International HR Adviser Autumn 2015

Autumn 2015 ISSuE 63 FrEE SubScrIptIon oFFEr InSIdE

The Leading Magazine For International HR Professionals Worldwide

Advisory Panel for this issue:

International HR Adviser

Features Include:Global Mobility - A Competitive Advantage For International Business

Thinking Global: Global Agility And The Development Of A Global Mind-SetNavigating The Minefield Of Global Immigration

Global HR Interview - Disaster RecoveryInternational Pensions Plans: Dispelling The Myths • Global Taxation

Flexible Working: Keeping Talent And Building BusinessCommuters: Complexity, Compliance, Cost, Cultural Aspects And The Shrinking Work Week

ExpatriatE advisEr Summer Autumn intErnational Hr advisEr

1CONTENTS

Autumn InternatIonal Hr advIser

In This Issue

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information contained in this issue of “International HR Adviser”, the publishers and Directors of Inkspell Ltd cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither the publishers of “International HR Adviser” nor any third parties who provide information for “Expatriate Adviser” magazine, shall have any responsibility for or be liable in respect of the content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or for any errors or omissions therein. “International HR Adviser” does not endorse any products, services or company listings featured in this issue.

International HR Adviser, PO Box 921, Sutton, SM1 2WB, United KingdomPublisher • Helen Elliott +44 (0) 20 8661 0186 • Email: [email protected]

Publishing Director • Damian Porter +44 (0) 1737 551506 • Email: [email protected] www.internationalhradviser.com

Cover Design by Chris Duggan

Page 2 International HR Strategy: Thinking Global: Global Agility And The Development Of A Global Mind-Set Andrew Robb & Helen Odell, Deloitte's Global Mobility Transformation Practice

Page 6 International Pension Plans: Dispelling The Myths Stewart Allanson, Zurich Corporate Life & Pensions

Page 8 Learning & Development: Smarter Corporate Learning With The 70:20:10 Framework Armin Hopp, Speexx

Page 11 Global Mobility Research: Global Mobility - A Competitive Advantage For International Business John Rason, Santa Fe & David Schofield, Murray Court Consulting

Page 14 Taxing Issues: Expatriate Terminology - Understanding The Tax Adviser Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

Page 17 Global Taxation Update Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

Page 22 Global HR Interview: Disaster Recovery – An Interview On How Ebola Has Changed Lives Across Borders Rosh Bardien, Human Resources Practitioner – Interviewed by Trevor Ford, Team Relocations

Page 26 Flexible Working: Keeping Talent And Building Business Sally Barringer, HR Manager, Unify

Page 27 Africa And Mobility Management: A Strategic Partnership Warren Bowers, adidas Group in South Africa; Olivier de Blois, Executive Relocations in Africa; Jennifer Igval, Global Consulting, SIRVA; David Enser, adidas Group, and Director of The RES Forum

Page 30 Navigating The Minefield Of Global Immigration Fiona Lam, Newland Chase

Page 33 Global Immigration Update Newland Chase

Page 36 Commuters: Complexity, Compliance, Cost, Cultural Aspects And The Shrinking Work Week Chris Denber, Chris Debner LLC – Strategic Global Mobility Advisory

Page 39 Conscious Mobility - The Impact Of Conscious Capitalism On The Way We Work Dominic Tidey, EuRA

Page 43 Recruiting And Working Globally Kim Smart, HR Specialist

Page 46 Diary Dates

Page 47 Directory

In Loving Memory of Assunta Mondello

InternatIonal Hr advIser Autumn

2 InternatIonal Hr Strategy

In our 2011 article we explored the concept of a “global mind-set” (Global Mobility: Fostering a global mind set), defining what it might mean and outlining its importance in mobilising talent to grow markets, develop leaders, enhance decision making and retain employees. Particularly for leaders in today’s business environment it is recognised as being an important asset for leading multicultural teams and serving more diverse customer groups. The article discussed the importance of global mobility in driving the creation of a global mind-set and the different methods companies could employ to maximise value. Four years on, the business environment and talent landscape have evolved, making the development and utilisation of a global mind-set amongst employees equally, if not more, critical for companies, but often more challenging to accomplish. In this article we examine the global talent trends which are shaping this new environment, current challenges, and discuss how organisations can adapt their strategies to keep one step ahead.

New Horizons Since our previous article four years ago, the business and talent landscape has evolved in ways that have particular implications for global mobility and how companies manage their global workforce: 1) The changing face of talent

By 2020 India and China are predicted to produce 41% of the world’s graduates (Financial Times: June 2014), and Millennials (born after 1982) will make up roughly 75% of the workforce (source: Deloitte: Mind the Gaps: The 2015 Deloitte Millennial survey). These changing workforce demographics mean that companies will be forced to utilise talent pools with different profiles than those they have been used to in the past. Many companies will also want to do this in order that their talent is more diverse and reflective of their changing customer base.

2) Talent hubs and skills clusters Countries and cities are beginning to act like companies – streamlining

their efforts and focusing on and investing in niche areas of expertise (The future of work: jobs and skills in 2030, UKCES: February 2014). Governments in both developed and developing nations (for example Switzerland, Singapore, Denmark) are willing to flex local legislation and in some cases provide subsidies in order to encourage investment, develop local centres of expertise and industry clusters, and attract specialist skilled talent. This creation of talent hubs based on certain skills and industries means that companies, countries and cities are increasingly competing for an emerging cadre of highly skilled “global” talent, who will work for both the highest bidder in the most suitable cultural and physical environment.

3) Workforce on demandIn contrast to a global cadre of highly skilled workers, the continuing hollowing out of the future labour force will see companies employ talent not as a stable balance sheet item, but as a resource to be used as and when required, and as a result companies will become more agile and flexible in their resourcing strategies. The use of contingent workforces is predicted to increase, with 51% of companies expecting an increase in contingent hiring in the next 3 to 5 years (source: Deloitte 2015 Global Human Capital Trends: Leading in the new world of work).

Taken together, these three trends suggest there will be a long-term shift towards a more agile and proactive approach to global resourcing: For companies this means they will be forced to tap into talent pools which are physically located outside of their key business locations in order to meet their resourcing needs. For top talent it means they can no longer expect to have a long-term career in one location. Instead they will have a “patchwork” career made up of short-term contracts or assignments based on where their skills are needed at the time, requiring them to move physically to the work or city talent hub. At the other end of the spectrum a greater use of contingent workers could lead to organisations utilising a greater

proportion of workers remotely as part of a virtual global team. At an individual level, these changes will not only necessitate increasingly frequent travel, but will require cultural adaptability, ability to easily shift between different working environments and cultural norms – in essence it requires talent with a truly global mind-set.

Barriers To Success? Yet, a global mind-set is not something immediately intuitive to the majority of people. For years, inability to adjust to the host location work and living environment has been recognised as one of the contributing factors to assignment failure. However, recent articles in the Harvard Business Review also suggest that most managers are not consciously aware of the differing reactions to the same stimulus in different cultural contexts, which can lead to misinterpretation of the other party’s actions and emotions (Emotional intelligence does not translate across borders, April 2015). Furthermore, they suggest that cultural and contextual intelligence need to be learned in the same way as a language, and like learning a language this requires sufficient exposure within that particular cultural context (Contextual intelligence, September 2014).

Based on these findings, the solution would appear obvious: to send employees on assignments to locations with a different cultural context so that they can learn to “communicate” in the cultural and emotional language of that location. And with 93% of Millennials expecting to live or work abroad at some point in their lives (MOVEguides), you would anticipate that it shouldn’t be too hard to find volunteers.

But many companies are finding that it is not quite as easy as expected. First, the emerging business environment now requires individuals to be versed in not just one, but a multitude of different cultural “languages”. Second, although new generations may expect to live or work abroad, they also expect it to be on their own terms. Third, societal changes mean that female labour participation has

Thinking Global: Global Agility And The Development Of A Global Mind-Set


3InternatIonal Hr Strategy

reached record levels, with countries such as the US seeing over a 30% increase in dual income households over the past 20 years (Department of Labor). This trend is set to continue even further with around 80% of women and 70% of men under 30 desiring a dual income marriage (The Unfinished Revolution, Kathleen Gerson, 2010). This means that fewer, rather than more, families will be completely mobile in future.

All of these challenges are beginning to have a severe impact on how companies can move their talent globally. In many cases, mid to long-term moves will no longer be an option for companies trying to expose their employees to different cultural contexts. As such, more innovative, lower cost and flexible options are required, which recognise current restrictions on long-term moves but still enable sufficient global exposure to deliver results.

High Impact Solutions Already we are seeing companies begin to use an innovative approach, which balances:i) Making use of short-term, high impact

mobility in order to enable individuals to have the experiences required to develop a global mind-set, without moving their whole family and centre

of life, together withii)Accessing and utilising the global

mind-set which may already exist in the organisation to build global teams either physically in capability centres or part of a wider virtual team.

As a result and as highlighted in our recent “Strategic Moves: 3 years on” report this will require a broader definition of global mobility to one that we term “Global Agility” – a function which enables the organisation to manage its global workforce supply/demand equation.

To keep one step ahead of this, we recommend that companies consider the following questions (figure 1), in order to develop their own innovative and balanced solutions:

By considering these four questions, companies can start to think about what interventions they will need in the near future to ensure that employees can gain the experiences required to refine and develop a global mind-set, or how they can tap into existing talent pools with a global mind-set, and ensure their talent is ready to face the ever changing global environment with an open mind.

Some examples of how leading organisations are starting to address these questions are highlighted below:

Innovation And Multiculturalism Recent research at the multinational consumer goods company L’Oréal showed that managers from multi-cultural backgrounds were particularly skilled in five key areas of management: recognising new product opportunities; preventing losses in translation; integrating outsides; mediating with management; and aiding communication between subsidiaries and headquarters (L’Oréal Masters Multiculturalism: Harvard Business Review, June 2013). Recognising the value of these skills, since the late 1990s L’Oréal has specifically recruited individuals with mixed cultural backgrounds to internationalise its management cadre and product development teams, enabling it to transform itself from a French beauty products business into a multinational organisation, with over half of its global sales in new markets outside of North America and Western Europe.

Emersion Experiences A UK headquartered luxury goods brand has successfully used “micro-assignments” to the headquarters as a means to develop a global mind-set amongst its retail managers from East Asia. Due to the importance of the brand’s image and its

Figure 1


4 InternatIonal Hr Strategy

values amongst customers in the region, it is vital that retail managers have a clear understanding of the brand’s British cultural heritage, its luxury brand identity, and their approach to customer service.

From the outside, to all intents and purposes, these micro-assignments could be considered as business trips. However, the key difference between this type of mobility and standard “business trips” is that these efforts are planned talent initiatives with a clear structure and goal, rather than a short term business need. Ranging in duration from one week up to a month, the time is used for work shadowing, on-the-job training and skills transfer, or sometimes involvement in short-term projects or general emersion experiences. The advantage of this approach is that it facilitates shorter-term development planning, limits the need to back-fill positions, and can also limit compliance exposure in some scenarios.

However, the use of micro-assignments also necessitates a change in mind-set, from seeing an assignment itself as a learning and development experience, to seeing short-term, international exposure as part of a broader learning and development curriculum, which may also include local classroom training and soft-skills coaching for example. This also requires greater collaboration between Global Mobility and Learning & Development departments, as international travel and micro-assignments need to be planned and budgeted for within the overall Learning & Development programme.

Global Teaming And Experience Deloitte itself has set up its own global development centres in its three key regions, based on “University” style campuses, in order to provide its staff with relevant international experiences. Top talent are identified globally throughout the organisation, and hand-picked to participate in global project teams at the “University”, similar to the type of international project that might feature on an MBA programme. The project teams, which are designed to include individuals from diverse backgrounds and locations, are given a specific task to complete within a designated period of time, and which runs in parallel to their normal employment duties. Physical participation in the project is spread out into multiple week-long or two week-long project workshops, which take place

at the “University”. The advantage of this approach is

that it facilitates global networking and relationship building without long-term moves, and, in the same way as the micro assignments, can limit cost, administration and compliance risks compared to longer-term moves. As talent are hand-picked for these projects they can also serve as a valuable retention tool, providing an aspirational and high profile platform for learning and development of future global leaders. In addition, the company also obtains a focused group of employees who can drive forward important projects. The intention is that by 2020, 25% of the company’s global talent will have gained international experience through such programmes which don’t involve long-term international assignments.

International Talent Hubs A leading consumer goods company consolidated and moved its international sales hubs to a fast growing international city due to its ability to attract an international workforce as well as the clustering of other companies with similar talent attraction objectives. These cluster companies have worked proactively together with both the city and national regulatory authorities to increase the city's overall international attractiveness through such initiatives as favourable personal tax rates for expatriates, the building of international schools and greater reinvestment in arts and leisure activities/events. In recognition that global mind-set and multiculturalism are successful skill sets required in international sales teams, each organisation has also created company specific international talent attraction value propositions to ensure they attract a diverse/multi-cultural workforce.

Thinking Ahead While the above examples reflect what we are beginning to see in the market today, they are likely just the first of many innovative approaches that companies will need to adopt in future to ensure their talent can have the relevant experience to help them to develop a global mind-set, whilst recognising the increasing limitations on long-term mobility. Enabling organisations and employees to build key experiences across multiple environments will help them to potentially achieve differential results but trying to balance cost, compliance, employee

support and family commitments will become an increasingly hard act to pull-off and will require careful planning and execution. Paradoxically, as well as creating global mind-set amongst employees, organisations themselves will also require a fundamental shift in both the rational and supporting model for global mobility which will need to adopt both a broader definition, approach and wider cross-functional integration in order to enable an organisation to think and act globally.

Andrew Robb Deloitte Global Mobility Transformation Practice Leader Andrew is a Partner and leads Deloitte’s Global Mobility Transformation (GMT) practice across EMEA. He has extensive experience in leading large mobility transformation projects which includes global workforce planning, mobility strategy, policy design and implementation, best practice process design, vendor rationalisation, organisation and role restructuring. Andy can be contacted at [email protected]. Or +44 20 7303 3237

Helen Odell Deloitte Global Mobility Transformation Senior Manager Helen is a Senior Manager within Deloitte’s Global Mobility Transformation (GMT) practice in Switzerland where she has extensive experience leading and managing global mobility projects in a range of industries. Her key areas of focus include programme assessment and benchmarking, strategy, policy development, service delivery structuring, process design, and global mobility talent management. Helen can be contacted at [email protected]. Or +41 58279 7303


INTERNATIONAL PENSION PLANS6

In previous articles I have looked at many of the challenges faced by HR when providing pensions and risk benefits for globally mobile employees and expatriates. These often concluded that a combination of approaches provides the most appropriate solution and this will commonly include an International Pension Plan (IPP). However, many HR professionals ignore the IPP for a number of reasons. In this article I’ll address the main objections to IPPs with a view to dispelling some of the myths that still prevail.

“IPP’s Are Not Really Pensions At All – They Don’t Have Any Tax Advantages.”What is a pension? The word usually implies some form of tax-incentivised savings plan with restrictions around when and how the accumulated benefits can be taken. For many it conjures up an image of a complex web of tax rules, regulations, lack of access and control and possibly, in some countries, a political football and unacceptable selling methods. To me, a pension is a source of income upon which an individual will survive once employment ceases, however that source of income is structured and derived. For some people it will result from the sale of a business, for some a combination of investments such as property and shares, while others will rely on a combination of state- and employer-sponsored pension plans. All of these are perfectly valid sources of income in retirement but not all attract any tax advantages and each may suffer various forms of taxation at different times, such as income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax. Yet that doesn’t faze those following their particular path to a more secure future as they believe in the investment, first and foremost. Of course, if a tax-efficient option is available it makes sense to take this path, but if, and only if, the tax advantages are not out-weighed by other factors that impact upon the likely returns or add unacceptable levels of risk.

Internationally mobile employees face a number of additional challenges when it comes to establishing a worthwhile pension. Local pensions vary greatly

from country to country in terms of the tax position, some giving relief on contributions but taxing income, others with no relief but providing a tax-free income in retirement. Importantly, though, the tax advantages are often partly or wholly negated by other factors, such as currency volatility, investment restrictions and economic and political instability. Given a choice between a local plan offering tax relief of 15% in a volatile currency, or an IPP with no relief but a strong currency, the latter can easily be seen as the least risky option.

While it’s very important to avoid decisions based solely on tax advantages, it’s also worth stressing that for some people the IPP can be a very tax-efficient way to save. If benefits are accumulating during periods of work in low-tax countries, such as the Middle and Far East, tax relief up front will be of limited importance. The IPP then offers tax-free growth, often referred to as gross roll-up as there is no tax levied by the local tax office, and with careful timing of the withdrawal of benefits any income tax liability on benefits can also be minimised. So while the IPP may not be tax advantaged, for some people, depending on their circumstances, it will be tax efficient.

“We Only Have A Few Mobile Employees, It’ll Be Too Expensive To Set Up For A Small Group.”Many employers recognise the potential benefits and flexibility of IPPs for their expatriates and globally mobile employees, but the cost of establishing a plan is often seen as prohibitive, particularly for small numbers of employees. It is true that IPPs have historically been more expensive to set up and administer than domestic plans in large developed markets, mainly due to the IPP market being much smaller and specialist and therefore lacking the economy of scale of domestic markets.

