ESRS S1 Own Workforce
ESRS S1 is the topical social standard of CSRD reporting that requires disclosures on the working conditions, wages, equal treatment and rights of a company's own workforce.
ESRS S1 "Own Workforce" is one of the topical European Sustainability Reporting Standards and governs social disclosures about a company's own workers. It covers both employees with an employment relationship and so-called non-employees in the own workforce, such as self-employed individuals and people made available through staffing agencies. The standard requires information on workforce characteristics, working conditions, adequate wages, social dialogue, equal treatment and equal opportunities, as well as other work-related rights.
Like all topical standards, S1 applies only where the related topics, impacts, risks and opportunities have been identified as material in the double materiality assessment. In substance, the standard follows the logic of ESRS 2: companies report on policies, actions, targets and metrics. Key data points include headcount broken down by gender and region, information on collective bargaining coverage and worker participation, the gender pay gap, training and development hours, work-related accidents, and whether an adequate wage is paid.
S1 closely links sustainability reporting with human rights due diligence and labour standards. The relevant frameworks are in particular the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines and the ILO core labour standards. For companies that are also subject to the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act or the CSDDD, there are substantial overlaps in content, for example regarding grievance mechanisms and remediation processes. S1 is therefore far more than a statistical obligation: it makes social responsibility towards the own workforce transparent, comparable and auditable.
Legal Basis
ESRS S1 (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772) in conjunction with Art. 19a, 29a CSRD (Directive (EU) 2022/2464); ILO core labour standards; UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Practical Example
A mid-sized machinery manufacturer with 1,400 employees falls within the scope of the CSRD for the first time. In the double materiality assessment, the sustainability officer concludes that occupational safety, fair pay and equal opportunities are material, and activates ESRS S1. She consolidates data from HR, payroll and occupational safety systems: headcount by gender and site, the gender pay gap, the share of employees covered by collective agreements, training hours and work-related accidents. For gaps such as the absence of a workforce-wide grievance channel, she defines concrete actions and measurable targets and documents everything in an audit-proof way for the limited assurance opinion.