IRIS certification

The IRIS certification program evaluates the compliance of labor recruiters with the IRIS Standard and global human and labor rights norms. The IRIS Standard sets the standard for ethical recruitment practices, and recruiters who meet these standards will receive IRIS certification through the certification program. Auditors, trained by IRIS, conduct assessments using customized methods and tools.

The certification process not only includes an initial assessment and certification but also ongoing monitoring and support to ensure continued adherence to ethical recruitment principles. IRIS provides capacity building and training opportunities to help recruiters improve their management systems and recruitment processes.

WHAT IS IRIS?

IRIS: Ethical Recruitment is IOM’s flagship initiative to promote ethical recruitment of migrant workers. It has been created by IOM and a coalition of partners from government, civil society and the private sector. IRIS is a global multi-stakeholder initiative that supports governments, civil society, the private sector and recruiters to establish ethical recruitment as a norm in cross-border labour migration.

The goal of IRIS is to make international recruitment fair for everyone involved: migrant workers, employers, recruiters and countries of origin and destination. It does this by:

• Promoting respect for the rights of migrant workers;
• Enhancing transparency and accountability in recruitment;
• Advancing the Employer Pays Principle; and
• Strengthening public policies, regulations and enforcement mechanisms.
• Find out more about the certification process here.

HOW DOES IRIS CERTIFICATION WORK?

IRIS certification is voluntary and only available to privaterecruitment agencies that send or receive workers fromoverseas.

To become an IRIS certified labourrecruiter, applicants (recruiters) willneed to demonstrate that they meet the requirements of the IRISStandard.

The IRIS Standard outlines what ethical recruitment looks like inpractice. It is based on international human rights instruments, ILOconventions and standards and best practice from therecruitment industry.

IRIS takes a management system approach to certification. In otherwords, for a recruiter to be IRIS certified, they will need todemonstrate that their management system meets therequirements of the IRIS Standard.

A management system is the way an organization manages thedifferent, interrelated parts of it business, in order to meet itsobjectives. It is a framework for evaluating business risk andmanaging resources to properly plan, implement, monitor andimprove each business practice.

The IRIS certification model is based on similar global certificationschemes and includes a series of checks and balances to ensure thescheme is credible and robust.

THE IRIS STANDARD

Ethical recruitment means hiring workers lawfully and in a fair and transparent manner that respects and protects their rights.

The IRIS Standard is a set of global principles that define ethical recruitment. It is based on international labour and human rights instruments and was developed through extensive multi-stakeholder consultation. The IRIS Standard articulates what ethical recruitment means in practice and how labour recruiters can demonstrate compliance.

The IRIS Standard and corresponding guidelines serve as a reference point for labour recruiters, employers and state actors on how to integrate ethical recruitment principles into recruitment-related management systems, policies, regulations, processes and procedures. To achieve this, the IRIS Standard defines operational indicators against which labour recruiters can be measured to assess compliance.

The IRIS Standard consists of two overarching principles and five specific principles. Each principle is supported by one or more criteria with corresponding sets of indicators to be met by labour recruiters to be IRIS compliant. You can find the seven core IRIS Principles below:

• Respect for Laws, Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
• Respect for Ethical and Professional Conduct
• Prohibition of Recruitment Fees to Jobseekers
• Respect for Freedom of Movement
• Respect for Transparency of Terms and Conditions of Employment
• Respect for Confidentiality and Data Protection
• Respect for Access to Remedy

The latest full version of the IRIS Standard came be downloaded here.

GENERAL PRINCIPLE A: RESPECT FOR LAWS, AND FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND RIGHTS AT WORK

Your facility should be fit for purpose, enabling consistent delivery of training and assessment in accordance with GWO Training Standard(s).The labour recruiters must comply with all applicable legislation, regulations, multilateral and bilateral agreements on labour migration, and policies related to the recruitment of migrant workers in the jurisdictions of origin, transit and destination countries, including those pertaining to the immigration or emigration of migrant workers.

This principle explicitly prohibits the use of trafficking in persons, forced labour, and child labour, and includes respect for the right of freedom of association and collective bargaining and respect for equality of treatment and non-discrimination, as recognized in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

GENERAL PRINCIPLE B: RESPECT FOR ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

in order to meet the responsibility to respect laws and comply with the IRIS Principles, the labour recruiters will have in place management systems, including due diligence, to ensure that their recruitment activities are consistent with the IRIS Principles and conducted in a manner that treats migrant workers with dignity and respect, free from harassment, or any form of coercion or degrading or inhuman treatment.

PRINCIPLE 1: PROHIBITION OF RECRUITMENT FEES AND RELATED COSTS TO MIGRANT WORKERS

The labour recruiters must not charge directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, any fees or related costs to migrant workers, for the services related to recruitment for temporary or permanent job placement or employment.

PRINCIPLE 2: RESPECT FOR FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

The labour recruiters must not require migrant workers or their family members to provide a monetary deposit or other collateral as a condition of employment, and must not withhold, destroy or confiscate documents, wages, or other personal belongings, or otherwise limit freedom of movement

PRINCIPLE 3: RESPECT FOR TRANSPARENCY OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The labour recruiters must ensure that, prior to deployment, migrant workers are provided with written contracts in a language each worker understands, detailing the terms and conditions of employment including but not limited to the nature of work undertaken, rates of pay and pay arrangements, working hours, vacation and other leave, and all other lawful deductions from pay and benefits of employment in accordance with national law. The labour recruiters must ensure that the worker’s written consent is obtained without coercion.

PRINCIPLE 4: RESPECT FOR CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

The labour recruiters must not record, in files or registers, personal data which is not required for judging the aptitude of migrant workers for jobs for which they are being or could be considered, or required to facilitate their deployment. The labour recruiters must ensure that all personal data that they collect, receive, use, transfer or store shall be treated as strictly confidential and shall not be communicated to any third party without the prior written informed consent of the worker or workers’ representative, unless required by law.

PRINCIPLE 5: RESPECT FOR ACCESS TO REMEDY

The labour recruiters must ensure that migrant workers have effective access to remedy, without fear of recrimination, reprisal, or dismissal, such as internal grievance procedures of the labour recruiter and/or the employer and to those remedies provided by law in the country of origin and destination, in relation to their recruitment activities.