It is also true, though, that in recent years the costs associated with IPPs have fallen greatly and, while they are still more expensive than domestic plans, the difference has narrowed. This is due to a number of factors, including improved

automation of administration and investment, greater use of low-cost passive funds, the emergence of multi-employer master trust solutions that cater for smaller numbers, and general competition in the market to drive down costs. It is also important to be aware that employer-sponsored corporate savings plans will almost always be a better deal for the expatriate employee than plans available in the local retail savings market.

“We Don’t Need An IPP. We Use Home And Host Plans Or Extra Cash.”Perhaps the most frequent reason I am told that a company doesn’t need an IPP is that there are better options available, such as retention in home plans. The reality is that these alternatives will be the right solution for certain employees, depending on the nature and length of their assignment, but will be wrong for others. Consequently, this should not be a blanket approach for all mobile employees. Retention in home plans carries a number of risks and challenges, such as the possible creation of a cross-border scheme, regulatory time restrictions and providers’ inability or lack of appetite to include overseas workers (for example, in group personal plans in the UK). Host country plans face a number of concerns that can add significant risk, such as currency volatility and the factors already mentioned above when looking at tax breaks.

The cross-border risk should not be underestimated. Occupational pension plans established in one European country and with members localised in another European country must satisfy the cross-border regulations. This includes creating different country sections and meeting the local social and labour laws of each country, which may mean member materials in different languages, meeting local disclosure regulations and so on. For defined benefit plans it means ensuring the plan is fully funded at all times.

Recognising these issues leads many employers to resort to paying extra cash in lieu of a pension. A quick examination of the reasons why pensions are offered in the first place would seem to demonstrate that this isn’t a good option – the use of benefits to attract and retain skilled

International Pension Plans – Dispelling The Myths


7INTERNATIONAL PENSION PLANS

at some pace and the advent of master trusts, sophisticated blended and lifestyle funds and greater flexibility over when and how benefits are withdrawn, means that IPPs are becoming a solution available to all. As a result, HR professionals who have avoided setting up a plan due to costs and numbers of mobile employees may have options available that they have previously passed by.

employees, good social responsibility, centralised approaches to benefits for senior employees and supporting employees to plan for their departure from the company are just a few examples.

“We Don’t Want The Responsibility And Risk Of A Trust-Based Plan For A Small Group Of Employees.”While it’s not the only option available, the most common approach to setting up an IPP is under a trust – typically one established in a tax-neutral location such as the Isle Man or the Channel Islands. For some employers, particularly in mainland Europe, trusts are viewed with much apprehension. There is a perception that trusts are expensive to set up and run, and that individuals must be appointed as trustees who then personally shoulder the burden of selecting an appropriate range of investments, with the risk that employees may in the future seek recourse for funds that fail to deliver on expectations. Where alternative structures to a trust are preferred, the investment risk point still prevails, resulting in many employers opting for guaranteed funds that promise no risk at all – a concept that I challenge further below.

The reality is that trusts serve a number of very important purposes that arguably justify the costs involved. In addition to separating the plan funds from the assets of the company, and so securing them for the benefit of the plan members, trusts add an important layer of governance and assist in plan administration, especially if things go wrong. The trustees are responsible for ensuring that the funds made available are suitable for the members, but this responsibility need not fall on individuals, as the majority of IPPs are set up with professional firms of trustees, not individual employees or the sponsoring employer.

For smaller numbers of employees the cost of setting up a trust may still seem disproportionate, but the growth in master trust solutions is starting to overcome this. Yes, master trusts lack some of the flexibility of stand-alone trusts, but they do offer a low-cost way for employers to provide an IPP for small numbers of mobile employees.

I mentioned guaranteed funds earlier and these are perhaps one of the greatest myths in the pension world, especially for IPPs. Many employers, especially on the European continent, will only offer

one fund to members, one that has no risk of downside and offers an annual return that is then also guaranteed. The problem with these funds is that they hide a number of issues and are widely misunderstood. The first problem lies in understanding what the true cost of the guarantee actually is, as these funds rarely provide any information on the underlying assets and charges. Second, returns on these funds are at an all-time low and are being eroded in real terms by inflation. Third, in order to offer these funds, the insurer must match the liability of the guarantees with low-risk assets such as bonds, which in turn create a drag on performance, particularly over the longer-term. And finally, providing a guarantee adds significant liability to the insurer’s balance sheet, creating a third-party risk to the plan – any guarantee is only as good as the company that promises it.

So, is there a better approach for the employer and trustee to adopt to minimise the risk to themselves and the employee? In the US the trend is strongly in favour of target date funds. These funds seek to take the appropriate level of investment risk at the right time, reducing the level of risk as the target date approaches. Generally unavailable in the international market, a similar effect can be achieved with lifestyle or lifecycle funds, which also reduce the risk profile as retirement, or some other target date, approaches. These funds are normally the default fund, but where the member wants to be more involved in the process of selecting funds, trustees and employers can assist through the use of risk assessment tools and risk-rated fund options that maintain a particular risk profile on an ongoing basis. By demonstrating this level of support, the likelihood of future complaints is much reduced.

The IPP is developing

Stewart Allanson Zurich Corporate Life & Pensions is a leading provider of international pension plans.For more information, please email: [email protected] or telephone on +44 (0) 1242 664443.


8 LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

The 70:20:10 learning model is proving an effective tool to enable learning and development to prepare organisations around the world for the new flexible and fast moving world of work. The framework recognises that 70% of learning happens on the job, 20% is from peers, while 10% comes from formal training courses and the individual’s own reading and research.

The 70:20:10 framework for developing the workforce has gained traction over recent years as it delivers learning that sticks. Employees have always done a significant amount of learning on the job and the 70:20:10 framework takes this into account. HR, learning and development staff and line managers can all play a part in supporting the 70% of ‘learning by doing’ and the 20% of learning that comes from collaborating with colleagues, in contrast to the past focus on formal learning, which it is now recognised may account for only 10% of learning.

Embedding A 70:20:10 Learning Strategy Internationally Organisations looking to embed a 70:20:10 learning strategy on a global level are finding that, in practice, there is a requirement to deliver consistent support for it across all their territories on mobile devices, as these are the new common denominator for employees accessing learning content. Employees expect to collaborate with colleagues even while on the move, so mobile learning needs to become just as straightforward as the mobile collaboration people are used to. Many organisations that are already enabling employees to work flexibly are now also looking into how to make learning content available anytime, anywhere and on any device.

Mobile learning can play a big part in delivering on-the-job learning – the main part of the 70:20:10 approach – as it supplies learning on the job at the point of need. When a new employee needs to remind themselves of how something is done, they can look it up there and then on their tablet or smartphone. If an employee needs help filling in a form on the corporate intranet, mobile learning

can support them. Mobile learning can also deliver the latest regulatory updates, soft skills and language training to employees regardless of where they are.

The first step is to communicate the benefits of 70:20:10 learning to employees. They need to understand that learning outside of the classroom is just as important and does not simply paper over a cut in the training budget. They need to get on board with managing their own development. Many will be used to being sent on training courses, with training needs identified at an annual appraisal with managers. However, this is not effective in today’s fast-moving business world, and workers and managers should be encouraged to identify and fulfil their learning development needs on a daily basis.

Learning from colleagues and superiors is an important part of the 70:20:10 framework. Of course, much of that takes place informally on the job. This is more difficult to achieve for international organisations, where colleagues may be collaborating across borders and time zones. HR and learning and development staff will need to take an active role in promoting collaboration systems that may not be traditional training solutions but do enable colleagues to ask each other questions and share knowledge. Facilitating face-to-face meetings between colleagues in different countries can help build strong foundations for cost-effective peer development.

The Impact HR professionals looking to embed the 70:20:10 framework internationally need to plan how they will measure the impact of the learning approach on organisational and individual performance. It is a good idea to ask employees to log their learning and development under headings of on-the-job learning, learning from colleagues and formal training courses, so that they have control of their own learning and can identify skills gaps or opportunities.

The framework reduces the time it takes to provide training and also the time it takes to translate that training into business impact. In addition, HR in international enterprises has a key role in

helping colleagues develop the language and communication skills they will need to collaborate and learn effectively. A global communications strategy should underpin all learning and collaboration – a common business language will help colleagues communicate smoothly across borders with fewer errors and misunderstandings.

Learning at the speed of business should improve business agility and enable the organisation to create the teams they need at short notice. Employees who feel they are having their learning needs met through the 70:20:10 approach and have self-determination when it comes to developing their careers will be more engaged and more productive. The organisation will suffer less attrition and be well-placed to attract the best people to help it succeed in a competitive world.

Smarter Corporate Learning With The 70:20:10 Framework

Armin Hopp is the Founder and President of Speexx. Speexx helps organisations everywhere to drive productivity by empowering employee communication skills across borders. For more information, visit www.speexx.com.

The 2016Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition

Monday 8th February 2016from 10.00am - 5.00pm

Hotel Russell, Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 5BE

FREE SEMINAR PROGRAMME10.30am - Understanding Third Culture Kids

The experience of international mobility presents advantages and disadvantages for children whose routines, friendships, schools, and linguistic and cultural environments are disrupted because of the career path of a parent. With a better understanding of what these benefits and challenges are, parents and professionals working with expatriate families can help children negotiate the complexities of international relocation. This session

will draw on research to offer insights into Third Culture Kids and provide a forum for discussing strategies that can help children and their families embrace the exciting positive and life-changing advantages that can be gained while growing up abroad.

Hosted by Mary Langford whose own international journey began at the age of two, and who has worked with international schools and families as an educator, researcher, writer, speaker, independent consultant and trainer for over 35 years. She is currently Director of Admissions for Dwight London School and Director of Langford International Education Consultancy Ltd which is providing support in 21 mother-tongue

languages to students in international schools worldwide.

11.15am - Dual Career and the Importance of Creating a Powerful NetworkUnderstanding the importance of networking is essential to succeed in any business. The rules and styles can be unique to the UK and can pose

a challenge to dual career families as they relocated. Join FOCUS who will share effective networking advice and tips to help overcome these challenges and will uncover how to take full advantage of any networking situation in the UK.

12.15pm - Tax SeminarThis seminar will cover tax issues that affect expatriates living and working in the UK, and will highlight issues that expatriates need to know about

in order to keep their finances in check. Topics that will be covered include Federal and State Tax Return Preparation and Filing, FBAR filing (reports of foreign bank and financial accounts) and bringing expats into IRS compliance.

This seminar is hosted by Roland Sabates, a tax attorney and Director of Operations for H&R Block’s Expat Tax Services business. Roland has a wealth of experience in international tax preparation and helping clients navigate through their unique tax situations that exist as a US expat. His area of specialisation is resolving international tax issues for individuals and small business owners, such as FBAR and foreign information

reporting, IRS voluntary disclosure programme participation, and US taxation of foreign trusts and retirement arrangements.

1.15pm - UK Immigration Update & ComplianceFerguson Snell will present an overview on the effects of the recent policy changes, the results of the recent MAC survey on Tier 2 migration and skilled labour shortages, as well as the possibility of a skills levy on sponsor organisations and the effects of increased costs in bringing migrant

workers to the UK, including the NHS surcharges for Tier 2 ICT assignees. We will also cover compliance and due diligence in running an efficient corporate immigration programme in today’s competitive market.

2.15pm - Building a Strategic Vision of Global Mobility for Your OrganisationThis session will explore that challenge from a new paradigm; how would the focus and priorities of a mobility leader change

if that role was truly in the C-suite? As much as any enterprise process, effective cross-border deployment relies on working across functional silos. Mobility leaders orchestrate across HR specialties in talent, reward and business HR as well as Finance, Accounting, Payroll and Tax, all in support of business strategy. This session aims at developing an enterprise approach that considers all the priorities and stakeholders in this complex and

strategically critical endeavour. Presented by Deloitte LLP.

3.15pm - Key Trends In Global MobilityAndy Piacentini will explore some key emerging themes from research within the RES Forum and their membership of 750 mobility professionals.

The presentation will focus on policy, workforce planning, talent and the future of the mobility function. Hosted by Andy Piacentini, Standard Life & RES Forum.

4.15pm - Documenting Expatriate RewardJuliet Carp, employment law specialist at Dorsey & Whitney (Europe) LLP, and author of “Drafting Employment Documents for Expatriates” will explore tips and traps associated with documenting expatriate reward. With a focus on risk reduction, discussion will cover areas such as retaining discretion; links to policy documents; variable remuneration; documenting high value benefits such as housing, schooling, pension and share plans;

and approaches to tax equalisation.

If you would like to register for any or all of these free seminars, please email [email protected] with the times of the seminars you would like to attend.

We look forward to seeing you there!


11GLOBAL MOBILITY RESEARCH

Despite the stop/start nature of the global economic recovery, one thing that is perennially on the agenda of CEOs and HR leaders is the war for talent. McKinsey in their latest Quarterly Review(1) suggest that ‘progress towards globalisation’s new era will be uneven for economies and companies alike’. Knowledge in the new intangible assets world will certainly mean power. In the digital global age there will inevitably be a demand for new breeds of talent – emanating from both emerged and emerging countries. The following is an excerpt from the Santa Fe report written by John Rason and David Schofield.

Respondents in PwC’s Survey ‘Moving People with Purpose’(2) report that 89% of organisations plan to increase the number of internationally mobile workers in the coming two years. This resonates with the findings of the Santa Fe Global Mobility Survey Report(3) that there was optimism about the growth in internationally mobile employees. Significantly the consulting and professional services sector were particularly optimistic – supporting McKinsey’s view that cross-border trade will increasingly be underpinned by knowledge-based products and services.

Given this situation, how can international businesses secure competitive advantage and increase their chances of profiting from the new global digital age?

We believe that a modern, flexible and responsive global mobility programme can create the platform for international businesses to achieve a competitive edge, at a time when the demand worldwide for products, services and skilled people is growing.

This white paper gives practical advice on how your global mobility programme can meet the changing needs of your business and employees. It covers the crucial area of assessing return on investment (ROI), including an attempt to explore how “big data” might, in future, help in tackle this difficult task. Finally, we look at how best to make the case to top management that global mobility can help give the business a competitive advantage.

The Economic Landscape – A Variable Economic Upturn After recent ups and downs, overall economic activity around the world is picking up. The World Bank expects overall world economic growth to increase from 2.8% last year to 3.5% in 2016, with the growth rate for developing countries increasing from 4.8% to 5.5% over the same period.(4) PwC has reported that business surveys for the services, construction and manufacturing sectors suggest that activity “should continue to grow at a healthy pace”.(5) Another report said that “the increase in cross-border activity and buoyant public markets promise a surge in mergers and acquisitions activity as investor confidence increases”.(6) The Goldman Sachs World Economic Outlook 2015(7)

points to an acceleration of global growth, therefore businesses will continue to send their leaders to emerging markets and these leaders will become the board level employees of the future. According to the Goldman Sachs GDP global and regional (year on year) forecast (estimates and forecasts based on November 19 2014), world GDP growth is expected to be 3.4%, Emerging Markets at 4.9% and the Developed Markets at 2.2%.

Competition For The Best And Brightest Against this more positive economic background, the competition for the best and brightest people is intensifying. A 2014 Recruitment Employers’ Confederation/KPMG report showed that the number of vacancies in the UK was rising at the highest rate in more than 15 years, as employers cannot get enough skilled staff.(8)

Indeed, this shortage of skilled people is a worldwide phenomenon: Laszlo Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, has declared that “we must recognise that the search for the best talent is a race that takes place at the global level. Companies across the world are competing with one another to attract the brightest people”.(9) The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey (Q1, 2015) highlights that global hiring plans (year on year) are: 48% stronger,

26% relatively stable, 24% weaker, with the top five countries predicting net high employment outlooks as: India (+45%), Taiwan (+43%), New Zealand (+28%), Japan (+21%) and Turkey (+20%).(10)

This competition means that employers appear confident they will see more international assignment activity in the future. Santa Fe’s latest Global Mobility Survey(3) has reported that 2014 is the first year in which expected net growth in assignment numbers is higher than actual net growth in the previous year, thus breaking the trend for cautious predictions on future activity levels.

The global “search for the best talent” is on the agenda of national governments. Some governments are developing schemes both to attract foreign talent and to encourage home-grown talent to stay in the country. Worldwide ERC, the global association for workforce mobility, has noted the “growing support in (US) Congress for increased high-skill immigration to the US”.(11) On the other hand, governments (sometimes responding to political drivers) can put obstacles in the way of talent mobility: as noted in the Financial Times article “Visa curbs on highly skilled migrants hit UK talent pool”.(12) International bodies such as the World Economic Forum do their best to counteract protectionist arguments, and those of us working in the global mobility industry have a part to play in promoting the benefits of international mobility.

The rising number of mergers and acquisitions has implications for the global mobility function. From the business perspective, the global service delivery models (centralised/decentralised) might differ, and suppliers might need to be re-assessed. Communication with international assignees is particularly important in mergers and acquisitions situations, to answer their inevitable questions, such as, "What about my repatriation plan?" "Will my package be affected?"

Global Mobility – A Competitive Advantage So we have competition between companies and between countries for

Global Mobility – A Competitive Advantage For International Business


GLOBAL MOBILITY RESEARCH12

talented people, with cross-border movement being sometimes helped and sometimes hindered by the policies of national governments. Moreover, HR and talent mobility leaders always have to bear in mind the perspectives of their CEOs and Finance Directors: global mobility costs money, and there are many other demands for investment funds.

