Legal Counsel for Employment Compliance
Employment compliance refers to ensuring that a company’s policies and procedures are in line with legal requirements and ethical principles. This means adhering to laws, regulations, and industry standards that govern human resources and employment practices.
For instance, employers in Thailand mustabide by various labor laws, including the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (A.D.1998), Labor Relations Act B.E. 2518 (A.D. 1975), Social Security Act B.E. 2533 (A.D. 1990), Occupational Safety Healthand Environment Act B.E. 2554 (A.D. 2011), Provident Fund Act B.E 2530 (A.D. 1987) and Empowerment of Persons With Disabilities Act B.E. 2550 (A.D. 2007), among others. Companies operatingor looking to scale regionally or globally should also look at maintaininga consistent process of work culture within the organization across the globe.
Areas of employment compliance include:
Equal Employment Opportunity: Ensuring non-discrimination in hiring, promotion, compensation, and other employment practices.
Wage and Hour Laws: Complying with minimum wage, overtime, and child labor laws.
Safety and Health: Providing a safe and healthy work environment.
Data Privacy: Protecting employee personal information.
Employee Benefits: Ensuring compliance with benefits laws, such as health insurance.
Leave Laws: Adhering to laws related to family and medical leave, paid time off, and other leave entitlements.
Termination and Severance:Ensuring proper notice, reasonable cause, and adhering to any applicable severance payment.
Social Security Fund:Ensuring compliance with the Social Security Act.
Disabilities: Complying with laws regarding the hiring of individuals with disabilities, as well as contributing to required disability funds.
Why is employment compliance important?
One of the most pressing reasons for compliance is to prevent legal repercussions. For example, in Thailand, if an employer does not pay social security contributions for employees, the employer will be in violation of the Social Security Act B.E. 2533 and is subject to a penalty of imprisonment for up to 6 months ora fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both imprisonment and fine.
Apart from avoiding legal penalties and potential lawsuits from employees, employment compliance helps with maintainingthe company'sreputation and building a positive workplace environment.
By adhering to laws, regulations, and industry standards, companies can protect their reputation and create a positive and trustworthy work environment where employees feel valued and protected.
Challenges of ensuring HR compliance
In recent years, the rise of remote work and addressing data privacy concerns in the digital age brings an added layer of complexity to ensuring employment compliance.
However, the key challenge most companies face when ensuring employmentcompliance is keeping up with the complex regulatory landscape of constantly changing laws and regulations. This is particularly challenging for multinational companies.
For instance, in Asia Pacific and Middle East, one commonality across most countries is that managers and directors of a company can be held criminally liable for violations of employment laws.
A quick snapshot gives an insight into the various regulations employers across the region have to take note of:
In the Philippines, providing or using labor-only staffing services is illegal.
In Australia, legal entitlements to salary, leave, severance and other employment benefits vary depending upon which of approximately 100 different industry and occupation-specific awards applies.
When ensuring compliance, the devil is in the details. Even countries such as Japan, Thailand, and Koreawhere there is a quota on employing disabled persons, the details significantly vary.
How to ensure HR legal compliance
To ensure HR compliance, organizations can:
Identify relevant compliance obligations based on factors like location, industry, and business size.
Stay updated on legal changes by subscribing to industry newsletters or following relevant news sources.
Assign compliance responsibilities within the HR team, potentially hiring a dedicated compliance officer.
Create an employment compliance checklist to cover areas like recruiting, hiring, company policies, and employee handbooks.
Ensure consistent application of employment policies through clear procedures, documentation, and manager training.
Ensure compliance with data protection laws by implementing privacy policies,conducting audits, providing employee training, and establishing incident response plans to safeguard employee personal information.
Apart from managing it internally, collaborating with local experts or partnering with HR service providers is one way of ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations.
Companies can mitigate compliance risks by leveraging on the expertise of HR service providers, like ManpowerGroup, for the following:
Outsourcing of specific business operations or tasks
Staffing services
Payrolling services
Permanent placement services
Visa/Work permit services
Legal counsel for employmentcompliance
Why choose ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup is a leading provider of workforce solutions, with over 75 years of experience and unmatched expertise in sourcing and managing talent.
Here's why we're the ideal partner:
Deep-rooted Expertise: Benefit from ManpowerGroup's decades of experience as a global leader in HR services.
Global Reach: Our extensive network ensures compliance with local labor laws worldwide.
Proactive Solutions: Our experts identify potential risks and develop tailored compliance strategies.
Technology-Driven Approach: Leverage our advanced technology for efficient processes and data security.
Avoid Legal Penalties: Our expertise helps you proactively address compliance issues and minimize financial risks.
Foster a Positive Workplace: Compliant HR practices improve employee morale and satisfaction.
Strengthen Your Reputation: Demonstrate your commitment to ethical business practices and attract top talent.
Ready to start?
ManpowerGroup in Asia
By partnering with ManpowerGroup, you can help your business mitigate common risks of non-compliance in Asia related to:
Compensation | Employment Contract | Workplace |
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ManpowerGroup, with a strong presence across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Japanand Australia, offers deep expertise in HR compliance, local laws and regulations. The following table showcases some examples of employers' obligations and possible penalties that come with violating them in various countries within the region.
Countries and the nature of violation of employer obligation
Country | On-time payment of wages | Payment of statutory costs | Payment of withholding taxes | Lawful Termination | Discrimination & Forced Labor |
Vietnam |
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Philippines |
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Thailand |
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Country | On-time payment of wages | Payment of statutory costs | Payment of withholding taxes | Lawful Termination | Discrimination & Forced Labor |
Australia |
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India |
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Korea |
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Singapore |
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