respect to sustainable development, creating well-being, enhancing its relationships with employees, social partners, the local community, consumers, public authorities and all other stakeholders.
PAS 24000 is applicable to any type of organization , regardless of its type or size, or the products and services it produces or provides.
CSQA is ACCREDIA accredited for PAS 24000 certification.
Key points
PAS 24000 defines:- requirements to ensure the quality of the management system and the due diligence process;
- minimum social performance requirements.
- Human Rights Policy
- Forced labor
- Child labor
- Freedom of association
- Discrimination/Fair Treatment of Workers
- Health and safety at work
- Building safety
- Work and contractual relations
- Working hours
- Complaint mechanisms
- Business ethics
The process approach allows for the definition of roles and responsibilities within organizations, while risk-based thinking minimizes the negative effects and enhances the opportunities of planned actions.
The PDCA cycle applied to the social management system requires that the company must:
- determine and evaluate risks, opportunities and social objectives (Plan)
- implement processes as expected (Do)
- monitor and measure processes in relation to social policy, including the organisation's social commitments and objectives, and report the results (Check)
- take action to correct deviations from expected results and continuously improve social performance to achieve the intended results (Act).
- fair treatment and a protected environment for its workers, both in terms of health and safety and in terms of compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements.
- A decent wage for the worker: in relation to compensation for standard hours. The framework distinguishes between the "minimum wage"—established as defined by the relevant national collective bargaining agreement—and the "decent wage"—defined as the remuneration received for ordinary work, established by contract, capable of providing the worker with a decent standard of living for themselves and their family.
- processes for the consultation and participation of workers and worker representatives in the development, planning, implementation, performance evaluation, and improvement actions, a substantial difference from other standards that concern social management systems.
The main stages of the certification process include:
- Definition of the certification scope;
- Preliminary audit (on request) for gap analysis and assessment of the Organization against the reference standard;
- Certification audit : consisting of two phases (first and second stage) to verify the system's compliance with the reference standard and issue the certificate;
- Surveillance audit : performed annually to verify continued compliance with the standard requirements and continuous improvement;
- Certification renewal audit : which takes place 3 years after the previous certification or renewal and consists of a complete audit of the entire company system and processes.”
Advantages
The potential benefits of implementing a PAS 24000-based Social Management System (SMS) are:- New social responsibility framework ;
- Compliance with the requirement of “ ethical certification ” as a requirement in tenders,
- Accreditable under Accredia , modern and systematic approach;
- HLS system therefore perfectly combinable with other management systems;
- Designed following ISO Annex SL and uses a process approach, Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) and the principle of Risk-Based Thinking . It is therefore possible to integrate the "PAS 24000 system" with other management systems;
- Implement corporate ethical culture by developing and promoting an organizational culture that supports the expected results of the Corporate Management System;
- Reduce and address risks and opportunities related to the business context and objectives;
- Access new markets and business opportunities;
- Enhance the organization's reputation , strengthening its image as a socially responsible company and attractive to customers, investors and talent;
- Improve stakeholder relationships;
- Perfectly integrable into the ESG system covering the social pillar;
- Transversal and applicable to all sectors (universal reference).