This is a challenging backdrop, but we believe that global mobility can play a key role in giving your business a competitive edge. As well as our experience in corporate, consulting and service provider roles, there is solid evidence from the field to back this view. A recent report by Michael Dickmann, Professor of International HR Management at Cranfield University, highlighted how important it is for companies which want to succeed internationally to attract, develop and retain the right resources.(13) HR leaders have gone on record on the subject: Ben Bengougam, VP HR at Hilton Worldwide, said that almost every candidate he saw wants to travel(14); and Dennis Finn, Global HR Leader for PwC, has declared “Our people want to travel the world. So, rather than let them leave for another organisation to achieve this, we offer our people the chance to travel while staying with PwC”.(15)

Also, it can make economic sense to re-deploy people who are already familiar with the objectives and culture of a global organisation, as opposed to recruiting new staff who will take time and money to train. This is particularly true where there is a need to respond swiftly, for example to a new market opportunity.

Four Key Success For Global MobilityA "business as usual" approach to global mobility, relying on conventional secondments from home base to overseas locations and back again, will not be enough to meet the demands coming today from both the organisation and individuals. So, to give a business a competitive edge, we advocate a modern, flexible approach to global mobility, with a practical "keep it simple" focus by HR and talent mobility leaders on four key success factors.

Conclusion At the 2014 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s annual international conference, CIPD CEO, Peter Cheese, highlighted in his opening address that for HR to be invited to the top table, they have to deliver their

value proposition using language that the CEO will understand. For example, talking about conducting employee engagement programmes and surveys without demonstrating the payback and commercial ROI (and the empirical research that supports the metrics) is likely to be seen as another ‘HR fad’.

The same could be said for the Global Mobility function. As we’ve indicated in this paper, the ongoing ‘war for talent’ presents not only a challenge but also an opportunity, provided the function can indeed talk the CEO’s language. Will Global Mobility leaders and teams, supported by flexible providers, reach beyond the effective management of operational processes (essential though this is), to the prize of a role as a valued partner in key strategic talent and business planning decisions?

References: 1. McKinsey Quarterly: 2014 Number

4: Harnessing the power of shifting global flows, McKinsey Quarterly No4 2014, (pp32 to 41)

2. PwC: Moving People with Purpose – Modern Mobility Survey 2014 (p4)

3. Santa Fe – Global Mobility Survey Report, 2014

4. World Bank – World Economic Prospects, June 2014 edition

5. PwC – Economic Outlook, July 2014: Prospects

6. Who’s Who Legal – Research: Trends and Conclusions: Mergers & Acquisitions, 2014

7. The Goldman Sachs World Economic Outlook 2015: www.goldmansachs.

com/our-thinking/outlook/2015/index.html#forecast

8. Recruitment Employers Confederation/KPMG – Jobs Survey, 2014

9. World Economic Forum – Talent Mobility Good Practices, 2012

10. Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Q1 2015

11. Worldwide ERC – Mobility magazine, September 2013

12. Financial Times, 3 July 2014 13. RES Forum – Key Trends in Global

Mobility, 2014 14. Quoted in People Management,

August 2014 15. Quoted in Les Echos, July 2012

John Rason, Head of Santa Fe Consulting Services As a Fellow of the CIPD, John is a recognised thought leader and speaker on strategic International HR, Talent Management and Global Mobility. John has 14

years consultancy experience and has previously held senior HR roles at Cable & Wireless, Canon, Convergys and GEAC Software. John is an International HR Professional who works with global mobility departments to help develop their mobility programmes. John has personally undertaken senior HR international assignments in Saudi Arabia and Latvia and holds a master’s degree in Managing Human Resources. Visit www.santaferelo.com

Receive the full version of the 8 page report by emailing [email protected] or via link:

www.santaferelo.com/knowledge-bank/Making-Global-Mobility-a-Competitive-Advantage


taxing issues

This article follows on from the summer 2015 edition of International HR Adviser. Continuing the theme; you were busy working when your HR director called to tell you that you needed to deal with expatriate issues relating to an employee who is to work in another country. They are due to start in the next two weeks and the HR director is off on holiday. You have already talked to the individual and now it is time to talk to the tax adviser in order to take matters forward.

If you are new to dealing with expatriates, the terminology used may appear to be a totally different language to that with which you are familiar. This article looks at some of the terminology and aims to help you understand why the adviser is asking you so many questions. As ever, different meanings and terminology may be used within your own company and by tax authorities and advisers around the world.

Assignment Recap A quick recap… The individual has told you that they are going on an assignment of 6 to 12 months with a possible extension and they are remaining employed in the home country. They will be paid various assignment allowances and tax equalisation will apply. You have now drafted out the assignment letter, wanted an idea about the tax implications and have now called the tax adviser. You manage to get them to talk through the issues.

The initial questions from the adviser are aimed at gathering sufficient data about the assignment, the individual, the assignment package and the aims of the company. Once we have an overview we can start to advise on the potential implications, the possible alternatives and the next steps.

Residence And Domicile Status And Other Determining Factors Tax is usually based on a variety of factors which may include the residence status, the domicile status, centre of vital interests, and the place of performance of the duties. As a consequence you will be asked many background questions.

Residence Status – individuals who are

resident in a country may often be subject to taxation on their worldwide income. Non-residents are usually only subject to taxation on income arising in the relevant country. It is therefore essential to ascertain whether an individual will be tax resident or not. In many countries, residence status is based on one or a combination of the following:

A numerical days test •The availability of a permanent home •Intentions about the individual’s •presence in the country Registration for immigration purposes •Nationality •Employment by a governmental/state •organisation.

The days test is usually based on whether the individual will be in the country concerned for 183 days or more. You do need to check whether the 183 days are restricted to a single calendar year or tax year or whether the period can span years, for example Germany. Do remember that most countries tax year is based on the calendar year, but as ever there are exceptions such as India, Australia and the UK.

The permanent home factor is not always restricted to one which the individual owns. A ‘permanent home’ can be rented accommodation or potentially the same hotel room or a room always available with a family member. An assignee’s intentions may also play a part in determining the residence status. Registration status with the local municipality, police authorities or residence status for immigration purposes, can also influence the residence status. The nationality of the individual may be a determining factor, for example, US citizens are taxable on a worldwide basis. Employment by a government organisation or state authority usually leads to continuing taxation by that organisation or authority. You do need to check the rules applying to the assignment country as determining factors for residence status will vary.

Domicile Status – is used by a few countries, for example the UK, in determining taxes. Domicile usually has a degree of permanence and temporary absence may be insufficient to avoid continuing taxation. The status may

focus on where the individual was born and where they usually live.

Centre Of Vital Interests – This test is often also associated with treaty claims. It looks at the wider connections to a particular country such as where the family is located, where are the business ties such as the place of work, the employer and where are personal ties such as investments and property?

Place Of Performance Of Duties – In general, taxation is based on the physical location of the performance of duties and not on the actual work being undertaken. For example, if you are sitting physically working in Germany, then even though you may working on a project for a Spanish company this is work in Germany.

Do remember that even though the individual may not be resident for tax purposes in the country a tax liability may still arise there. The general rule applying is that an individual working in a country is subject to taxation there unless a double taxation treaty will apply to allow tax exemption.

Please be aware that certain countries, for example Switzerland and the US, operate both Federal and State or Cantonal taxes. Municipal and City taxes may also be levied in other locations. The various subsets may also have slightly different resident definitions and/or taxation rules.

The tax advisers’ guidance will focus on ascertaining original intentions so that key dates and cut offs can be identified. Deferring, accelerating, curtailing and extending an assignment can have a material impact notwithstanding the fact that mere days may be involved. The adviser will provide guidance as to whether or not the individual will be resident in a location, what that means, and potential tax breaks that may exist. Background information about the individual including information such as the length of assignment, the accommodation available, the whereabouts of the family, the employer and place of performance of duties, are essential in helping the adviser to provide best possible advice. The more information you are able to provide the easier and cheaper it is for the adviser to provide you with guidance.

Taxing Issues: Expatriate Terminology - Understanding The Tax Adviser

14


15taxing issues

Andrew Bailey is national head of human capital at BDO LLP. He has over 30 years’ experience in the field of expatriate taxation. BDO has offices in 154 countries and is able to provide global assistance for all your international assignments. If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other expatriate matters, please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Bailey on +44 (0) 20 7893 2946, email [email protected]

Income Tax With regard to income tax you need to distinguish between three different taxing issues. These being;

Wage withholding tax •Individual income tax •Hypothetical tax. •

Wage Withholding Tax – as the name suggests this represents a withholding from the wage as advance payment towards the individual’s income tax liability. Examples include the UK’s Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Australia’s Pay As You Go (PAYG) systems. The exact withholding mechanism will vary from country to country although usually the burden of withholding is imposed on the employer that has the use of the individual’s services whilst they are on assignment. Related monthly, quarterly and annual filings may be required by the revenue authorities. Questions from the adviser are aimed at determining who will operate wage withholding if applicable, together with an outline of the various requirements.

Individual Income Tax – tax on wages is mostly collected through the withholding system, although in some countries, for example France, it may be collected through a system of advance payments. At the year end, usually, there is the requirement for the individual to file an annual tax return. In some countries filing as a family unit is required, whereas in others spouses have to file separately. Additionally, in some countries such as the US you may get a choice. Tax liabilities can depend on family status and questions around the marital, personal status and number of children are aimed at determining the impact. The tax return is usually the reconciliation with any withholding tax deducted, with the tax return based on actual income figures and deductions/exemptions. Excess tax will be refunded or additional tax will need to be paid.

Advice provided will focus on the procedure, relevant dates and requirements, together with an overview of the tax rates and bands applying.

In addition, the adviser will review the proposed assignment package on offer to the individual to consider whether the proposed salary components and benefits can be provided more tax effectively in a slightly different manner. Provision of housing for example, is sometimes more tax effective where it is provided by the employer. The added cost, direct or indirect, of employer involvement needs

to be considered. The adviser will also seek clarification of the exact employer throughout the assignment. They will need to know whether the home country entity remains the underlying contractual employer or not. Expatriate tax concessions usually hinge on this point. Please be aware that the entity paying the individual is not necessarily the contractual employer and this often gives rise to confusion.

Hypothetical Tax – Where this applies this is not ‘real’ tax but a calculation agreed between the employee and the employer. This is usually the number on which the assignee is most focused.

Once you are aware of the differences between the three potential taxing issues, both the issues and terminology start to fall into place.

Social Security Social security liabilities can be greater than the tax liabilities particularly for the employer. As with tax it is important to know which entity is the contractual employer, the duration of the assignment and the place of performance of duties. An understanding of the family situation and personal ties is also required. Do be aware that social security definitions such as residence status may vary from those used for income tax purposes.

On provision of the data the adviser can ascertain where the social security liability will arise, the mechanism for payment and potential variations by, for example, changing the contractual employer. This may of course have tax or legal implications and immigration issues may also need to be considered.

Tax And Social Security Treaties Treaties are primarily designed to avoid dual liabilities that arise under domestic rules and to determine which country has the right to levy tax or social security and, if dual liabilities arise, which country allows the tax credit.

Tax treaties tend to follow a pattern, but all are different and you do need to look at each one in order to identify the variations. Increasingly tax treaties are designed for short-term assignments only, with 183 days being a critical factor in relation to employment income. Generally a liability to tax will arise where the individual is at the location for 183 days or more. Exemption is usually possible where the individual is at the location for less than 183 days, although issues such as the

identity of the contractual employer and the inter-company charging position will need to be ascertained.

Social security treaties generally attribute liability to just one country. Such treaties are separate to tax treaties, will have different conditions and definitions and a liability can arise in a different location to the tax liability. Social security treaties are not as numerous as tax treaties and where treaties do not exist, dual or overlapping liabilities can arise. Credit for dual social security contributions is generally disallowed and is an added assignment cost.

The adviser will let you know whether treaties will apply, the implications including how the situation will interact with the domestic position, together with how the assignment might be adapted to minimise costs.

Summary The more facts you know about the assignee and the assignment the better. This will help the adviser to guide you through the various issues and possibilities. If you do not understand the terminology or issues do ask. The adviser should be only too willing to assist you.

Having spoken to the adviser you now know what to say to the expatriate and the HR director, how to take the assignment forward, potential pitfalls to avoid, and possible variations to make it more cost-efficient. With a good adviser it is relatively easy to understand the main tax and social security issues relating to an assignment.


17global taxation

Italian, Indian & Jamaican FATCA Developments With The US

India India is likely to sign an agreement to apply FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). The FATCA rules are intended to ensure that the US obtains information on accounts held outside the US with non US financial institutions by US persons. Failure to disclose information on their US clients will result in a requirement to withhold 30 percent tax on payments of US sourced income. FATCA compliance will cover all new accounts opened by Indian financial institutions from 1 July 2014 onwards, and data will be shared with the US.

Italy Italy has now ratified the agreement with the US to assist in compliance with FACTA. Under the terms of the agreement Italian institutions will be required to report their information to the Italian Revenue Agency, which will then automatically exchange the information with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). There is also a provision for reciprocal exchange of information.

Jamaica FACTA rules have now come into effect requiring financial institutions in Jamaica to submit relevant financial information to Tax Administration Jamaica in relation to persons who reside permanently in the US or those who earn a substantial amount of their income from the US. The tax authorities will share such information with the IRS.

BDO comment The US government has increasingly sought to ensure that US taxpayers pay US tax on their worldwide income. Using FATCA, the US has now reached agreements for the sharing of information with various countries where American individuals and companies have accounts and other assets. Tax authorities around the world are following suit with similar rules in order to limit tax evasion.

New Zealand A simpler tax system New Zealand plans to introduce tax

simplification measures. The aim of the proposals is to simplify the tax system, reduce costs of compliance and utilise modern methods of communication.

Suggestions to do so include proposals to allow earlier tax refunds and also to increase the threshold for automatic tax refunds. There are plans to make employee share scheme rules less onerous by permitting employer withholding. Additionally, there are plans for greater use of electronic filing methods and online communication between taxpayers and the tax authority.

Sweden Changes in social security contributions The Swedish social security system is fully funded by employer contributions. The standard rate for 2015 is 31.42%, but reduced rates apply for certain age groups. Usually the applicable rates are set annually as part of the budget bill process. In 2015, there has however, also been some in-year changes in the rates applied for young employees, i.e. individuals born in 1989 or later.

The amended rates that have been approved by the parliament in this respect are as follows:

Foreign Exchange Rate - Which One Do You Use? On 7 April 2015, the Swedish Tax Agency

published guidance on use of an exchange rate for payments such as salaries, pensions and other forms of employment income received in a foreign currency.

A basic rule in Swedish tax law is the so called cash principle which implies that employment income should be considered taxable in the year the income is available for the individual. The cash principle is defined in Swedish tax law however it is not specified how employment income in a foreign currency should be converted to Swedish kroner.

The published guidance states that when a Swedish tax resident receives a payment related to employment income or pension, the payment should be converted for tax purposes into Swedish kroner by using the official exchange rate on the day the recipient received the payment. If the payment is not converted on the actual payment date the exchange rate set by the Central Bank of Sweden for the payment date should be used. When the payment is a periodical payment that does not vary significantly during the year, the average annual exchange rate published by the Central Bank of Sweden may be used.

United Kingdom Scottish Taxpayers Rate of Income Tax Although the Scottish electorate voted against becoming an independent country in September 2014, from 6 April 2016 the rates of income tax paid by Scottish Taxpayers on certain categories of income, including employment income, will be set by reference to a Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT).

Who will be a Scottish Taxpayer? The definition of a Scottish Taxpayer will be focused on where an individual lives in the course of a UK tax year. For the vast majority of individuals, the question of whether or not they are a Scottish taxpayer will be a simple one – they will either live in Scotland and thus be a Scottish Taxpayer, or live elsewhere in the UK and not be a Scottish Taxpayer. However, this question will not always be simple to answer.

Firstly, in order for an individual to be a Scottish Taxpayer, they must be UK resident for tax purposes. An individual who is not a tax resident of the UK cannot

Global Taxation Update

17

Employees born 1992 or later

As from August 2015 25.46%May-July 2015 10.21%Jan-April 2015 15.49%

Employees born 1990-1991

As from August 2015 25.46%Jan-July 2015 15.49%

Employees born 1989

As from May 2015 31.42%Jan-April 2015 15.49%

Other age groups who are subject to special rates, but who not affected by the in-year changes:

Employees born 1938-1949 10.21%

Employees born 1937 or earlier 0%


18 global taxation

be a Scottish Taxpayer. The remaining parts of the definition are based on the location of an individual’s sole or main place of residence. If they have one place of residence and this is in Scotland, they will be a Scottish Taxpayer.

Individuals who have more than one place of residence in the UK will need to determine which of these has been their main place of residence for the longest period in a UK tax year. If this is in Scotland, they will be a Scottish Taxpayer. For example, if an individual with a single place of residence moves house into or out of Scotland part way through a UK tax year, whether they will be a Scottish Taxpayer in that year will depend upon which house is their main place of residence for the longer amount of time.

Individuals who cannot identify a main place of residence will need to count the days they spend in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. If they spend more days (midnights) in Scotland, they will be a Scottish Taxpayer.

An individual who meets the definition of a Scottish Taxpayer will be a Scottish Taxpayer for a whole UK tax year.

