A labour audit is a particular field for the application of audit methods that are widely used in the financial, organisational, and quality control fields. It is carried out by specialised external auditors, by internal auditors, or sometimes in cooperation between the two.
The labour audit is usually split into four main areas.
- There is the labour audit evaluating the compliance of internal practices to an external standardising reference, whether this is the employment law applicable in a given State or global CSR standards such as the global pact of the UN.
- There is the audit of compliance and pertinence of a position, by way of reference to objectives, rules, and procedures that are internal to the company. The company wishes to evaluate the reality of practice compared with what is provided for. It also wishes to change these practices by first evaluating the relevance of the existing targets and processes. The fields of application are many: recruitment, training, appreciation, skill management, remuneration, job security, etc.
- There is the audit prior to a change of situation (merger or acquisition, reorganisation, labour feasibility of an investment, (re)negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement, etc.).
- Finally, there is the audit that allows the understanding of a particular labour situation (labour conflict, poor working environment, resignations, absenteeism, etc.), with the aim of finding out what needs to be corrected for the future and/or preventing the repetition of conflictual situations.
(See Institut international de l’audit social, Qu’est-ce que l’audit social ?)