Labour audits as a tool for detecting and combating corruption

Employment practices, payroll processes, workplace governance, and recruitment often provide opportunities for corruption. Therefore, labour audits are a crucial mechanism for the prevention and detection of corruption. The purpose of this article is to examine the role of labour audits as an instrument for detecting and combating corruption, with particular reference to the Ukrainian context and its integration into broader international debates. The methodological framework combined philosophical reasoning, system analysis and synthesis, the formal legal method, dialectical reasoning, as well as methods of induction and deduction. These approaches support both a normative legal interpretation of corruption and a systemic analysis of audit practices. The findings indicate that labour audits are effective in identifying financial fraud, wage manipulation, tax evasion, misappropriation of benefits, child labour, unsafe working conditions, and discriminatory practices. They also demonstrate that supply chain monitoring, transparency of records, workforce surveys, and internal control evaluations are critical in uncovering corruption risks. The study concluded that the adoption of harmonised regulations, continuous auditor training, and technological innovation can significantly enhance the role of audits in safeguarding fair labour practices.