the questionnaire asks about working conditions with our own suppliers

This question is about your suppliers, not about your own workplace

The customer is not asking here about working conditions at your own facility, but about what you know and manage regarding your own suppliers. This is a different question type than questions about absenteeism or safety policy at your own location — this falls under the supply chain theme. In the EFRAG VSME baseline module, this appears under the section on labour in the value chain, as part of broader supply chain reporting. The question thus tests not your own practice, but your visibility of and control over the practice of the companies that supply to you.

The answer usually consists of two layers, and it is worthwhile to answer them separately. First: do you have a code of conduct or set of minimum requirements that you impose on suppliers? If not, then the honest answer is "no", and that is not an unusual answer for SMEs at this time — whether you need a supplier code of conduct is a question that many companies filling in this questionnaire for the first time face. Second layer: do you have visibility into what actually happens at your larger or higher-risk suppliers, for example through audits, certificates or their own declarations? This visibility is often limited to the first tier of suppliers, and you may also indicate this — a guess or promise about what you do not know does not belong in this answer.

Where this section appears in the standard

The EFRAG VSME baseline module addresses labour in the value chain as a separate data field within the supply chain section, separate from the indicators on your own employees. Directive 2022/2464 (CSRD) is the reason why this supply chain question appears in your customer questionnaires at all: the directive requires larger undertakings to also report on their value chain, and that obligation flows through to the questionnaires they send to suppliers such as you. For the broader approach to this type of supply chain question, including how you substantiate an answer without making commitments about suppliers you do not control, there is a separate document on how to answer questions about working conditions further in the supply chain.