What will be the Scottish Rate of Income Tax? The main UK income tax rates in the UK are currently: basic rate 20%; higher rate 40%; and additional rate 45%. Using these rates as an example each will be reduced by 10% making the basic rate 10%; the higher rate 30% and the additional rate 35%. The Scottish Parliament will then set a single rate which will be applied across the three reduced rates giving the Scottish Rate of Income Tax.

That is to say, if the Scottish Parliament sets an income tax rate of less than 10%, this would mean that the main income tax rates for Scottish taxpayers would be less than for taxpayers elsewhere in the UK. For example, if the Scottish Parliament sets a rate of 9%, the Scottish basic rate would be 19%, the Scottish higher rate would be 39% and the Scottish additional rate would be 44%. Similarly, if the Scottish Parliament sets a rate of 11%, the Scottish basic rate would be 21%, the Scottish higher rate would be 41% and the Scottish additional rate would be 46%.

Practical Considerations HMRC will be issuing more guidance to individuals nearer the time on whether or not they will be Scottish Taxpayers. They

should also be specifically contacting individuals who, according to their records, are likely to be Scottish Taxpayers.

If an individual pays tax through Pay As You Earn (PAYE), HMRC will tell their employer whether or not to treat the individual as a Scottish Taxpayer. For Scottish Taxpayers, HMRC will issue PAYE tax codes prefixed with an ‘S’. This is aimed at helping to reduce the burden of employers needing to determine the status of individual employees. All payrolls must operate the Scottish rates of income tax for Scottish Taxpayers, regardless of where the employer is based.

BDO Comment Companies are going to have to be able to identify those employees considered Scottish resident and update their payroll systems to account for the Scottish Rate of Income Tax. Going forward we could also see further devolution with the Scottish and UK systems moving further apart.

Pension Schemes - HmRC Significantly Reduces Number Of Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (Qrop’s) From Their Qrops List HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has removed thousands of schemes from its list of recognised overseas pension schemes due to concerns over rules around early access to funds.

The list, which was initially suspended, has since been republished with significant reduction in the number of recognised overseas pension schemes. The number of schemes on the June 2015 list was approximately 3,800, but this has now fallen to under 700.

Australia had around 1,600 schemes •but now has oneIreland had approximately 800 but now •has less than 60Switzerland had 100 but now has one•France had over 30 but now has four •Spain had around 16 but now just has •twoBarbados now has no recognised •schemesCanadian schemes are expected to be •challenged too, as registered retirement savings plans can be cashed in partly or fully at any time regardless of age.

The changes follows new rules implemented by HMRC in April 2015, which stated that overseas pension schemes had to pass a pension age test in order to remain compliant.

To prevent pension scheme members

from accessing their pensions by transferring them abroad, schemes had to declare that they, or their country rules, did not allow benefits to be taken before age 55 unless members were affected by ill health. HMRC imposes a 55 per cent charge on any unauthorised transfers into non-compliant schemes.

Australian pension rules for example, do permit benefits to be taken early in certain hardship circumstances as well as ill health. Other countries have similar rules allowing early access. Changing the non UK scheme rules simply to meet the UK rules could adversely impact those who have no UK connection whatsoever.

HMRC would not comment on specific schemes dropped from the list.

BDO comment Pension rules in the UK have changed dramatically in the last few years with additional changes likely in the next few years too. Adding a non UK dimension to the issue merely increases complexity. Uncertainty as to the tax treatment of contributions, investments and future benefits, makes retirement planning extremely difficult. Simplification, a period of stability, and certainty of treatment, would be welcomed by all.

United States Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 FinCen Form 114 (FBAR) Due Date Changes

Date/Timing: As a result of the above Act, significant changes will be made to the due date and extension time of FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), for tax returns for tax years beginning after 31 December 2015.

Affecting: Any US persons with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, foreign bank and financial accounts with a total balance exceeding $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.

Background: Taxpayers are currently responsible for filing FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR), on or before 30 June of the year immediately following the calendar year being reported and there is no provision for extensions. As a result of the Act, the due date for FBARs will be changed from 30 June to 15 April.


19global taxation

Prepared by BDO LLP. For further information please contact Andrew Bailey on 0207 893 2946 or at [email protected]

Additionally, a maximum extension will be available for a 6-month period ending on 15 October under rules similar to the rules in Reg. § 1.6081-5. The Act also provides that for any taxpayer required to file Form 114 for the first time, any penalty for failure to timely request for, or file, an extension, may be waived by the Treasury Secretary.

Details: FinCEN requires that FBARs be filed electronically. US persons are required to file an FBAR if they have a financial interest in foreign bank accounts with an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. FBAR filing is also required by certain individual US persons even if they do not have a financial interest in a reportable account if they have signature authority over one or more reportable accounts. This may include an officer or employee of a US entity who has the requisite control over the transfer or withdrawal of funds from foreign financial accounts.

Failure to file an FBAR report may subject the non-filer to civil and criminal penalties. Penalties for a wilful failure to file can be as much as the greater of

$100,000 or 50 percent of the amount in the account at the time of the violation. Since the statute of limitations for civil or criminal violations is generally six years for FBARs, total penalties from failure to file for multiple years could be more than the value in the account.

Relief exists for delinquent FBAR filers who properly reported all income related to their foreign financial accounts on their US income tax return but who inadvertently failed to file an FBAR. Provided that these taxpayers have not yet been contacted by the IRS regarding their delinquent FBARs and are not currently under IRS review, delinquent FBARs may be submitted penalty-free.

BDO’s comment Due to increased scrutiny and the severe penalty regime with respect to failure to file FBARs, it is important for all individuals and entities to review whether there is any financial interest in, or signature authority over, accounts subject to FBAR reporting.

FREE SEmINARBuilding a Strategic Vision of Global mobility for Your

OrganisationThis session will explore that challenge from a new paradigm; how would the focus and priorities of a mobility leader change if that role was truly in the C-suite?As much as any enterprise process, effective cross-border deployment relies on working across functional silos. Mobility leaders orchestrate across HR specialties in talent, reward and business HR as well as Finance, Accounting, Payroll and Tax, all in support of business strategy. This session aims at developing an enterprise approach that considers all the priorities and stakeholders in this complex and strategically critical endeavour.

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To register for this free seminar, that is taking place on Monday 8th February at Hotel Russell, Russell Square, London,

please email: [email protected]


22 GLOBAL HR INTERVIEW

When the Ebola outbreak hit West Africa in March 2014, it affected tens of thousands of people. Families were torn apart, and any businesses that operated in the area had a real and complex situation on their hands. London Mining Plc was one such company. Operating the Marampa mine in Sierra Leone, it was not only a focal point of the local community but also added around 10% to the national GDP. Right in the middle of this crisis were the employees. I caught up with Rosh Bardien, Group Head of HR for London Mining Plc, to find out what effect this had on the company, the people and her.

How Did You First Get Involved In The Ebola Crisis?In December 2013, the first case of Ebola was recorded in Guinea but no one really took it seriously until March 2014. It came across our desks, along with a thousand other things that come across one’s desk, and no-one paid any serious attention to it, until the first confirmed case became known in Sierra Leone in May 2014. I happened to be in Sierra Leone at the time and decided to go to see Dr Sheik Umar Khan in Kenema. He was Sierra Leone’s leading virologist and he was running the Ebola programme for the country. He was a very competent Doctor, very passionate about his people, and very passionate about Sierra Leone. He wanted to make a difference. During our discussion and my site visit of Kenema, I realised that in order to help him make a difference, we needed to do a few things, mainly involving funding.

Everybody was complacent about the situation in the beginning and didn't believe that it was going to spread as quickly as it did. There was also no belief that burial practices needed to change. This was the sense I got from the Ministry of Health, the Paramount Chiefs and some representatives from the community.

When most people visit Sierra Leone for the first time, one usually visits Freetown, but as you travel further into the country,

up north and to the east, close to Kaliahun and the surrounding districts, they are surrounded by forests. It is also important to note that Sierra Leone shares its borders with Liberia and Guinea.

Essentially, what we had was a gut feeling that came to fruition, and despite our best efforts to get them prepared, it fell on deaf ears. So we did what we thought we should do as corporate citizens, and that was to bring in disinfectant and personal protective equipment, and start education and awareness campaigns in the communities in the local areas surrounding the mine, and to train the frontline health workers in the local health centres. We brought in a medical specialist and asked him to go to the paramount chief to get his permission to go into the communities and do frontline training. At that point it was really just triage. It was as simple as regular temperature checks, washing hands and improving basic hygiene practices. It was a very simple basic process that we put into place. We did it for all of our employees. That was 3,500 people at the mine and we rolled it out to their family members as well. So if you work on the ratio of one employee having five dependants - that's close to 17,500 people that were reached through our efforts. What we didn't know was that the virus was spreading very quickly. What we also didn't know was that there were secret burials taking place in the Port Loko area, where we operated the mine. One of the hospitals in the area had patients with Ebola and had not declared it. Community members were not telling the authorities that they had family members that were ill, and communities were not letting people in. The viral load with EVD is highest when the person is dead. There are a lot of parallels between Ebola and HIV in the way it is transmitted. So as corporates, we handled it as we would an HIV campaign. We also formed the Ebola Private Sector Mobilisation Group, a group of eleven companies that started it originally. This informal network formed because we felt we could address the problem better, if we

worked together. We decided to combine efforts and learn from best practice, and put in place a risk management system that would work for all of us.

We put protocols in place to ensure that operations continued. At London Mining, we didn't have any isolation facilities initially. We had a hospital but it was only equipped for dealing with emergencies.

London Mining Was Instrumental In Setting Up One Of The First Ebola Hospitals In Sierra Leone, How Did That Come About?That came about because, apart from the one in Kenema, there were no other Ebola treatment centres. So we had to set one up in in Port Loko. We did a study of the hospitals in the area and how they would isolate cases of Ebola, and they weren't equipped to do it. There was a need for road grading and site preparation for an Ebola treatment centre in the iron-ore producing town of Lunsar, which would be operated by the International Medical Corps. Within hours, London Mining, with heavy equipment available, came to the rescue, cutting weeks or more from the construction process. Dawnus assisted with the providing of the equipment, so it was a joint effort. We needed to have something in Port Loko as the number of cases was increasing quite rapidly.

What Motivated You To Get So Personally Involved In The Crisis Effort?When we spoke to Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organisation, we were asked not to leave. This was in August of last year. When I spoke at the United Nations General Council Meeting in September 2014, we were asked not to leave. In order not to leave, we had to make it safe to stay, which it wasn't. We employed expatriate staff. My portfolio, as well as looking after national staff, included expatriate staff. I had to get involved personally because our business wasn't going to

Disaster Recovery – An Interview On How Ebola Has Changed Lives Across Borders


23GLOBAL HR INTERVIEW

survive if we couldn't move people in and out of the country and keep the roster system going. We needed the skills in the country to operate the mine. We had to bring people from South Africa, Canada, America, Australia and the UK safely into an affected country. There were also a lot of restrictions placed on us, not just London Mining, but all companies, such as increase in insurance costs and travel restrictions. A lot of flights were just unilaterally cancelled, without consultation. The personal involvement and passion was because people were dying and the trigger point of realisation for me was when I got a call from the former Minister of Health, that my friend, Dr Khan, had died. When we had learnt that Dr Khan tested positive for the EVD, I had offered to have him medically evacuated to Germany and we were involved in getting all of the approvals with the German government but it didn't work out. I was hurt, and it was also a moment of realisation that if we didn't do something differently, then we going to lose a lot of people.

How Well Do You Feel The International Community Responded?The issue at first was that it felt like no one was listening. I was finding it difficult to get people to actually listen. It was only when we wrote a pledge and got sixty one CEO's to sign it that I felt we got the media attention away from focusing on just the deaths, to focusing on the fact that we needed help and quickly. The WHO claimed that they were working on a solution but we weren't seeing any action or results. All we were hearing about were flight restrictions, so people were getting very anxious. I had to pull out a lot of expatriates because those countries said that they would not allow their people to stay in Sierra Leone. We had to keep the mine running, but we also had to get people out because their countries had instructed us to do so. This meant dealing with the flight restrictions. We had no medical evacuation solutions so we had to innovate on a daily basis. One of those solutions were the charter flights. We had to negotiate with the Ghanaian Minister of Transport to allow us to put in the air bridge, which he did. I publicly thanked the President of Ghana at the House of Commons last year. This allowed us to charter planes in and out of Ghana. The contradiction was that we were asked to

stay, but not given any support. There will be another crisis coming along. It may not be Ebola, it may be something different, but let’s not do those same things again.

How Do You Feel The Reaction Was From The Government In Sierra Leone?The original reaction was that they just wanted money, mainly because the health system was in a very poor state. They had no equipment, logistical solutions or medical drugs. A very poor starting point. Any other illness such as Malaria, Flu or Cholera was not being treated because all hospitals suddenly had to become Ebola treatment centres. So the initial reaction was slow, but when the President got involved and appointed the presidential task team, lead by Professor Monty, things started moving. The President put in place a quarantine which seemed like a drastic measure, but needed for containment. It generally worked, although there are still cases and unsafe burial practices. It did allow us to reduce numbers quite quickly. The numbers peaked in December and then in January, they disappeared. The curfews imposed had a huge impact on morale and the economy of the community. We put in place psych-social support through the British Red Cross, as well as safe burial practices. The private sector was involved in providing all the gloves, disinfectants, soaps and expertise. The WHO provided teams of people under the leadership of the Special Envoy to the UN. We worked with the Global Ebola Response Coalition to look at contact tracing. The government replaced the health minister and appointed the deputy health minister in her place, and under his leadership a lot of things did change. So our focus then shifted from Ebola response to Ebola economic recovery. London Mining was one of the first companies, with GIZ to come up with an economic recovery plan, called Regrow. It would create 8,000 jobs, if it did go ahead. It did get the backing of the German government and funding from the African Development Bank. A lot of my time this year has been spent getting that project to implementation stage, as part of the EPSMG. It has been presented recently in New York at the United Nations Ebola Recovery Conference. It is my understanding that it did not get the necessary support quickly for it to have made an impact by now.

What Are Your Feelings About The Media Coverage That The Crisis Received?Originally, the media coverage was scary. We put a huge amount of effort into talking to the media about how they should be messaging Ebola and they did come on board. Around September to October, the media changed their messaging to create less concern and panic with the family members. We pushed very hard to change that perception and put out just the facts. We also tried to get them to help with the rules around flight restrictions. That didn't work, but we did try. Ships wouldn't enter the country so even if you produced iron ore, as London Mining did, you couldn't get it out. That had to be one of the biggest impacts on businesses. Coupled with the fact that the iron ore price just crumbled. Once again, we had to manage the situation as it arose, and we provided clearly documented protocols to the shipping companies to provide the necessary comfort to get the ore onboard.

How Much Of A Part Did That Have To Play In London Mining's Financial Situation And Difficulties?Iron Ore was the main reason that London Mining wasn't able to sustain itself. Coupled with the fear around Ebola, we couldn't get investors into Sierra Leone. The timing was bad. We couldn't get people into the mine to invest. The iron ore price kept falling, and in order to produce we needed to increase costs, because we needed to get charter flights in to transport employees from Ghana into Lungi. We needed to get donations to the government for treatment centres so our operating costs were increasing and our selling price decreasing. We were losing money per tonne. That coupled with the fact that there was a takeover as well. We had a number of issues to deal with that at the same time and it took my focus away from Ebola to the contractual requirements through the transition. Timis, who took over the company, didn't believe in the safety protocols we had set up and so a lot of that got stripped away.

That Must Have Been Challenging To Go From A Mindset Shift Of Tackling The Crisis On The Ground To A


24 GLOBAL HR INTERVIEW

Rosh Bardien has almost two decades of experience as a Human Resources practitioner, of which the last 10 years have been spent holding the number one HR position in international junior mining companies. She has played an instrumental role in setting up the full spectrum of human resources functions in companies and has operated in multiple jurisdictions. In addition to her HR duties, Rosh has taken a personal interest in the Ebola early response efforts and economic recovery plans in the affected countries. The group, EPSMG, that she provides thought leadership for, in addition to managing the Secretariat, is a well-known internationally recognised network of private and public sector companies, who have been represented at forums such as United Nations General Council, World Economic Forum, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Global Compact. In her spare time, she supports fund raising campaigns such as UnitedAgstEbola, Street Child, Gift of the Givers and the Red Cross.

Corporate Takeover Situation, Without Buy In To Your Efforts, How Did You Cope With That?We had meetings to explain why the safety protocols were essential to be maintained. In order to move expats from one country to another we had to maintain the charter flights. In a way logic prevailed in the end, and they retained what London Mining had started, but not for long. The new leadership were not entirely pleased with our Ebola protocols. Timis did away with the protocols by January 2015. Its view was that malaria was a bigger risk than Ebola. My concern was that Port Loko had a huge number of cases and bending the curve should have remained a priority. I chose not to work for Timis, but to continue on the journey that the EPSMG had created.

