Worker recruitment fees at Chinese suppliers
Ask who recruits workers, who pays each recruitment cost, whether workers borrow to secure jobs, and whether they can leave without threats or losing documents or wages. Check agency records against confidential worker accounts, then agree protection and repayment actions. Discuss the findings with Cambridge China Bridge.
Trace the labour supply chain
Ask the factory to name every labour agency, recruiter and intermediary supplying workers to your production site, including temporary and seasonal workers. Who recruits, employs and pays them? Who handles accommodation and deductions? Ask whether agencies use further brokers and whether recruitment arrangements change when orders increase.
Request agency agreements, recruitment advertisements, employment terms and employer payment records. Match them to the people actually working on your order. Use the factory audit checklist for the wider site review and ethical audit guide for retailer audit arrangements.
Ask what workers paid to get the job
Home Office guidance says recruitment is a business cost that should be paid by the business. Treat this as guidance for your sourcing policy, rather than a claim about Chinese law. Ask the supplier to make employer payment of recruitment costs an explicit purchasing condition covering its agencies and brokers.
Ask workers what they paid, to whom, when and under what description. Include placement fees, deposits, travel, medical checks, training and document charges in your questions. Were costs paid before arrival, deducted from wages or collected outside payroll? Ask for receipts where available, but do not dismiss an account because a broker issued none.
Check whether debt prevents workers leaving
Ask whether workers borrowed to obtain the job, who lent the money and how repayment works. Can they explain the balance and deductions? What happens if they resign? Investigate demands to repay recruitment debt immediately, withheld wages, growing unexplained balances, threats to relatives or documents held beyond the worker's control.
Treat these as warning signs requiring investigation, rather than a finding based solely on debt. Arrange confidential conversations with agency and directly recruited workers in a language they understand, without managers or recruiters present. Agree safe contact arrangements, restrict access to identifying notes and avoid sharing an identifiable complaint with the alleged exploiter.
Escalate concerns around worker protection
Home Office guidance explains that remediation has no uniform approach. For a concern at a Chinese supplier, appoint a senior buyer-side owner and seek specialist worker-protection support before confronting an alleged exploiter. If threats, confinement or document control suggest immediate danger, prioritise a safe emergency response through appropriate local support; do not attempt a buyer-led rescue.
Separate unresolved evidence gaps from credible accounts of coercion. Consider holding new order commitments while assessing serious concerns, without assuming abrupt cancellation protects workers. Agree a worker-informed plan covering safe access to documents, removal of coercive deductions, repayment of recruitment fees and protection against retaliation. Set owners, completion dates and escalation triggers for refusal, concealment or continuing harm.
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Verify repayment and decide whether to continue
Check that repayments reach affected workers and are not recovered through new deductions or agency charges. Confirm privately whether workers can leave and whether threats have stopped. Keep a restricted case record of the concern, evidence, decisions, worker feedback and outstanding actions. Use the factory follow-up audit guide to define the verification visit.
If the supplier obstructs checks or harm continues, escalate to senior management and specialist advisers to decide whether a responsible exit is needed. Assess how withdrawal would affect workers and preserve access to support and remedy. Review your own price demands, payment terms and rush orders, then recheck recruitment arrangements when agencies or production sites change.
Frequently asked questions
What recruitment records should I ask a Chinese factory for?
Request agency and broker names, agreements, job advertisements, employment terms, recruitment invoices and payment records. Compare these with confidential worker accounts and actual wage deductions.
Does recruitment debt prove forced labour?
Debt alone does not settle the assessment. Investigate whether workers can leave, understand repayments and control their documents and wages, and whether anyone uses threats or penalties to keep them working.
Is a social audit enough to check recruitment fees?
Ask specifically whether it examined agencies, brokers, worker payments and recruitment debt. Supplement the report with confidential worker accounts and checks that corrective actions reached affected workers.
Should I cancel an order if workers paid recruitment fees?
Escalate and assess worker safety first. Agree repayment and prevention actions with specialist support. If the supplier refuses or harm continues, assess a responsible exit and its effects on workers.