An Introduction To Global Employment Law
It is no surprise that the business world today is expanding its reaches further and further, now targeting developing nations. With the rise of technology making communication and idea presentation easier, this is the natural course of things.
But what about those developing nations?
While we have countless country and labour laws protecting our interests based on not only culture but societal needs, newer countries to the stage offer their own challenges as lawyers and HR professionals work to foster aligning business practices globally without offending the needs of specific cultures and their inherent identity.
A fully global employment law does not exist.
Not even first-world countries are fully unified. Instead, local companies are bound to their country’s domestic law. Each of their laws governs the relationship between employer and employee.
Unfortunately, this opens up a lot of room for loose definitions. Some local companies may define “talented” as total dedication to that specific company. Qualifications can also take the age-old discrimination of both gender and race. While this can affect growth internally, a lot of these laws alter as a company begins to extend their reach and pull in talent from other areas.
What about companies that are fully global, like McDonald’s?
In such cases, they have a team of expert lawyers that act as watchdogs, constantly updating their regional employment laws based on specific nation’s standards. This allows for a relatively seamless way to spread one’s reach. By adapting regions to local laws, local talent can expect the same hiring practices as found elsewhere in their country with a few exceptions.
Global companies, though sensitive to cultural differences, still maintain for example anti-discrimination policies that everyone, no matter where they are from, must adhere to.
Though the growth has its flaws as the kinks are still being worked out, but employees and employers new to the rat race usually are ‘targeted’ by those in power and mentored as they evolve to fit a global construct.
Old biases are shed, employees’ rights are fortified and a general understanding of what is considered to be globally proper is instilled in the leaders. Because they lack any sort of power in terms of economic sanctioning, they must adhere to this transition. Those that refuse to bend and make concessions often have their leaders deposed in favor of more forward-thinking individuals.
A global employment law is a new idea slowly shaping the world’s economic landscape, but it is nowhere near complete or even completely defined.
As newer, promising markets emerge, lawyers and watchdog groups are quick to intervene to make sure the rise to power is as smooth as possible in that their employment laws suit talent from every country.
Without such strict guidance, it highly likely that employers and employees would find themselves subjected to unfair treatment, it is of utmost important that your HR Team or your corporate governance team understands the impact of global employment law in the organisation and to your employees.
© New To HR