In What Ways Has This Experience Changed You As A Person?I think it made me tougher, and able to stand up and fight for the little people. I think it has made me do that a lot more, with a stronger voice. I've been able to do it because I've been lucky enough to be able to talk to Justine Greening and Nick Clegg, and to work with OCHA, UNGC, Save the Children, DFID, MSF, GERC and the BRC. So it has given me the confidence to know that anything is possible if you try. To help Sierra Leone to get its country back to where it was, with a growth rate of 7%. The other parts are that it has been sad for me, to lose London Mining, having put a lot in. I left my home country to come here and build that business successfully, which we did. It's left a kind of a bitterness about the way it all ended. I'm a bit heartbroken about that. With my background in coal mining and the African, Australian and South American experience, to see the situation change so drastically in three years, was unfamiliar to me. It's been a myriad of experiences for me.

What Does The Future Hold For Rosh Bardian?I want to continue with the economic recovery work we started for the three affected countries. Currently, I work for Alan Knight at ArcelorMital, and we continue to grow the international brand and legacy created by the Ebola Private Sector Mobilisation Group. It is a great

team and I am lucky to still be in mining - an industry that I love! The humanitarian work I do in my personal capacity also keeps me busy. I was involved in the relief efforts after the Nepal earthquake. In Sierra Leone, I am building a secondary school. Also in Sierra Leone, there are a lot of widows and orphans as a result of the Ebola crisis. I am working on putting in place homes and structures to get them educated and back to normal as quickly as possible. It would be great to get back into an Executive Human Resources role again soon!

The LegacyThis period in Sierra Leone's history has undoubtedly affected and will continue

to effect generations of people. Rosh Bardien continues her work to build on the legacy, which she has begun. To help the people of the region to regain stability and rebuild their lives. Perhaps, the good to come from this crisis is the ability for the people and medical professionals in the region, to be better equipped for another such outbreak, should it occur in the future. Whether the international communities response will be swifter, remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, which is that for Rosh and so many others, the journey that they have taken has lead them in a new direction and will continue to do so.Rosh was interviewed by Trevor Ford, Team Relocations.

Trevor Ford has been assisting clients at Team Relocations since June 2013 and has over 10 years of consultancy experience. Team Relocations is one of the world’s leading independent international relocation companies specialising in delivering fully integrated relocation services on a global, national and regional basis, to many of the world’s leading multinational organisations and government agencies. For further information please contact +44 (0)208 955 1311 or email [email protected]

If you would like to share your experiences in your role as an International HR professional with fellow readers,

please email [email protected] who would be delighted to hear from you



26 FLEXIBLE WORKING

With an ever more interconnected world, businesses and their employees can no longer function from a single location during any given traditional working day. Not only does the enterprise need to communicate with clients and colleagues on the other side of the world, but employees are also wishing to have a better integration between their work and personal lives. It is time organisations change the way they work to suit modern industry as well as today’s staff if they hope to retain the best talent.

Flexible Working As A ToolFlexible working can be an extremely powerful tool for the enterprise. The benefits of allowing staff to work on projects outside the office can be a huge advantage to a business's efficiency and reliability too, as happier more engaged workers are likely to deliver better service. Employees will notice the benefits also, as they integrate their work and personal life, allowing increased productivity and improving the overall moral in the office.

It does not stop there. The implementation of flexible working in the office is a huge draw to prospective applicants, especially in the UK where it is regarded as a more desirable perk than higher remuneration, according to LinkedIn. A recent survey by Censuswide, on behalf of Unify, also noted that 24% of those questioned would recommend their place of work to a friend if the organisation offered flexible working. Whilst flexible working is a great enabler for the enterprise, it is also a fantastic opportunity for recruiters and global HR departments.

Collaboration Remains A MustOne major aspect of flexible working is the importance of collaboration. If an organisation hopes to see the benefits that come with allowing employees to work flexibly, HR needs to ensure that staff are able to collaborate effectively on projects.

As staff may be working from all manner of locations, it is integral that they are able to produce the same quality of results as they would if they were together in the office. In order for teams to complete projects outside the office,

Flexible Working: Keeping Talent And Building Business

they need to be able to communicate effectively through the right technology. Without the right tools at hand through which to communicate, staff will soon struggle to complete tasks. This will not only create a strain on resources, but also decrease office morale as employees struggle to finish their work.

Primarily, ensuring staff are able to collaborate will also increase engagement with their work. The right technology will enable employees to access information, enable updates outside the office, and let them input their thoughts on work or projects alongside other team members. By being aware that their coworkers are only a message away, employees will be able to reap the benefits of flexible working and integrate their ideas rapidly and without delay.

Enabling CollaborationWhilst it may seem simple to announce that staff can now collaborate outside the office, in practice it can be far more complex. Ensuring that employees are able to, at any point, communicate with their colleagues, can seem like an insurmountable challenge, but it need not be.

Today’s collaboration technologies make this a simple task. This is of course, if the technology you choose is able to provide a platform that allows staff to combine all aspects of their work life into a single space, which will streamline processes and produce quality results. If so, staff will be able to locate their emails, voicemails and video chats on a single platform. But it need not stop there. Dynamic collaboration software providers can also offer document collaboration: allowing colleagues to work simultaneously on the same page or pick up where their co-worker left off.

Flexibility In Communication Whilst staff desire the work/life balance, and in some instances work/life integration that comes with flexible working, they cannot do it without the ability to collaborate outside the office. With the rise of superfast broadband, 4G networks and personal devices, the task of ensuring efficient collaboration across the globe is far more easier than it was ten years ago.

Nevertheless, employees still strive for a solution that incorporates their personal and working lives into a single space, allowing tasks to be completed in a café, on a plane or at home. It does not need to be a challenge to ensure that staff collaborate. As long as HR departments are aware of the ways employees are able to combine their efforts to complete a project, the change to flexible working will ensure success.

Although there exists challenges in the transition from a traditional working format into a modern way of doing business, a business can reap huge benefits from successful implementation of flexible working through choosing the right technology. If done right, staff will not only find their working environment far more appealing and engaging, but also highlight the organisation to friends. This will allow any business that employs flexible working to retain and recruit those star employees.

Sally Barringer is the HR Manager at Unify, a position held for over eleven years during which time Sally has supported all functions of Unify’s business including Ireland. Sally has been actively engaged in overseeing the company’s transition from Siemen’s Enterprise Communications to its current incarnation, providing guidance and support through HR practices ensuring the workforce remain at the heart of the business throughout this period of change.

Her responsibilities range from recruitment and succession planning, employee engagement through reward, recognition and HR Policies to change management and business transformation. Sally currently splits her time between Milton Keynes and London, providing HR consultation and improving employee relations across all sectors of Unify’s business.


27AFRICA & MOBILITY MANAGEMENT

Africa, often described as an "engine of growth," is universally viewed as an emerging global business frontier. In fact, it’s anticipated that several African countries, including Egypt, Nigeria and South China will outpace the growth of advanced economies going into next year. CEOs poised for expansion are looking to both established and emerging growth countries for their business possibilities, and Africa has their attention.

Opportunities abound for companies that develop the right workforce to fulfill a range of global business initiatives. However, a vast majority of executives express concern about the availability of key skills for their business initiatives in Africa.

Mobility presents an opportunity to satisfy the talent needs required to meet growth objectives in Africa. But the region brings a unique set of challenges along with the opportunities. Home to 54 recognised sovereign states and countries, ten territories and two de facto independent states, it is fraught with inconsistencies, infrastructure deficiencies, health and security risks and a scarcity of appropriate housing.

Regional OverviewMobility management professionals have described Africa as similar to China in terms of its regional challenges. Just as China has “Tier 1” cities which are deemed appropriate for relocating employees and families, Africa has locations that are more serviceable than others with suitable infrastructure. However, many agree that the standard of living in a number of locations is lower than Western families are accustomed.

Africa And Mobility Management: A Strategic Partnership

Even in established towns, one might find unsafe and primitive conditions right outside the city limits. There is a proliferation of languages in Africa: English and Afrikaans are prominent, but also in the mix are French, Portuguese and Bantu.

A sampling of states in Southern and Central Africa include three of Africa’s most populated countries – South Africa, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo – as well as Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Angola. This area is rich in mineral resources, so mining, oil and gas are prevalent; and strong industries also include agriculture, textiles and tourism.

In the region termed North and East Africa, some of the countries found include Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Libya and Sudan. The development of infrastructure resources brings the telecom industry into stronger focus here. Additionally, North Africa, though plagued by political instability, can deliver good growth opportunities for sectors such as retail.

West Africa, rich in minerals, is also strong in the mining industry, and includes such countries as Cameroon, Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, Liberia and Morocco. While it is seen as the new area of growth, it does not have the infrastructure that exists in South Africa. Nigeria is a largely untapped market with a massive population. Countries such as Somalia and Kenya are becoming more attractive as they benefit from good governance and have relatively investor-friendly policies.

Business Growth Drives Career GrowthAchieving sustainable global business development can only happen with a strong core of globally mobile employees willing to work in region. Fast-growing multinational companies find that driving a “people strategy” to support key individuals is important, if they are to enable the business to succeed.

This group of employees must be able to execute company strategy and have a strong understanding of such elements as the regional economy, culture, regulations and risk management. In today’s environment, adding global experience to one’s CV or resume is increasingly attractive to career-building professionals.

Because many businesses are in relative infancy in West Africa and other parts of the continent, there are some incredible career opportunities, as long as professionals who are prepared to make life in Africa work are open-minded and adaptable. Understanding how to work with other cultures and native workforces is a significant skill for global managers and leaders. Employees who relocate to African countries can gain deep experience in resourcefulness as they learn new ways of getting work completed effectively.

On a larger scale, socially conscious companies can show the impact of sustainable businesses run well, as they recruit and train locals, pay fair wages and give back to the community. The global employee, as an extension of the company, can have a positive influence on the company and in the community, leading to greater career growth and a more socially conscious leadership perspective. In addition, employees that succeed in a challenging environment like Africa often build skills that add to their career success.

Workforce Issues, Immigration and TransparencyLocal employee ratio requirements and immigration in different African countries impact a company’s approach to their growth in the region. A high

With differing levels of sophistication across Africa, the challenges of

establishing or expanding operations, depending on the country or region, can

be daunting.

North Africa, though plagued by political

instability, can deliver good growth opportunities for

sectors such as retail.


28 AFRICA & MOBILITY MANAGEMENT

value on education, training and development are necessary elements for building the local workforce. However, labour laws are not well defined and when they do exist, the laws are not well enforced. Wholesale and retail is new to these markets, so skills in virtually all of the required areas simply do not exist locally. Additionally, many senior retail people are contracted expats (generally Europeans, South Africans or Zimbabweans), resulting in a lack of continuity of workforce, which presents challenges for businesses.

Adding to the workforce challenge, immigration regulations are tightening and processing documentation is taking longer. Protectionism (safeguarding jobs for local nationals) is more prevalent and more companies are finding that they must justify the need to “import” employees with certain skills and expertise. In South Africa, for example, new regulations require a company to hire 60% locals in their workforce. Many countries have a quota of expats that, once filled, cannot be increased.

Transparency is an international imperative, and globally active companies are managing complex compliance requirements. Because these requirements can differ in each jurisdiction where the company does business, companies must have a comprehensive plan, implement a review system and undergo extensive reporting and compliance requirements or face significant government fines. Expatriate costs often can equal a substantial additional percentage of an assignee’s salary.

Laws and regulations such as The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act are positively impacting African business. In areas where business

has often been conducted through corrupt practices, companies with clearly defined global policies, transparent operations and above-board supplier relationships are steadily changing the environment for the better.

Infrastructure And HousingWith differing levels of sophistication across Africa, the challenges of establishing or expanding operations, depending on the country or region, can be daunting. Though bringing relocating employees and families to locations such as South Africa means the housing is decent, the commute to work and school is palatable, and the area may be relatively safe; other locations, like Liberia or Guinea, are far less desirable. In such cases, the company may arrange for the family to be housed in more than one location. For example, if the employee is based in an area with harsh living conditions, the family might be housed elsewhere, and the assignee would then join on weekends or holidays. Alternatively, the family might remain in their home country, or in another country close by, and arrangements would be made for the employee and family to be together multiple times during the year.

Securing rental properties for relocating employees in Africa can bring substantial financial challenges to corporations. Landlords often require payment for the entire lease term up front, which could add up to two years or more. That presents companies with a big risk, if an assignment ends early or an unsavoury landlord is encountered. In some cases, companies could find they have paid for a rental that cannot be inhabited or is not available, and cannot get their investment back. When companies are committed to a lease and their employee and family depart early from an assignment, rather than absorb the financial loss, they may place another employee in the rental or sublet it to another company for their relocating employee.

As in many emerging economies, infrastructure plays a major role in a corporation’s ability to establish and expand operations, and on the living conditions and environment for relocating employees and families. Electricity in Africa is scarce and internet capabilities are limited though regional advancements in telecommunications are helping to improve

connectivity. When measured against the size of the continent, Africa’s road density is sparse and water storage capacity requires significant expansion. As infrastructure improves, it will positively impact work and housing conditions, opening up more possibilities for locating both businesses and relocating employees/families.

Health And SecurityDepending on the location of the global assignment in Africa, the challenges can be inconvenient or significant. Some of the more serious ones include security and safety issues, and health concerns from regional and life-threatening diseases. Worries about illness are not unfounded as there are areas such as Ghana where exposure is certainly more present and alarming.

For expats who are used to advanced medical care and facilities, health services and clinics may seem inadequate and expat patients will likely be transported to other facilities if local hospitals are not equipped to handle their injury or illness.

The uneven distribution of income results in extreme poverty frequently coexisting with wealth. With such widespread poverty and unemployment, theft and property crime is common. In areas such as Johannesburg where crime is high and extortion is likely, or in locations where street signs are not present, mobility management partners frequently suggest drivers for relocating employees and families to heighten safety measures. The driver can often double as a local guide, steering the family away from questionable foods and undesirable areas.

Global expansion has the potential to bring a company diversification

and revenue opportunities, cultural sensitivity,

heightened competitive intelligence, new

management practices and enhanced talent management and

development.

As in many emerging economies, infrastructure

plays a major role in a corporation’s ability to establish and expand operations, and on theliving conditions and

environment for relocating employees and families.


29AFRICA & MOBILITY MANAGEMENT

Warren Bowers, retail director at adidas Group in South Africa

Olivier de Blois, General Manager, Executive Relocations in Africa

Jennifer Igval, Vice President, Global Consulting, SIRVA www.sirva.com

David Enser, Head of Global Mobility at adidas Group, and Director of The RES Forum, a key independent network of HR and mobility professionals. www.theresforum.com

Talent Mobility In Africa’s FutureAs African countries become more viable for global assignments and business migration into the continent increases, companies will look for more support from governments and their service partners to help build and maintain a workforce with a blend of foreign nationals and local employees. Clearly, mobility can be extremely expensive in some areas if there are two homes being sustained, if security is increased and if hardship pay is provided. A mobility management partner brings an experienced lens to the business investment that helps contain costs through the proper use of resources and expertise.

As we look toward the future, more integrated solutions are needed that address technology, changing assignment trends, immigration restrictions, housing and tenancy management. With more globalisation comes more standardisation and ever more rigid compliance demands. Exceptional service partners are adept at supporting the compliance needs of their clients.

Going forward, companies will expect more speed, more appreciation of and action on global trends, and more flexibility. Those who serve companies coming into Africa need to respond quickly and capably to more requests. The time frame to deliver on these corporate needs is critical.

Outsourced mobility management is particularly essential in parts of Africa where infrastructure and workforce consistency are scarce. Connecting with realistic, informed and expert service partners and trustworthy on-the-ground resources is important. The best scenario is a seamless team that understands the internal culture and business imperatives, appreciates the concerns of the assignee, and can pilot the company and assignee through the difficulties and possibilities of the local environment.

Companies doing business in Africa can rely on their mobility service partner for a wide range of their relocating employees’ needs, confident that the mobility partner will be setting realistic expectations, locating appropriate housing and schooling, flagging and educating on security issues and health risks, providing access to services and

reducing stress through information, assistance, language and cultural training and destination familiarisation.

Global expansion has the potential to bring a company diversification and revenue opportunities, cultural sensitivity, heightened competitive intelligence, new management practices and enhanced talent management and development. For such growth to be successful, a company must be focused on its core business. Outsourcing mobility management smooths the journey for relocating employees and families, ensures the company has the proper experts and providers at hand and improves mobility tracking and reporting. It is the optimal strategic partnership.

FREE SEMINARSMonday 8th February 2016

The Corporate Relocation Conference & ExhibitionHotel Russell, Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London

Key Trends In Global Mobility

Andy Piacentini will explore some key emerging themes from research within the RES Forum and their membership of 750 mobility professionals. The presentation will focus on policy, workforce planning,

talent and the future of the mobility function. Hosted by Andy Piacentini, Standard Life & RES Forum.

Documenting Expatriate RewardJuliet Carp, employment law specialist at Dorsey & Whitney (Europe) LLP, and author of “Drafting

Employment Documents for Expatriates” will explore tips and traps associated with documenting expatriate reward. With a focus on risk reduction, discussion will cover areas such as retaining discretion; links to policy documents; variable remuneration; documenting high value benefits such as housing, schooling,

pension and share plans; and approaches to tax equalisation.

This is part of a day’s free seminar programme, details of which can be found on page 10

If you or your colleagues would like to register for any, or all of these educational seminars, please email [email protected]


Global ImmIGratIon30

Over the years, businesses have long discussed the issue around risk and compliance, but what does it really mean? Usually, risk is associated with uncertainty and the potential for loss. In global immigration, risk takes various forms: risk of refusal of an application, denial of entry into a country, loss of business, being found non-compliant, liability for civil and criminal penalties, reputational damage and so forth.

