asia-top-5-employment-trends

Top five workplace legal trends Asia People and reward APAC – what we do 3. D oing a deal? Pay me! Our People and reward team advise on a wide range of employment The prevalence of social media has played a significant part in workers issues across the region. With our network of specialist employment across Asia sharing knowledge and information about their rights. This lawyers across the region, we can help on the full range of employment may be the reason why there has been a marked increase in recent and reward issues. In particular: years in employees seeking a payment (for example in South Korea a ‘condolence payment’) from an employer who is looking to sell the • We work with our corporate and finance colleagues on complex business in which that employee works. There may be no contractual cross-border transactions, including carve-outs, restructuring projects, or legal entitlement to any payment. There may be no custom and M&A mandates and IPOs practice of making such payments. Yet you may find yourself on the receiving end of a request for such a payment and may need to factor • We have a thriving contentious practice which focuses on assisting our into your deal timetable (i) how much of a ‘pot’ you may need to set dispute resolution and competition teams on the employment aspects of aside for such payments and (ii) what might be the repercussions of not sensitive investigations, in particular regulatory investigations making such payment (strike action, transaction delay and even a buyer who then thinks twice about the deal). • We also advise on a wide range of cross-border HR/employee projects. Examples include: 4. Protection against discrimination in the workplace – a new approach – Advising on the set-up of multi-jurisdictional whistleblowing hotlines For many years the landscape for protection against discrimination in – P roviding advice on the issues in connection with the transfer of Asia was patchy, with no two countries being alike when it came to employee data, including advising on policy implementation protection against the various forms of discrimination but with many gaps in the legal protection against discrimination in the workplace. – ‘Horizon-scanning’ for our clients on key employment legal and However the picture is more complex now. A number of countries in regulatory developments in the pipeline Asia have started to introduce new legislation that protects the rights of workers against discrimination. For example in Hong Kong, a – Helping clients draft / adapt global policies in Asia to ensure that reform of the current discrimination law has been described as ‘high they not only comply with local legal requirements but are also priority’ by the Equal Opportunity Commission. India has enacted a aligned with market practice new Disabilities Act 2016. In Singapore, new laws have come into force protecting the rights of older workers, including increasing the We have worked alongside our clients in the region for a number of years age at which employees can be made to retire. and have seen employment law grow in importance and complexity across the region. Here are our ‘top five’ current trends – topics that are 5. T he right to disconnect – developments in coming up regularly for our clients in the region and on which we have approach to ‘work-life balance’ been asked to provide legal advice: With the rapid expansion of the on-demand economy has come 1. W orker status – the rise of the ‘non’ worker the corresponding increase in pressure on workers across the The employment contract is dead. Long live the reign of the contractor globe. A number of European jurisdictions have undergone regular (or labour dispatch worker, or zero hours worker). In other words, there reviews of the framework of legal protections that seek to ensure has been a huge rise in the use by companies of alternative structures workers are given regular breaks, are not forced to work excessive to engage a workforce. Along with this development is an increased hours and are permitted statutory leave. France hit the headlines concern by unions and employee representative bodies that the rights when it introduced its so-called ‘right to disconnect’ at the start of of workers are being eroded. Compared to the traditional employment 2017. That may be a long way off in Asia, but we see law-makers in contract, those who are classed as self-employed or temporary workers Asia becoming increasingly alive to the need to legislate in this area. will always have less rights that their employed counterparts. On the For example in Japan there are new laws facilitating the taking other hand, with the strength of the ‘gig’ economy, others believe that of family leave, as part of the Government’s focus on “Promoting these ‘newer’ contractual arrangements will become the new normal. Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens”. In response, lawmakers in a number of Asian countries are seeking to increase the regulation of these hybrid structures so that the rights Employment law is dynamic and fast-changing in the region. of workers are adequately protected. We work alongside our clients to anticipate changes and developments in employment laws and trends so that we can give timely, commercial 2. Employee data transfer – beware the regulators and practical legal advice. The transfer of employee data has become a hot topic in Asia. As more countries in Asia introduce data privacy protections, enforced by regulators who have increasingly wide-ranging powers, employers in the region need to pay close attention to the way in which they are accessing, processing, storing and transferring employee personal data. In particular where a company is undergoing a reorganisation, contemplating a transaction, or is involved in an internal or regulatory investigation, the legal protections afforded to employees and their personal data need to be given proper and full consideration.

Contacts Kathleen Healy Laura Chapman Stephanie Chiu Partner, Counsel, Senior Associate, Hong Kong and London Hong Kong Hong Kong T +44 20 7832 7689 T +852 2846 3496 T +852 2846 3400 E k athleen.healy@ E l aura.chapman E stephanie.chiu freshfields.com @freshfields.com @freshfields.com freshfields.com This material is provided by the international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (a limited liability partnership organised under the law of England and Wales) (the UK LLP) and the offices and associated entities of the UK LLP practising under the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer name in a number of jurisdictions, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP, together referred to in the material as ‘Freshfields’. For regulatory information please refer to www.freshfields.com/support/legalnotice. The UK LLP has offices or associated entities in Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, China, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP has offices in New York City and Washington DC. This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. © Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, September 2017, 06575