Managing People in Different Locations

Table of Contents

Employment law
Immigration
Payroll and personal tax
Anti-bribery/anti-corruption
Data privacy
Duty of care
Works Cited

Employment law

The legal requirements for employment in a foreign country are crucial for any global mobility program. For Australia, there are 69 entries in the employment policy section. There are also 80 documents regarding conditions of work, 75 for conditions of employment, 238 for occupational safety and health, and 161 for migrant workers (Australia). From the sheer number of laws and regulations in this sphere, it appears that the legal standards in Australia are high.

Immigration

Managing the immigration compliance of employees working abroad can be challenging, as the lack of proper organizational control introduces a greater risk of violation of some regulations. When using apps like Weichert, the company can easily track the employee’s status (Weichert Workforce Mobility). The worker can receive convenient notifications when they need to renew their visa or if there is a chance of some other misdemeanor. In case of an emergency, such apps can allow HR to locate and contact employees quickly.

Payroll and personal tax

The Australian tax treaty with Canada seems to be aiming at improving the efficiency of taxation between the two countries. The first issue mentioned in the document is avoiding double taxation, which is beneficial for companies sending workers abroad, as it guarantees that they will pay a reasonable income tax (Consolidated Convention Between Canada and Australia). The agreement also includes measures on preventing fiscal evasion, which is not relevant for a company that is not involved in such practices.

Anti-bribery/anti-corruption

Corruption and bribery are problems that cannot be taken lightly, and as such, many countries require businesses to implement policies to prevent these illegal activities. Most corporations tend to have a uniform compliance mandate for all workers regardless of the country, so it is important to estimate the inherent risks for each new region. Australia has a corruption perception index of 77, which is close to Canada’s index of 81 (Index 2018). Judging from this data, there should not be too many difficulties with using the company’s current policy in Australia.

Data privacy

Neither Canada nor Australia are members of the European Union and do not have to comply with GDPR’s data security policy; nevertheless, it is advisable to minimize data breaches. One way of achieving that is through not storing any information that is not necessary. GDPR also recommends taking data protection into account during every stage of development and use of any product (GDPR checklist for data controllers). It is also advisable to store data in a secure manner and use encryption where possible.

Duty of care

In addition to the logistical and legal challenges of moving an employee to another country, it also presents the task of preparing them to live and work in a new culture. To adapt to a new environment, the worker will need cultural training; however, it is best if a person already possesses organic experience from working in or traveling to the target country. If experienced workers are not available, similar results can be achieved by incorporating storytelling into the training (The 5 Key Aspects of Cross Culture Training).

Finally, a good way to familiarize the workers with the communication style of a different nation without much stress is to invite a foreigner to teach them about it. That way, the employees will receive the same information as they would with regular courses, but with the added bonus of practicing in conditions that are somewhat closer to reality. Regardless of the type of training, it will likely be successful, as the differences between Canadian and Australian cultures are not drastic.