Overnight, the world of work was forced to adapt in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work and it is clear that these changes are here to stay. A series of longer-term trends, particularly around accelerated transition to remote working, are revolutionising how and where we work, and how we communicate and share information.
Many employers have seen the value in embracing this new, more flexible world. But these complex changes have unearthed a range of risks – legal, financial, and reputational – never before contemplated or encountered in the modern workplace.
Bird & Bird started the Workforce of the Future series to examine some of these hidden risks.
Mobility and immigration
The COVID-19 pandemic forced business travel to come to an abrupt halt. At the same time, remote working has created new opportunities for companies and employees. In principle, employees can work from anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection. On the other hand, in the search for talent companies no longer need to restrict themselves to the countries where they have a presence, creating a global employment market.
These new trends also entail various risks and challenges including in relation to immigration, social security, tax and labour law.
Our team of employment experts zoomed in on these challenges and provided insight on the practical issues companies are facing with employee mobility in our webinar, “Working from anywhere and the global employment market”.
Protecting confidentiality
COVID-19 significantly accelerated the advancement of digital technology and flexible working practices.
One key challenge is how best to protect your trade secrets and confidential information in an increasingly connected and knowledge-based global economy and within a changing workplace. Where employees (intentionally or otherwise) act in breach of their duty to protect their employer’s confidential information, this runs the risk of significant loss to the employer’s business including competitive disadvantage as well as financial, operational and reputational damage.
The cost and lost management time of reacting after such a breach has occurred can be very high. Organisations are better placed if they take proactive steps to protect their business’ trade secrets, guard against employee breach and avoid disputes where possible. These issues have always been high on the agenda of HR, legal and compliance teams, but is receiving renewed focus.
Our article, “Business protection in a Covid-impacted world”, produced by our International Employment and Intellectual Property experts looks at the key areas of protection and practical steps for employers to guard their key business interests.
Employment structures
Businesses are increasingly choosing to implement new employment structures in order to hire the best talent around the world, a trend accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. These structures include employers of record and use of non-resident employing entities. Although some companies had been considering alternative models of work for some time, with the slow return to normality it is clear that these changes are now here to stay.
We developed a heatmap providing an overview of the key issues associated with using these employment structures in 19 countries across the world. We considered the risks from a variety of angles including tax law, employment status, labour leasing, data privacy issues and the protection of intellectual property rights.
The “Employers of record contingent workers” Heatmap is an essential tool for employers in selecting the most suitable employment model for a particular situation in a specific jurisdiction.
Click here to watch the video overview.
For further information, please contact:
Pattie Walsh, Partner, Bird & Bird
pattie.walsh@twobirds.com