With immigration being such a people-centric area of law, the fate of individuals and their families often lies in the hands of other individuals – immigration officers, consular officers and decision makers – this in spite of, or perhaps in reliance on, a framework of immigration law and policy that usually governs each jurisdiction. Often, immigration decisions can seem arbitrary, making the task of anticipating outcomes and managing risk more challenging, but is there in fact a discernible trend that underlies these?

Identifying patterns and trends can be a useful first step towards successful risk management. At the same time, a clear understanding of immigration requirements and compliance obligations on a corporate and personal level is key to protecting the business, and its employees, from risk.

Whilst we can never eliminate risk, we can look to identify key areas of risk, putting in place systems to monitor, manage and mitigate these.

Here, we explore immigration risks common to a range of jurisdictions and how these can be managed.

Business Visitors Short-term business visitors have long presented an area of risk for businesses. Whilst foreign workers must meet stringent criteria before being granted a work permit, business visas are comparatively easier, quicker and cheaper to obtain. This seemingly unregulated area of immigration can be an attractive option for businesses wishing to send employees for short-term work purposes. However, as the practice of obtaining business visas for work becomes increasingly prevalent, authorities are now more actively policing compliance and

unannounced immigration audits are on the rise. Countries like Russia, Australia and the UK all have an audit system whereby companies must prove they meet the obligations of the immigration rules or suffer penalties and criminal sanctions. In the wake of the recent attacks in Paris, France has also tightened their immigration rules and are introducing audits for businesses to ensure they have robust systems to track and monitor their employees.

Usually, the focus will be on directly sponsored workers but now, in addition, the authorities have turned their attention to any anomalies that crop up at audit, including agency workers, students and visitors. Employing illegal workers, knowingly or otherwise, is an immigration offence and it is on this basis that a compliance officer can challenge anyone who appears to be working on-site. These individuals can present a grey area for compliance officers and the lack of transparency can create risk for employers, particularly where the activities of business visitors go largely unmonitored and HR are removed from the activity taking place in individual departments, usually overseen by line managers. Yet accountability will still rest with the company that is permitting the illegal work on their site. In this respect, employers should focus on ensuring robust systems are in place with regard to business visitors and monitoring and tracking their activities.

Aside from the obvious risk of individuals working in breach of the conditions of their business visa, there is also the matter of overstayers to consider. Often, individuals may be granted multiple-entry visas and be unaware that there is an additional limit on their stay, which applies to each entry they make into that country. This means that although a visa may be valid for a certain period, the visa holder might be required to exit the country after a specific duration of time, re-entering to “reset” their stay limit. Other limits can be cumulative, where the visa holder may not exceed a certain duration of stay over a stipulated period of time – most will be familiar with the Schengen limit of 90 out of a 180 days. These limits are not always obvious. One

example is where visitors are granted a visa on arrival and the endorsement they receive in their passport does not specify a stay limit, leading to them unintentionally overstaying. Another common area of confusion is visas issued with Islamic dates.

In other situations, compliance may only be monitored by immigration authorities sporadically, leading to a relaxed perception of the rules until the non-compliance is detected by immigration officers and penalties rendered. As an example, in Turkey a similar limit to the Schengen zone applies. Compliance with this rule very much rests on the individual as immigration officers will not always monitor directly. In one case, an individual managed to exit and re-enter Turkey on numerous occasions after exceeding the permissible limit by double. On the last occasion that he tried departing the country, immigration officers picked up on the non-compliance and prohibited him from leaving the country. It was only possible to secure his release after the company paid a large fine. Thereafter, the issue was perpetuated by the fact that he was blacklisted and unable to re-enter the country to conclude crucial business deals, resulting in loss of business and significant inconvenience. The matter was eventually resolved through protracted negotiations with the authorities.

Reporting Obligations As many immigration systems move towards online administration, the onus is also shifting to employers to self-regulate, affording greater autonomy to businesses and, correspondingly, increased responsibility for maintaining compliance.

This type of system has been in operation in the UK since late 2008, when the Points Based System first came into being. Sponsors can issue Certificates of Sponsorships (CoS) to prospective hires but the perceived ease with which a CoS can be assigned is a potential liability as errors can be made which are not picked up until extension stage or a compliance audit.

Other countries operating a similar self-certification system include Australia and Canada. For these countries, and in fact employers across the world, it is

Navigating The Minefield Of Global Immigration


31Global ImmIGratIon

important that there is a robust system in place to monitor and track changes to workers’ circumstances, reporting to the immigration authorities where significant changes are proposed. A common pitfall is that the changes are approved before being assessed to determine whether a new immigration application may be required. In these circumstances, workers can be in breach of their existing work visa.

Quota Systems Various countries operate quota systems limiting the number of foreign hires a company is permitted. Quotas exist in many African countries as well as the Middle East.

For example, the Nitiqat scheme in Saudi Arabia imposes quotas on the number of Saudi nationals that must be hired in proportion to foreign nationals. The proportion will depend on the size of the company as well as the industry it operates in. Depending on a company’s classification, different hiring restrictions or benefits will apply.

Businesses who do not have a clear understanding of their Nitiqat obligations are at risk of being downgraded to a lower category and may even face permanent closure by the Ministry of Labour (MoL). This affects existing employees who may need to leave the country or else gain new sponsorship, and could potentially bring business operations to a halt.

In managing compliance with Nitiqat obligations, it is important to understand how “Saudisation” levels are calculated and whether additional measures can be taken to improve these. Relevant factors include whether employees are working full or part-time, are students or disabled, have previous convictions, are married to a Saudi national and the level they are paid at.

More recently, there has also been a focus by the government on exploitation of the system, whereby sponsors deliberately downgrade themselves and then recruit just enough Saudi citizens to upgrade and benefit from the requisite rewards to be able to continue running their business. Such behaviour is now being heavily scrutinised by the MoL who are starting to consider historic patterns of behaviour, looking at the broader picture and intent of the rules, rather than just compliance with basic requirements.

In light of the above, an audit of existing recruitment processes with a long-term view to compliance may be in order including revisions to company policy where necessary.

Fiona Lam is an Immigration Manager at Newland Chase covering the EMEA region. Newland Chase is a specialist immigration consultancy with over 50 offices in 15 countries. For advice on immigration compliance and risk, please call +44(0)20 7001 2121 or email [email protected].

Fraudulent Documents Recent times have seen the proliferation of fraudulent documents used in immigration applications, particularly those made from the Philippines and India. The risk posed by individuals to the company can often go unnoticed until verification checks are undertaken by Embassies once the application has been submitted for consideration. In recent examples we have seen employees obtain fraudulent attestations to qualifications which are then used to apply for visas to work in the Middle East. Employers often discover these falsities too late in the process costing them money and time as well as potential risk to their business.

Conclusion Governments across the world are moving towards an increasingly subjective immigration system. Merely demonstrating compliance with immigration requirements at the point of application is proving no longer to be sufficient. Immigration authorities will assess a wider range of factors, including historic behaviours, in deciding the genuineness and credibility of an application. For the longevity of a business, risk management therefore goes beyond meeting basic requirements and, instead, taking a pro-active stance and long-term view to ensuring ongoing compliance. It would be prudent for companies to seek advice and guidance at an early stage and particularly find workable solutions to manage their business visitor population with full visibility of where employees are travelling to and how much time they are spending in these locations.

FREE IMMIGRATION

SEMINARMonday 8th February 2016The Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition

Hotel Russell, Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London

UK Immigration Update & Compliance

If you would like to register for this free seminar, which will cover an overview on the effects of the recent

policy changes, the results of the recent MAC survey on

Tier 2 migration and skilled labour shortages, as well as

the possibility of a skills levy on sponsor organisations

and the effects of increased costs in bringing migrant

workers to the UK, including the NHS surcharges for Tier 2 ICT assignees, as well as

compliance and due diligence in running an efficient corporate immigration programme in today’s competitive market,

please email [email protected]

This is part of a day’s free seminar programme, details of which can be

found on page 10

If you or your colleagues would like to register for any,

or all of these educational seminars, please email

[email protected]



33Global ImmIGratIon Update

UK Biometric Residence Permits Roll out Internationally UK Visas and Immigration started issuing Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) for non-EEA nationals travelling to the UK in March 2015, and this scheme rolled out in three phases. From 31st July, the international rollout schedule was completed which means that all applications made by non-EEA nationals from overseas will receive a BRP.

Applicants will now receive a 30 day vignette in their passport instead of the full grant of leave. Once they enter the UK, they are required to collect their BRP confirming the full length of the visa from a designated post office or an Alternative Collection Location (ACL).

The post office and 30 day travel window is determined using information provided in the application form and applicants receive a letter which provides instructions on how to collect their BRP upon the grant of their initial visa. Generally, applicants are required to collect their BRP within 10 days of entering the UK.

What The Sponsors Need To Be Aware Of? If the individual would like to start work before collecting their BRP, you must conduct the right to work check by dating and retaining a copy of the assignee’s passport containing personal details and the 30 day vignette. As soon as the individual collects their BRP, you must ensure that a repeated right to work check by ensuring that the BRP is copied, dated and retained on file.

Minimum Salary Threshold For Migrants Who Wish To Settle From 6th April 2016, new measures will be in place affecting all skilled migrant nationals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) with regards to their eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK.

The new rules intend to impose a salary threshold requirement for all Tier 2 General visa holders and Tier 2 Sportsperson switching applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain. The UK Home Secretary previously announced this measure in 2012 and has now

proceeded to put this into effect to aid in curbing the continuous rise in the immigration statistics.

All Non EEA migrants will be required to be earning a total gross salary package of £35,000 per annum if they wish to settle in the UK after 6 years. Exceptions to this apply if the migrant’s job role has been at any time on the shortage occupation or PhD occupation lists, during the preceding 5 years.

According to the Immigration Rules published April 2015, from 2016 onwards, the threshold will increase annually to steadily assist with managing and reducing net migration figures.

See the scheduled salary thresholds listed below:

£35,000 if applying on or after •6 April 2016 £35,500 if applying on or after •6 April 2018£35,800 if applying on or after •6 April 2019£36,200 if applying on or after •6 April 2020.

It is to be noted that the Government have faced significant opposition by many to the above new reforms. This is due to the fact many industries are already struggling to meet existing salary thresholds and will not be able to meet the even steeper salary threshold that is to be put in place.

Due to this controversial development, many employers may now struggle to retain their trained and skilled employees for the long-term and instead be forced to employ individuals with less experience. This could further lead to a lack of skills in the many significant industries and result in employers losing their ability to remain competitive in an international market place.

New Measures To Tackle Illegal Working The UK government's new immigration bill will introduce a package of measures, one of which will be the introduction of the offence of illegal working which will carry a six-month jail sentence and an unlimited fine. New powers will provide for temporary shutdown of businesses suspected of employing illegal migrants. It also means that trading licences could be removed from takeaway shops, pubs

and off-licences, which consistently fail to comply with immigration rules.

Any defence to the discovery of illegal workers is also due to change. Employers will no longer be able to state that they did not know a particular employee was not permitted to work. It will be expected by the government that employers show they carried out full and proper checks before taking on any potential employees. The maximum sentence for employers found guilty will be increased from two to five years, in addition to the £20,000 fines already in operation.

The immigration bill proposes closing businesses found to be employing illegal migrants for a period of up to 48 hours while they prove the correct right to work checks have been conducted on staff.

UKVI Plan To Revise RCoS Salary Bands UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) has announced plans to revise the number of salary bands in the points table used to prioritise applications for Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship (RCoS) in months where the RCoS limit has been oversubscribed.

The current points table uses considerably wide ranging salary bands to determine each month whether an RCoS application meets the minimum points score required in order to be granted within the annual RCoS limit. The minimum points required each month based on gross annual salary depend on the number of applications received by UKVI that same month.

In order to ‘improve flexibility’, UKVI plan to increase the number of salary bands in a revised points table. For instance, this June, all RLMT RCoS applications were required to meet a minimum points score of 50, meaning the gross annual salary must have been between £46,000 to £74,999 in order to be granted. UKVI explain that under the revised salary bands of the planned updated points table, any RLMT RCoS application with a gross annual salary of £34,000 or more would have been granted.

The prioritisation of Shortage Occupation List and PhD-level RCoS applications would remain unchanged.

While the updated points table has been laid before Parliament as a change to

Global Immigration Update


Global ImmIGratIon Update34

Kuwaiti Government have recently announced changes to their immigration processes in the hope that proper legal procedures are applied for the good of the country.

Individuals intending to enter Kuwait who have been issued with entry visas must enter the country within one month from the date of issue. Anyone failing to do so will have their entry visa nullified. Entry visa holders must therefore be extremely vigilant in planning their trip to ensure that they do not miss this deadline.

Apart from the above, there have been some stark changes to the category of persons who may enter Kuwait under the dependency route for expats. Changes are also made to limit the time to which the dependency visa is granted for.

Below are some of the key changes that will take place:

Expatriates dependency visa for parents •will stop with immediate effect but the visitor route will still be opened to par-ents of the expatsParents visit visas will now be limited to •only one month Although wife and child dependency visas •can still be applied for, the time limit will now be restricted to three months All visit visa for relatives will now be •restricted to one month.

In the meantime, the Interior Minister is also discussing further changes to the system and in particular, a review of expat fees. The proposal is likely to be submitted to the Kuwait parliament during the next parliamentary term.

SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Labour Ministry Cuts Visa Eligible Jobs In a move to reserve capacity for their internal workforce, the Saudi Arabian government has announced measures to strike off 19 job titles from migrant availability. The Labour Ministry has informed businesses that they will only be permitted to hire Saudi nationals in any of the 19 job titles. Even existing employees within these job descriptions will no longer be able to renew their visas, in an attempt to phase out all expatriate employees in these categories.

Although the full list is yet to be disclosed, a few of the proposed unpermitted titles have been announced including;

Chief Administrator of Human •Resources Receptionist (Hotel and General) •Director of Personal Relations •

the Immigration Rules, UKVI intend to apply the revised salary bands in October.

AUSTRALIA Increased Focus on Sponsorship Compliance Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection has recently shown an increased focus on employer sponsorship compliance and a preparedness to impose sanctions against sponsors that are found to be in breach of their sponsorship obligations.

It is important that businesses utilising the Subclass 457 visa programme familiarise themselves with their obligations and ensure compliance. This is most pertinent when it comes to ensuring employees are paid at the nominated rate and that the Department are notified at the cessation of the employee’s appointment.

CANADA New Electronic Travel Authorisation The Canadian government has followed the lead of the US and Australia in implementing a new requirement for citizens of countries that are visa exempt. The new programme, called eTA, is an online registration system that travellers access through the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website. The etA process went into effect in August 2015 but will not be mandatory until March 2016.

The eTA requirement applies to travellers who do not need a visa to enter Canada and who are planning to arrive by air. Visa exempt countries include the UK, Japan, Australia, Korea, countries in the European Union and more. The eTA requirement does not apply to citizens of the US and it is not required if a person is entering at a land or sea port of entry.

The eTA process involves entering a traveller’s personal details and passport information into an online portal and paying a fee of $7CAD. Every traveller must obtain an eTA - including children. In most cases, CIC will approve the eTA within minutes of applying. The validity period of the approval is for five years or to the expiry of the applicant’s passport. In situations where an immediate decision is not rendered, CIC will follow up with applicants with requests to obtain more information.

CHINA Developments on Permanent Residence Permit for Skilled Workforce It has been announced by The Ministry of Public Security in China that migrants who are currently employed in certain

industries will soon be able to apply for Permanent Residence.

The objective of the new system is to encourage more highly skilled and top-level foreign professionals to move to China.

Those wishing to apply for the Chinese Permanent Residence Permit must have been working in China for at least 4 years with a clean tax record. They must also have high professional or above associate professor titles.

The foreign applicant can only file their application at the municipal level security departments where the applicant is currently residing. Once obtained, a Permanent Residence Permit holder can take advantage of a number of new rights such as property purchase, enrolment into local schools etc.

This new policy has yet to be implemented officially and no further application details are available at this time. Further updates will follow once any new developments occur.

IRELAND Ireland’s New Shortage Occupations List Ireland’s Employment Permits (Amended) Regulations have been revised, effective 1st September 2015, to accommodate the current dynamics of the Irish labour market. The highly skilled, or shortage occupations, and ineligible occupations lists have been updated to accommodate shifting demands, mainly in the technology and medical industries.

Amongst the additions to the shortage list now qualifying for Critical Skills Employment Permits are: IT and telecommunication engineers, chiropractors, mobility instructors for the visually impaired, radiation therapists, orthoptists and prosthetists.

The shortage list revision has inevitably had a direct but rather dramatic knock on effect on the ineligible list, with an array of service industry jobs removed. These are mainly management occupations in healthcare and social services along with graphic designers, property managers, bookmakers, librarians and opticians.

Sponsors and work permit applicants should also be wary of the new version of the work permit application form, effective 31st August. Using the wrong form will lead either to a refusal or delays with your application.

KUWAIT Ministry of Interior Amend Visa Rules


35Global ImmIGratIon Update

Head of Personnel Department •Director of Labour Affairs •Cashier.•

Given that these measures have been announced as part of a more general move to protect the Saudi internal employment market, it would appear more crucial than ever for employers to stay on top of the developing situation.

