What has happened
The European Commission has published guidelines to support implementation of the EU Forced Labour Regulation (EUFLR), ahead of the Regulation applying from 14 December 2027.
The non-binding guidelines do not create new legal duties. Instead, they provide greater practical detail on how authorities may identify and assess forced labour concerns, how investigations may progress, and the types of due diligence and other information that businesses may submit. The Regulation itself remains the legal basis for obligations and enforcement.
Key takeaways from the guidelines
Due diligence remains relevant
The guidelines align the EUFLR approach with established international frameworks. They use the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for the overall risk-based process and rely particularly on ILO resources for forced labour definitions, risk identification and in-depth assessment of identified risks. Mainly the ILO: Harder to See, Harder to Count and the ILO-IOE Handbook.
The guidelines also reference the CSDDD and other EU frameworks as potentially relevant evidence during an investigation. Existing due diligence systems can therefore provide a foundation, but companies should ensure that their risk identification and in-depth assessments are forced labour sensitive.
Cooperation and action can affect escalation
The guidelines expect economic operators to cooperate throughout the investigation process. This includes engaging constructively, providing requested information by the deadline, and ensuring that information is accurate, meaningful, relevant and complete. Failure to cooperate may be considered as relevant evidence during a preliminary or formal investigation.
Companies should designate a clear contact person or department to coordinate engagement with the competent authority. They should also be ready to show what they know, how they assessed potential concerns, what action they take and how they follow up. This is relevant because where a company demonstrates during the preliminary phase of the investigation that it is taking appropriate steps to address a forced labour concern, the authority may allow reasonable time for those steps to be completed and conclude that no further escalation is needed.
Identifying forced labour risks
The EUFLR guidelines describe a structured, risk-based process for identifying forced labour risks in a company’s own operations, supply chain and other business relationships.
- Scope risk. Identify countries, sectors, products, operations and business relationships where forced labour risk is most likely or potentially most severe.
- Assess in depth. Conduct proportionate assessments of the most significant identified risks, using relevant evidence sources and the ILO indicators of forced labour.
- Assess involvement. Determine whether the company may cause, contribute to or be directly linked to an identified forced labour risk through its operations or business relationships.
- Prioritise action. Prioritise risks based on severity and likelihood where all risks cannot be addressed immediately.
Companies are expected to integrate forced labour risks into their general due diligence system, including policies and risk-management processes. These risks can be identified through existing risk-identification and assessment processes or a dedicated scoping exercise. In either case, companies should be able to demonstrate and document the results appropriately.
Where significant forced labour risks are identified, the guidelines indicate that companies should apply focused measures across their wider due diligence system. This may include maintaining a public forced labour policy, assigning clear oversight and responsibility, and communicating expectations through internal and external training. Companies should also conduct targeted assessment of high-risk operations, suppliers and business relationships, including through supplier reviews or worker engagement where appropriate.
The response should then reflect the company’s involvement with the risk. This may include forced labour-specific prevention or corrective-action plans, changes to business practices, use of commercial leverage and collaboration with suppliers or other business partners. Where the company has caused or contributed to an actual forced labour impact, it should provide or support remediation aimed at restoring affected people or communities to the position they would have been in had the impact not occurred.
Documentation will be central
The guidelines underline the importance of building a clear and credible body of evidence. Competent authorities can assess the overall weight of available information, including direct, indirect and circumstantial evidence, rather than applying the evidentiary threshold used in criminal proceedings. Put simply, several consistent warning signs may be enough to establish substantiated concern, even where there is no single definitive piece of evidence.
Companies may be asked for documentation at different stages of an investigation and can also submit relevant information proactively. The guidance provides a non-exhaustive range of examples, including:
- policies, supplier contracts, training records
- risk assessments, mitigation records, audit findings
- stakeholder engagement, worker information
- supply chain maps, bills of materials, production orders and payment records
Having this information readily available can help companies demonstrate how forced labour risks have been identified, assessed and addressed.
What the guidelines mean for readiness
LRQA recommends a proactive approach to EUFLR preparedness. Closing identified gaps and aligning internal processes with the EU Commission guidelines can help companies provide clear, credible evidence of their forced labour due diligence and response actions.
The alternative is to retain the status quo and respond only when approached by a competent authority. This reactive route may require teams to trace products, locate documentation, assess supplier relationships and change processes under regulatory scrutiny and within limited timeframes.
In LRQA’s view, businesses should use the time before the Regulation applies to build response readiness and strengthen forced-labour-sensitive due diligence. This is not only about compliance. It can improve supply chain visibility, support earlier action on serious risks and strengthen sourcing resilience.
