Decent Work Measurement Tool

Decent work is recognized as a fundamental human right and a cornerstone for sustainable development, yet measuring its realization at the individual level – especially for adolescents and youth – remains a global challenge. While the International Labour Organization (ILO) provides a widely endorsed definition of decent work as opportunities for productive employment delivered with freedom, equity, security and human dignity, existing measurement approaches have primarily focused on macro‑economic indicators. As highlighted in Save the Children’s Life Skills for Success Common Approach Evidence Synthesis, the sector continues to face “inconsistencies in defining decent work and a lack of standardized measurement tools,” limiting the ability of programmes to accurately assess outcomes and compare results across contexts.

To address this critical gap, Save the Children Italy developed the Decent Work Measurement Tool, a standardized instrument designed to determine whether adolescents and youth aged 15–24 years are engaged in decent or non‑decent employment. Developed for the POWER 4 AY Programme funded by Bulgari and implemented in Albania, Bolivia, Nepal and Uganda, the tool aligns with the Save the Children global indicator on youth employment and responds directly to recommendations for clearer benchmarks on fair wages, job security, workplace safety and other dimensions of decent work.

Drawing on an extensive literature review and two decades of international research, the tool adapts the Seven Work‑Based Security Dimensions – a framework that assesses decent work at the individual level – and integrates elements from ILO hazardous work questionnaires to identify cases of child labour and its worst forms. Applied for the first time during the POWER4AY mid‑term evaluation, the tool enabled the establishment of an empirically grounded threshold for determining decent employment across wage and self‑employment, and for both part‑time and full‑time workers.

By offering a concrete definition, practical questionnaire and standardized scoring system, this tool equips Save the Children teams and partners with a robust method to measure decent work outcomes and assess programme effectiveness. It represents a significant step toward greater consistency, comparability and evidence‑based decision‑making in youth employment programming globally.

Resources in this page include:

Decent Work Measurement Tool – Standardized questionnaire to assess whether adolescents and youth are in decent or non‑decent work, including identification of hazardous work.
Implementation and Analysis Guide – Practical guidance on how to administer, score and interpret the tool.
Literature Review on Decent Work Measurement – Background study mapping global approaches and informing the tool’s design.
Decent Work Analysis in POWER4AY Countries – Decent work mid‑term evaluation analysis from Albania, Bolivia, Nepal and Uganda.