SINGAPORE The MOM Revises Framework to Increase Local Hires The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is at work again with a further revision to the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) for Singaporean Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs).

Some Key Changes: Transparent Salary In August last year, MOM introduced a resident labour market test requirement for Employment Pass (EP) applications. As a result, EP applications can only be filed if the position has been advertised in the MOM's Jobs Bank for 14 days. From 1st October 2015, MOM stipulated

a further requirement for these job postings to specifically include the salary range related to the job position. Failure to do so will result in the EP application being rejected.

Having Singaporean Core Team is essential Any EP application submitted with a small percentage of Singapore PME will also experience enhanced scrutiny as MOM will request for details of the recruitment process, including shortlisting of Singaporean nationals and number of Singaporean PMEs the business currently have within various levels of the organisation.

Genuine Qualification MOM has also announced an enhanced examination on qualification and experience submitted with any EP applications. Any qualifications deemed doubtful by the MOM will be rejected and any applications presenting a forged qualification will have the applicant banned from ever working in Singapore.

What should employers do? It is likely that for companies who do not have a good percentage of Singaporean employees, that it will become more difficult to obtain Employment and S Passes.

It is advisable that you have a hiring policy which ensures a higher percentage of local hires in Singapore, at all levels of seniority, to make it easier to hire talent from overseas when a skills gap cannot be filled in-country.

Newland Chase are specialist immigration consultancy with over 50 offices in 15 countries. For advice on immigration compliance and risk, please call +44(0)20 7001 2121 or email [email protected]

If you would like to meet with Newland Chase, they will be exhibiting at Worldwide ERC® in Boston, USA, on 7-9 October; FEM EMEA Summit in London, UK, on 6 November; and FEM APAC Summit in Hong Kong, on 1 December.


COMMUTERS36

Commuters are on the rise is what several surveys are suggesting. I want to raise the question: Are all the factors that come with Commuters fully considered when offering this option in your suite of policies?

Experience shows that there are mainly five factors that have to be observed when it comes to using commuters, who return from the workplace to their home country and families for the weekend. Three of the four factors I want to refer to as hard factors, being simply challenges that a company has to decide if it wants to deal with it for the benefit of having commuters in their programme. The fourth and fifth one, culture and the shrinking working week are rather soft factors that tend to be often overseen.

Complexity Complexity starts with the various forms of commuters. You might decide for a host-based commuter, who earns the local salary of its workplace location. Especially in a European context, he might be eligible to remain covered in his or her home country's social security. Here you have the issue of mixing the competitive gross salary of one country with the social security deductions of another country. And what you end up with is most likely a non-competitive net salary.

Do you choose a host-based approach with host social security, consider if the family at home would still be covered?

Another complexity appears when you use a home-based compensation build-up and look at a cost of living adjustment. Is a daily allowance for a short-term assignee the right thing (and would you pay on weekends, travel days), or a customised cost of living adjustment? Some commutes run for more than 12 months and some are even unlimited. Some are treated like short-term assignees and some like eternal business travellers.

Lastly, there is no standard in terms of the contractual relationship of the commuter. You have to consider immigration, social security and workplace guarantee when deciding on a contractual set-up that fits your needs.

Compliance The tax situation tends to be more complex, because a commuter will likely end up filing several tax returns. This also influences the net pay (see complexity) and makes it necessary to find a system to ensure a fair net salary.

Foremost, it adds additional burden to achieve compliance. If you chose, as most companies do, to cover the tax compliance for commuters, you are ending up with an additional cost.

Some commuters tend to extend their weekend at home and work from home or in their local office. This has the potential to cause another headache, because this employee might create under certain circumstances, a permanent establishment for the company he is commuting to. Leading companies consider this and decide jointly with the tax function a set of do’s and don’ts for the commuter to avoid these risks.

And lastly, especially in labour markets like Switzerland and the United Kingdom, where you have a lot of foreign hires, the employees themselves might decide to commute within Europe at their own expense. These stealth commuters, who are often unknown to HR or the mobility function, have the potential to cause compliance requirements for their employers in their home country. This form of commuter is certainly not very frequent and nothing that a company can forbid since it happens at the expense and time of the voluntary commuter. But it needs to identify these individuals and observe if they create a tax liability for the company in their home location.

Cost The cost of commuters is often underestimated and the argument brought forward is that you can save money on all those expensive family related benefits you do not need for a commuter, such as bigger housing, relocation, spousal assistance and schooling. All these savings are only offset by the cost of the weekly travel is what I often hear on the market.

I observed a case of a group relocation

within Europe, where the company offered a commute for 6 months (to accommodate school year starts) to 150 employees. They made a cost estimate for the travel and realised at the end that they underestimated the commuting cost by a whopping 150%. When investigating the reasons behind that, it was foremost the frequent changes of booking and the underestimation of other related expenses (e.g. road transport, meal expenses). You might argue that they were not setting the rules right or simply made a wrong estimate. But to me it clearly showed the risk of underestimating the cost of a commuter.

Culture Talking with many commuters, some experience it as a hardship to be separated from spouse and kids on a regular basis for 70% of their time, while others state that this causes no issue for them. These are certainly an individual’s own characteristics that drive this. But as a company, I have to ask myself, if I really want to promote commuters as an alternative to a real assignment and incentivise the separation of a family. This is typically down to company culture to decide this.

At the same time, it is unlikely that a commuter will get a firm grasp of the host country culture, when his centre of vital interest is still at home with his family.

Another aspect is if a commuter option is really there, who still wants to go on a short-time assignment? And for the latter the argument that it is cheaper, as with a family is not valid. Often the benefits are very similar, it’s just that the commuter has not 4 or 6 but 52 home leaves a year! This can become a hard sell for short- and long-term assignees working alongside a commuter.

Shrinking Working Week Commuters are reported to show sometimes a so-called shrinking working week. Some fly in on a Monday midday or evening and leave on a Thursday night. They often claim the lower flight costs at these times. You might argue if the work gets done, this is no issue, but consider if

Commuters: Complexity, Compliance, Cost, Cultural Aspects And The Shrinking Working Week


37COMMUTERS

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Chris Debner is Managing Director of Chris Debner LLC – Strategic Global Mobility Advisory. He has nearly 20 years of experience in Mobility Advisory from working in professional services firms. He is based in Zurich, Switzerland and provides his mobility advisory and coaching worldwide. For further information: www.chrisdebner.com +41 797966908 or email [email protected].

your commuter works with teams, which he or she likely is, and how that might influence the team performance. It must be clear that as a company you cannot expect your employee to fly on a Sunday night and leave Saturday morning. So a company will in any case have to bear some of the cost of unproductive travel time.

Strategy and bottom line Some might use commuters, because they see no other choice to move someone in a dual career situation where the partner might be unwilling to give up his or her career. Companies need to define their key challenges in mobility and then see if commuters are a viable strategy or if there are other options. The majority of companies I worked with do have a commuter policy in place (restricted to a maximum of 1 or 2 years), but this is not part of the official policy suite on the intranet. It is used only on an exceptional basis and with a clear business case behind it. This helps to minimise the numbers of commuters and the challenges that come with it. And if you have commuters, you may want to keep in mind or re-examine what you are doing in the light of the above challenging factors around commuters.



39ConsCious MoBiLiTY

The conscious capitalism movement has gained extraordinary momentum over the past five years and is transforming the landscape of commerce. With major corporations such as Costco, Disney, Amazon, Whole Foods Market and TATA leading the way in this new approach to business, it’s been possible for the first time to get real figures about its success. Conscious companies are more profitable by a factor of 10.5 than non-conscious businesses. That’s 10 times more profitable! (Tony Schwarz, Harvard Business Review).

For too long companies, large and small, have focused primarily on shareholder profit, relegating the importance of business to wider society, to the balance sheet. The philosophy of conscious capitalism seeks to change this and bring business and its vital wealth creating abilities to the centre of societal values. Forbes magazine recently ran an article titled, “Only Conscious Capitalists Will Survive”- strong words indeed from the publishing bible of high capitalism. Author Jeff King, CEO of advertising agency Barkley writes; “Is conscious capitalism profitable? In a simple answer, yes. We have seen it happen more often over the past several decades - the success of companies that truly commit to the greater good. Yet, we would say that not only can conscious capitalism be profitable, it will be one of the defining mechanisms of profit in the future”. So when the bottom line success of companies is linked with the values of conscious capitalism, profits are actually higher - for just doing the right thing. So what impact will the widespread adoption of conscious ideals in global commerce have on mobility?

A pioneering retailer, John Mackey and his partners, started the Whole Foods Market group back in the 1980’s. Very soon they discovered that their customers genuinely loved the store. When they looked into what had created such a loyal and passionate following for what was essentially, just a supermarket, they discovered that it was the philosophy that

they built the business on, that not only directly impacted on their customers, but also their staff, suppliers and partners. In time, John Mackey figured out that more and more highly successful new companies shared a few basic ideals that were setting them apart from their competition.

To give some context, conscious capitalism is based on the notion that free enterprise is the most successful system for innovation and social cooperation that has ever been devised. It has led to incalculable benefits for mankind including:

Reducing the population of the world liv-•ing in extreme poverty (less than $1 per day) from 85% in 1815 to 16% in 2015 Global average life expectancy has risen •from 30 to 68 years since 1800 The percentage of undernourished •people has dropped from 26% to 13% since 1970.

Capitalism has come under serious attack over the past decade and it seems to many that free enterprise and global corporations have been allowed to dominate and control societies, leading to an erosion of individual rights and effective government control over big business. As the world is hopefully coming out of an eight-year depression in the global economy, it is not surprising that we have seen grass roots organisations such as the “Occupy Wall Street” movement gaining supporters across the globe. Capitalism is seen as a threat, not a solution. But this is because capitalism is portrayed as “exploiting workers, cheating consumers and creating inequality” (John Mackey 2012), as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Business leaders have allowed the entrenched and historical ethical basis of commerce to be diluted by economists who have instead, developed a self-serving and ultimately perverse version of capitalism which is far, far away from its roots. Adam Smith, in his seminal book 'The Wealth of Nations', put forward the case that capitalism is constructed on two tenets;

Businesses are built to create wealth •and for individuals to pursue their self interest and wealth at the same time Human nature dictates a need in us to •desire and care for others and business

Conscious Mobility – The Impact Of Conscious Capitalism On The Way We Work

reflects ideals that transcend purely self-ish motivations.

This second part of Smith's philosophy of capitalism was largely ignored and the corporate world developed in a stunted and self-interested way that increased societal divisions and led directly to the development of communism, as a perceived fairer alternative to wealth distribution.

Two of the biggest barriers to our capitalist systems being fairer, more ethical, and more efficient, are the myth of profit maximisation, and crony capitalism. The myth of profit maximisation is that the ultimate purpose of business is to maximise profits for investors. Successful businesses are always profitable but the myth that this is the sole purpose of business has done huge damage to the reputation of capitalism. The purpose of business is to improve our lives and create value for all stakeholders. Crony capitalism does away with the founding principle that true free enterprise imposes strict accountability and international discipline on businesses. Crony capitalists operate in such a way as to maximise self interest and use the awesome power of governments to secure advantages available only to them. The Enron scandal was a classic case in point.

John Mackey again, “While free-enterprise capitalism is inherently virtuous and vitally necessary for democracy and prosperity, crony capitalism is intrinsically unethical and poses a grave threat to our freedom and well being".

So, we need to re-write the philosophy of capitalism to get back to the founding principles which have been such a power for good in the world, and the principles of conscious capitalism are one way to achieve just that. The philosophy is built on four primary ideas:

Higher Purpose •Stakeholder Integration •Conscious Leadership •Conscious Culture and Management. •

Higher Purpose In the context of conscious capitalism higher purpose refers to the difference


ConsCious MoBiLiTY40

that the company is trying to make to the world (Mackey 2013). Higher purpose ask four questions:

What will the world look like when we •have achieved our higher purpose? What are the principles we will hold •onto regardless of changes in the marketplace? What is the reason for the organisations’ •existence beyond making a profit. How do we convey our value and •purpose to external stakeholders and create loyalty?

A great example of a higher purpose definition within a conscious company is Disney; “To use our imaginations to bring happiness to millions".

Stakeholder Integration The big difference between stakeholder integration in a conscious company and within a CSR policy is that no stakeholder is perceived as more important than any other. In a non-conscious company, even where it has a robust CSR, the shareholder will often take precedence over other stakeholders. Customers, employees, suppliers and investors all take an equal place in the integration of the conscious company. But the wider community is also one of the core constituents of the conscious business. All business should benefit the wider community and this is where CSR policies have started to reintegrate businesses into society.

Conscious Leadership “Conscious leaders focus on ‘we’ rather than ‘me’. They inspire, foster transformation, and bring out the best in those around them". (Mackey 2013). The role of the conscious leader is to serve the higher purpose of the organisation and create value for all stakeholders. The philosophy of the conscious leader was first adopted into management theory in the early 1970’s by Robert Greenleaf who recognised that organisations as well as individuals could be servant leaders. These ideas form a core part of the conscious leadership tenet of conscious capitalism. “Good leaders must first become good servants… A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the ‘top of the pyramid,’ servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first

and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible". (Greenleaf 1970.)

Conscious Culture And Management “Conscious businesses have distinctive cultures that help them adhere to their higher purpose and maintain a harmony of interests across stakeholders". (Mackey 2014). Corporate culture has long been an essential defining characteristic of businesses, but in the context of a conscious business, it is not something simply observable about the company, but something built into the fabric of every part of the operation. "Culture can account for up to half the difference in operating profit between two organisations in the same business (Heskett 2012)". Conscious cultures have seven key characteristics summed up by the mnemonic TACTILE:

Trust • – Internally between management and teams, externally between suppliers and customers Accountability –• between team members, to customers and to and from suppliers Caring –• genuine heartfelt care towards all stakeholders by being thoughtful, authentic, considerate and compassionate Transparency –• in finance and strategic planning Integrity –• telling the truth and operating with fairness and fair play Loyalty –• to all stakeholders, staff, customers, suppliers Egalitarianism –• all stakeholders are treated with respect and dignity, small salary differentials between the top and lowest earners within the organisation.

So how can these core values of conscious capitalism impact on the mobility process? To me it’s easy to see where the main impacts will be. There is a moral duty to support families in transition and this has been well understood by HR for decades. But where cost controls have become the sole responsibility of procurement, HR face an uphill battle to maintain service levels that will support individuals and families in the mobility process. Where companies keep the ideals of conscious capitalism and TACTILE in particular at the heart of their approach to mobility, they maintain a genuine balance between the need for talent management in creating and maintaining profit and true human caring. The figures speak for themselves; conscious companies

are 10.5 times more profitable than non conscious. Commentators across all sectors of commerce maintain that this is the most compelling new philosophy since the notion of the CSR was first introduced. With talent management being a key driver in the success of global corporations, the link between conscious business and moving key players around the world is profound. Ultimately the more conscious businesses will succeed in the war for talent.

Dominic Tidey is the Operations Manager for EuRA, the European Relocation Assocation, who have 490 member companies in 98 countries offering professional relocation support to corporate clients.EuRA, 9 & 10 Diss Business Centre, Diss, UK IP21 4HDP: +44 (0) 1379 640 883F: +44 (0) 1379 641 940M: +44 (0) 7764 575 614E: [email protected]: www.eura-relocation.com

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You are cordially invited toThe 2016

Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibitionon

Monday 8th February 2016, 10.00am - 5.00pmat

Hotel Russell, 1-8 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 5BEThis event is FREE TO ATTEND

Come along and meet our exhibitors who have products and services that supportGlobal HR Professionals and those working in the field of Global Mobility

There are also free seminars running throughout the day. You will need to pre-register for the seminars as places are limited so please email [email protected]

For further information on this event please call Helen Elliott on +44 (0)20 8661 0186


This conference is being sponsored by


Renowned London based Immigration firm Ferguson Snell & Associates will be hosting their biennial Global Migration, UK Immigration, Tax & HR seminar on Wednesday 18th November 2015 for business and corporate HR professionals.

The main seminar will be hosted by Ferguson Snell's Co-Heads of UK Inbound Immigration Department Tony Butterworth and Sean Hedgley.

Keynote speakers will be from the Home Office as well as Andrew Bailey, Global Tax Director at BDO and Erik Lazar, Global HR Advocate at Transatlantic Law.

There will also be breakout sessions on global HR & Tax issues, a presentation from a FTSE 100 Global Mobility Director on managing a successful and compliant immigration programme and a round table on global and US immigration matters.

This event will be held at the iconic Lloyds Building with a scheduled start at 1.45pm with registration of guests, and will close at 5.00pm with networking drinks.

Spaces are limited but if you would like to attend this, please contact [email protected]


43RECRUITING AND WORKING GLOBALLY

The idea of working globally covers a number of situations, from the relatively straightforward to the much more nuanced. Maybe you are working globally or have employees who may be an expatriate working for part of a large organisation, or you are a self-employed worker on contract to another organisation; or part of a team of people from different nationalities and may be based in different places; or you could just be a regular traveller who travels on business.

As we all are aware there are many types of people who work and reside overseas, including seasoned executives who are hired for the short- or long-term to fill strategic management positions. There may be new jobs, created to establish a base of operations in a particular country or already established job holders. Expatriates also include global travellers who have made a career of pursuing job opportunities around the world, specialists and professionals who reside in their home country but do regular business overseas, employees who are working abroad to develop their experience, knowledge and skills, and adventurers seeking income to finance their travels around the world.

