Will I get a certificate to say I've passed?
After being audited, it is possible that you will receive a certificate of compliance with the ETI Base Code from the auditing company. You should be aware that ETI does not formally endorse any certificate that claims that a company is ¡®compliant with ETI' or ¡®compliant with the ETI Base Code'. We do not endorse any companies who carry out workplace audits, as we are not an accreditation body.

So how will I benefit from an audit?
As well as keeping customers happy, many suppliers who have invested the time and resources in improving conditions for their workers have found that their efforts have brought them business benefits, including:

* Boosting morale

* Reducing absenteeism

* Improving employee retention

* Increasing productivity

* Increasing profitability

It's also likely that as retailers and brands respond to increasing concern among Western consumers about workers' rights in supply chains, more and more of your customers will start asking you to comply with the ETI Base Code. So making the effort now should stand you in good stead for the future. 

Why do I have to go through so many audits?
Life would be much easier if one audit was acceptable for all! There are many reasons why buying companies like to do their own audits. These include:

* There is no single internationally agreed code of labour practice. Although many companies - particularly those in the UK - follow the ETI Base Code, some follow other codes that have been developed by different ¡®labour standards initiatives'.

* Even where companies are auditing against the Base Code they often tag these audits on to quality and environmental audits.

* Audit methodologies are by no means 100% reliable - we often hear of cases where a supplier may be found compliant in one area by one buying company, while another will find them non-compliant. Buying companies often don't trust other peoples' audit reports for that reason.