Child labour
Child labour is work performed by children that is prohibited because of the child’s age, the work’s nature or conditions, excessive hours, harm to health or development, or interference with schooling. Not all work by children qualifies; the assessment depends on international standards, national law, age, tasks, hours, and hazards.
In simple terms
Child labour generally refers to work that deprives children of childhood, potential, dignity, education, or healthy development. Age-appropriate, non-hazardous activities that do not interfere with schooling are not automatically child labour. The classification depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work, conditions, hazards, and national rules informed by international labour standards. The worst forms include slavery-like practices, trafficking, forced recruitment for armed conflict, commercial sexual exploitation, illicit activities, and hazardous work. Modern slavery overlaps with some of these forms but is not a substitute for the specific child-labour analysis.
Why it matters
Children may be hidden in informal work, family enterprises, subcontracting, or upstream production. Supply chain due diligence and sustainable procurement can help buyers identify pressure points, but removal from work without schooling, family income, protection, and remedy can worsen harm. Progress also depends on decent work for adults and adequate social protection. A living wage may reduce household vulnerability, yet no single wage measure resolves every cause.
Example
A cocoa buyer finds hazardous pesticide work by children on small farms. It immediately addresses danger, protects the children, and works with families, schools, cooperatives, government, and local services on remediation. The buyer changes purchasing and monitoring practices and checks school attendance and household outcomes rather than treating supplier termination as the only response.
How it differs
Modern slavery
Child labour is assessed through age, tasks, hours, hazards, schooling, and applicable standards; modern slavery is a broader non-legal umbrella, and overlap occurs mainly in severe or coercive forms.