What should companies know about this legislation?
The adoption by the Dutch Parliament of the ‘Child Labour Due Diligence law ‘ this year will have a number of implications for companies both registered in the Netherlands or delivering products or services to the market.
The law goes further than the UK Modern Slavery Act by imposing penalties on companies that fail to publish statements. The risk of personal liablity for directors leading to imprisonment is likely to cause companies to take this legislation more seriously. It also applies to companies that are outside of the Netherlands.
The due diligence requirements are mandatory and organisations should consider how to meet the requirements. They have just over a year to prepare.
The risk of being fined should incentivise companies that fall within the scope of the law to consider how it is going to address the requirements.
Given that’s it unlikely that many companies could state with confidence that there is no child labour in their supply chains, its likely that many will have to develop a plan of action.
We would suggest that the first step is determine how the company’s current policies and procedures address the risk of child labour in the supply chain.
Our gap analysis checklist can be a useful starting point. Download our summary of the law here