GRI 403 Occupational Health and Safety 2018 - Occupational health and safety disclosure criteria

Sep 2, 2026

The document provides examples used to apply GRI 403 criteria on occupational health and safety reporting, specifically distinguishing when workers are treated as within the reporting organization’s scope. It explains “control of work” and “control of workplace” through scenario-based descriptions for employees not treated as employees and for contractors and workers of suppliers. The guidance clarifies boundaries where the organization controls work or workplace, and where it has no such control but business relationships still create significant OHS impacts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages35

Reading Time12 min

AccessFree to download

Control of work

Sole control or shared control

Control of workplace

Sole control or shared control

No control of workplace

| Table 1
Examples of employees and workers who are not employees according to the criteria of ‘control of work’ and‘control of workplace’ | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | Control of work
The organization has sole control of the work, or shares control with one or more organizations | No control of work
The organization has no control of the work | | Control of workplace
The organization has sole control of the
workplace, or shares control with
one or more
organizations | Examples:
Employees of the reporting organization working at a workplace controlled by the organization.
Contractor hired by the reporting organization to perform work that would otherwise be carried out by an employee, at a workplace controlled by the organization.
Volunteers performing work for the reporting organization, at a workplace controlled by the organization. | Example:
Workers of an equipment supplier to the reporting organization who, at a workplace controlled by the organization, perform regular maintenance on the supplier’s equipment (e.g. , photocopier) as stipulated in the contract between the equipment supplier and the organization. In this case, the organization has control over the workplace but not over the work done by the equipment supplier’s workers in its workplace. | | No control of workplace
The organization has no control of the workplace | Examples:
Employees of the reporting organization working at sites other than those controlled by the organization (e.g. , at home or in a public area, on domestic or international temporary work assignments, or on business travels organized by the organization) .
Contractors hired by the reporting organization to perform work in a public area (e.g. , on a road, on the street) .
Contractors hired by the reporting organization to deliver the work/service directly at the workplace of a client of the organization.
Workers of a supplier to the reporting organization who work on the supplier’s premises, and where the organization instructs the supplier to use particular materials or work methods in manufacturing/delivering the required goods or services. | Example:
Workers of a supplier contracted by the reporting organization who work on the supplier’s premises using the supplier’s work methods. For instance, the reporting organization sources buttons and thread from a supplier, which are standard products of the supplier. The supplier’s workers make the buttons and thread at the supplier’s workplace. The organization, however, learns that the buttons are coated with a sealant that releases toxic gases when being applied by workers, thereby affecting their health. In this case, the organization has no control over both the work and workplace of the supplier’s workers, but its products are directly linked to significant occupational health and safety impacts on those workers by its business relationship with the supplier. |

FAQs

What does “control of work” mean in the document’s criteria?

It refers to situations where the organization has sole control of the work or shares control with one or more organizations.

How does the document define “control of workplace”?

It distinguishes cases where the organization has sole control of the workplace or shares control, versus cases where the organization has no control of the workplace.

When might the organization have no control of both work and workplace yet still face significant OHS impacts?

The document gives an example involving a supplier whose workers work at the supplier’s premises using the supplier’s methods; although the organization lacks control over work and workplace, its business relationship can directly link products to significant occupational health and safety impacts for those workers.

Sep 2, 2026

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