From many years of research there is definition of four forms of international working:

Expatriate posting or assignment: •defined as an assignment where the employee and family move to the host country for a specified period of time, usually over one year and likely to be for three to five years; thereafter could be employed on a ‘local’ basisShort-term contract:• an assignment with a specified duration usually less than 365-days and unaccompanied with regular return home based visitsAn overseas commuter• based in country for less than 183 days subject to home and host tax and immigration regulations. Usually on unaccompanied basis with one or two return trips back to home baseRegular business traveller• who undertakes frequent international business trips although does not relocate.

Most global organisations have a structured policy for all the above types of employment status and contracts to ensure the organisation is compliant;

obviously contracts will vary depending on whether the assignment is permanent or temporary, or self-employed/consultancy. For most companies who have employees on short-term assignments, it is usual for the employee to retain home base pay and benefits, per diem allowance subject to the timeline of the contract and other benefits, such as relocation, if applicable, and pension contributions, tax and social security liabilities. It is important to ensure that the home base employment law versus the local labour is reviewed i.e. mandatory employment law of either the home or host country could have an impact on the terms of employment.

There are plenty of practical ideas, lessons and information from working in a global environment that we learn each day:

Together with understanding varying •aspects of global operations and globalisationUnderstanding cultural differences and •global influences each dayManaging from a distance and global •leadership.

We also need to examine other areas which will include organisation cultural drivers and building long-term market leadership, global management structure, entering into new revolutionised economy, and getting to global alignment with the global HR model.

There are many factors that influence the world of international employee recruitment and mobility and are as true today as it was many years ago.

So far research has indicated a variety of opinions and suggestions in recruiting employees. It is stated that it is the means of getting better results from the organisation, team and individuals by understanding and managing assignments within an agreed framework of planned objectives, standards and competence requirement. The expatriate recruitment posting is not just a structure of identifying key talent and giving the job holder a ‘to do list’ – it is essentially about the actions people take to achieve the day-to-day delivery of results and manage the business, and a positive approach to recruiting and meeting both employer and employees working around the world.

This reinforces the strong business needs for expanding globally and moving towards a consistent but flexible approach

to mobility and adapting too many cultures within the organisation.

There sometimes appears to be limited integration across global companies and long-term strategic planning and how global companies are continuously improving with new recruitment process through technology e.g. LinkedIn. The process of recruiting effective employees to work internationally and be flexible in mobility with their partners/families is critical in developing world class people who instantly recognise the capabilities of the future.

Companies, who are seeking international growth and to deliver a short- or long-term plan, should ensure that the numbers of employees working from their home base must increase their global perspective and communicate effectively with people from around the world.

On occasion, the process of relocating employees to work internationally from initial selection and recruitment, monitoring effectiveness throughout employment to completion of the work assignment can sometimes be a little fraught with anxiety for all parties concerned.

The selection and pre-meetings have a very positive effect on adaptation to a new working environment, even though the effectiveness of these is strongly influenced by other factors. From previous research is transpires that employers highlight that a mobile workforce can represent a significant investment in future organisational capability. Of course, it is perfectly true that factors other than a failure of the career development process are at play in the issue of workforce retention. A mobile workforce have family issues which companies must not ignore; the family has to adapt to working and living in a different culture and the problems ‘reverse culture shock’, for example, are all important consideration. Some staff encounter difficulties and there is evidence of negative effects on both personal and family life. However, there is strong evidence that issues associated with career development, promotion and redeployment planning, are central to the retention of valuable employee resources.

Cultural differences within a multi-national workforce has to be carefully managed and appropriate induction, cultural awareness training etc., should be

Recruiting And Working Globally


44 RECRUITING AND WORKING GLOBALLY

Kim Smart has over twenty-five years experience in the capacity of senior HR generalist specialising in multi-international role; over 15 years at

senior management level within global organisations and SME’s. Kim is an accomplished and successful Human Resources specialist who has gained considerable experience in the all fields of Human Resources, embracing all levels of general management; with a solid understanding of business management with experience of being accountable for all areas of Human Resources. Kim’s key strengths is her expertise in M&A, TUPE, Trade Unions, Works Council, managing global mobility, international employment law, international total reward and Senior HR generalist. Kim is currently a consultant specialising in providing HR specialist resource to enhance the organisation growth and capability.Contact: [email protected] – LINKEDIn profile.

put into place to build a successful working team in-country, irrespective of differences.

As companies grow globally and more companies enter the international marketplace, the reasons for international assignments continually change with greater expectations for all parties concerned. All global companies search the best talent in their workforce from wherever the talent is located and, as a result, assignments are no longer predominately assigned from the Head Office, and can be identified from any of the local organisations worldwide locations. In all mobility cases it is important to ensure that the international assignment is perceived as an important part in career development and talent management. This leads into the process of mobility and how this is managed. Today's technology keeps employees in touch with Head Office so they feel that they are part of the bigger picture.

The possible cause for concern for most employers, and the intention, is to develop a more strategic perspective within global companies. As research has highlighted over the years that a mobile workforce can be more damaging to the organisation and be more difficult to resolve than managing employees in an equivalent home country position; as we all know managing employees from the home base has improved with communication and technology although there are possible places in the world that on occasion is much more difficult to manage ‘at a distance’. Monitoring deliverables, building performance and developing others are key skills, which are necessary for success in any business.

The dilemma is that the business requires a consistent approach i.e. the process of managing a global workforce should be embarked in broadly the same way everywhere, but there must be sufficient flexibility to tailor goals, objectives and an approach to specific business needs that are operating overseas in a variety of usually international markets.

The desire to have a united employer around the world underscores the need for an integrated approach, which provides consistency across companies whilst providing flexibility, in terms of applicable, to accommodate the differing needs of company units.

It is apparent that any steps to remedy this situation have to be part

of the company integrated strategy for employee mobility. The stages must encompass all the elements in the global employee cycle:

From recruitment and selection for •mobility across many locationsTraining and development•Tracking and monitoring•Compliance and managing risks, and•The challenges that the global employer •and employee faces every day.

It is also clear that all global organisations will have to be responsible in making the mobility process efficient and impactful to the development of the employee.

The organisation will emphasise a high level of commitment, particularly in utilisation of the process of global management, with senior leadership being prepared to act as ‘coach and role models’ for the success of the mobility process and willing to act on results, as well as comprehensive positioning, marketing and communication of the process of mobility programmes from commuter to short- and long-term assignments, and permanent local to local transfers. Design and implementation of the recruitment programme and mobility agenda, should be managed as shared responsibility between Line Manager and Human Resources Management; consultation and involvement are key to design and implementation of the components if the process is to be managed globally.

Employers should ensure that the mobile employee is highly committed to the organisation’s global activities and is able to move from country to country as managers, gaining valuable experience.

The objectives of the company can be achieved to ensure that the global management style can initially be measured by pre-assignment on-boarding programmes being implemented as the process of initiation into different culture. Understanding cultures and local workforce can help to build a strong business with a diverse organisation and both the employee and employer can gain. The ultimate goal is to achieve a global corporate culture sharing experiences and learning from each other, which encourages all employees to play an increasing role when based in any location. The way forward is to build a framework of objectives and strategy to add value to your organisation.

FREE SEMINARDual Career and the

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OCTOBER Worldwide ERC® Strategic Talent Mobility Course Tuesday, 6 October 2015 (Boston MA, USA) & Wednesday, 28 October 2015 (Detroit, MI ,USA) Worldwide ERC®’s course on the transformation of the mobility industry into consultative partners helping companies fulfill their talent management objectives. The programme provides knowledge critical for HR practitioners and service providers to best position themselves for the future. No prerequisites are required to take this course. It is open to all business and mobility professionals. (Those with the GMS® designation will become GMS-T upon course and exam completion.) www.worldwideerc.org/Education/GMS/Pages/gms-t.aspx Worldwide EC® Global Mobility Specialist (GMS®) Designation Programme Wednesday 7 October 2015 (Boston, MA, USA) & 11 November 2015 (São Paulo Brazil) The GMS® training consists of three modules. Take Module 3 of this programme in person and complete the other two modules online to earn the world’s leading designation in talent mobility - and proudly display GMS® after your name! Open to all business and mobility professionals. www.worldwideerc.org/Education/GMS/Pages/gms.aspx

4th Annual Global HR Excellence 19-21 October 2015 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Do not miss the perfect platform to explore the dynamics of talent management - retention strategies and people development plans while discovering the latest updates in strategic HR and innovative HR applications and technologies. Customise your own programme by selecting any of these streams on DAY 1&2. Choices of streams to choose from are: Talent and Capability Development; Change Management and Leadership; Business Transformation and Rewards. Be a part of this prestigious course that can help you revolutionise the way you view and manage your human capital to their full potential! For more details, please contact [email protected] or call +60327236745. Alternatively, please visit www.hrexcellence-lse.com

NOVEMBER FEM EMEA Summit 6 November 2015 Lancaster Hotel, London, United Kingdom Attend the FEM EMEA Summit and hear from top speakers from major international companies. Take part in our packed CPD accredited programme and select from over 10 and a half hours of interactive content, to create a tailored educational experience. Get the big picture view, from talent recruitment and retention to how to measure ROI and manage your costs, this year’s plenary sessions will give you the opportunity to debate the biggest shifts taking place in global mobility. Hear from successful companies across a wide range of industries and understand how global mobility can become more strategic, increase its value add and influence up, and across HR and the wider business. Celebrate success and industry achievement, dust off your dancing shoes and join the 2015 winners at the fantastic EMMAs Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner. Visit www.forum-expat-management.com/events

DECEMBER FEM APAC Summit and EMMAs 1st December 2015 Harbour Grand, Hong Kong Make your international assignees experiences the best they can be and attend the inaugural FEM APAC Summit. Global mobility professionals will gather for this one day conference and exhibition, benefitting from a

cutting edge conference programme featuring top global mobility experts, the opportunity to network with leading suppliers to learn about the latest innovations expatriate management, plus the opportunity to meet, network and share best practice with industry peers. Celebrate success and industry achievement, dust off your dancing shoes and join the 2015 winners at the fantastic EMMAs Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner. Visit www.forum-expat-management.com/events

2016 - SAVE THE DATE! The Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition 8th February 2016 Hotel Russell, Russell Square, London, UK There will be seminars dedicated to educating and up-dating International HR professionals on key developments and current leanings relevant to the industry, running throughout the day. The free seminar programme is as follows:

10.30am Understanding Third Culture Kids – Hosted by Mary Langford11.15am Dual Career and the Importance of Creating a Powerful Network – Hosted by FOCUS12.15pm Tax Seminar – Hosted by Roland Sabates, H&R Block1.15pm UK Immigration Update & Compliance Hosted by Ferguson Snell2.15pm Building A Strategic Vision of Global Mobility for Your Organisation – Hosted by Deloitte LLP3.15pm Key Trends In Global Mobility – Hosted by Andy Piacentini, Standard Life & The RES Forum4.15pm Documenting Expatriate Reward – Hosted by Juliet Carp, Dorsey & Whitney (Europe) LLP

The seminars will be FREE to attend. To reserve your place for any or all of these free seminars, please call Helen Elliott on +44 (0)208 661 0186 or email [email protected] The World HRD Congress 2016 – 24th Edition! 15th - 17th February 2016 Taj Lands End, Mumbai, India THEME : What Next...? SUB THEMES : • Strategic HRM • Talent management & recruiting and staff best in class • Employer branding • Training; coaching and leadership for dream companies • Building agile compensation and benefits structure Diversity • HR technology • Measuring the impact of hr for performance and bottomline improvement • HR challenges in e-commerce • Compensation& rewards • Balanced scorecard • Building a sustainable leadership pipeline in organisations The Congress will be an Executive Level Retreat in which participants will review Evolving Trends in HRM that could change their paradigm on leading people at work. It would provide an opportunity to acquire skills to maximise competencies and become a more knowledgeable contributor in the organisation. Besides networking opportunities, the conference offers unique in-depth approaches to understanding important workplace issues that affect an organisation's viability in today's fast-paced business environment. The Congress is governed by a Global & National Advisory Council that guides the strategic intent of the event & leads it to its success. The Congress is the largest rendezvous of HR Professionals. We would urge you to please visit www.worldhrdcongress.com. For more details, please contact Secretariat, World HRD Congress [email protected]

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DIARY DATES


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BUSINESS ASSOCIATION J-1 VISA PROGRAMMEBRITISHAMERICAN BUSINESS (BAB)52 Vanderbilt Avenue, 20th Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Contact: Tamra Eker Telephone: +212 661 4060 Fax: +212 661 4074 Email: [email protected] Website: www.babinc.org BritishAmerican Business’s J-1 visa programme assists companies in offering US training and work experience to qualified employees of any nationality and from anywhere in the world, for a time period of up to 18 months. Sectors covered by our J-1 Visa designation include management, business, commerce, finance, law, industry, sciences, engineering, architecture, information media & communications. Using the J-1 Visa helps companies overcome cross-cultural differences and improve communication between US and overseas offices; enhance employee recruitment/retention efforts by offering US assignments; and meet global mobility challenges. Please call to discuss the programme with our J-1 Visa Programme Administrator.

IMMIGRATIONNEWLAND CHASE LIMITEDOne Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AAContact: Asma BashirTelephone: +44 (0)20 7001 2121Email: [email protected]: www.newlandchase.comTwitter: twitter.com/newlandchaseLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/newland-chaseNewland Chase are a specialist immigration firm with over 50 offices in 15 countries, providing a truly global service. Our professional team of immigration experts understand the complexities of both UK and global immigration policies and can simplify the process to ensure you remain compliant. Our clients range from multi-national engineering firms to growing tech startups, so we are able to offer tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of your industry and company size. INSURANCE AND FINANCIALSERVICESZURICH CORPORATE LIFE & PENSIONSTricentre One, New Bridge Square, Swindon SN1 1HNContact: Adele CoxTelephone: +44 (0) 118 952 4253Fax: + 44 (0) 118 952 4300E-mail: [email protected]: www.zurichinternational.comZurich International Life is a global provider of life insurance, investment and protection products. Our corporate range offers flexible, portable solutions, designed to suit multinational organisations with an internationally mobile workforce. The

International pension plan offers a cost effective, bundled retirement benefits solution comprising of trust services, investment funds and online administration.International group protection is designed toprotect an employers’ most important asset– their employees – and offers a range of lifeand disability protection.With a local presence in key global businesshubs and over 20 years experience of implementing and administering plans worldwide, we’ve developed our knowledge and understanding of key markets to meet the needs of our customers and business partners.

INTERNATIONAL HRCONSULTANTSDELOITTE LLPStonecutter Court, 1 Stonecutter Street,London, EC4A 4TRContact: Robert Hodkinson, PartnerTelephone: +44 (0) 20 7007 1832Fax: +44 (0) 20 7007 1060E-mail: [email protected]: www.deloitte.co.ukWhether you are creating your first international mobility programme for employees or addressing fundamental changes to an existing programme, our International Human Resources team can help. Deloitte provides consulting support that has an appreciation for each company’s size, background and unique cultural environment, aligning your international programme goals with corporate business strategies. Our consultants have developed deep expertise in many fields based on first hand experience with many of the world’s leading organisations: international assignment policy and process design, benchmarking, service delivery modelling, improving vendor management and helping our clients become more compliant and their administration more cost-effective.

INTERNATIONAL MOVING DT MOVING LTD49 Wates Way, Mitcham,Greater London, CR4 4HRContact: Tim DaniellsTelephone: +44 (0) 20 7622 4393Fax: +44 (0) 20 7720 3897Email: [email protected]: www.dtmoving.comDT Moving is a world leading international moving company. Founded in 1870, we serve corporate customers all over the globe with an award-winning* move management and destination service programme. Through our London and Paris headquarters and worldwide network of global partners, we help clients achieve their workforce mobility goals. Every employee we relocate receives a dedicated DT Moving team member as a central point of coordination, support and advice to ensure every part of their relocation runs smoothly.Our goal is your complete satisfaction, and with a 96% customer rating for 2014, we offer unrivalled quality at competitive rates.*Awarded nine global relocation awards since 2010.

RELOCATIONHCR RELOCATIONUK Head office - Belvedere House, Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4HGUK Contact: Louise Hardy - Business Development ExecutiveTelephone: +44(0)1256 313887email: [email protected]: www.hcr.co.ukTwitter: @relochatterLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/hcr-group-limited We look after people, your people. we have a dedicated, high performing and professional team to deliver our award winning relocation service. our knowledge, experience and empathy ensures that each of your relocating employees and their families are carefully managed and that their specific needs are considered. HCR has a true ‘one point of contact’ philosophy; one dedicated, cross trained account Manager and lead Relocation Consultant who will manage, co-ordinate, deliver and provide comprehensive support for every relocation case.

SANTA FE RELOCATION SERVICESCentral Way, Park Royal, London, NW10 7XWContact: Mark RisingTelephone: +44 (0) 208 961 4141 Fax: +44 (0)208 965 4484email: [email protected]: www.santaferelo.comThinking Relocation? Think Santa Fe Relocation Services.Santa Fe Relocation Services provides the full range of relocation services to support businesses with international interests from diverse industry sectors. Santa Fe is conveniently located across six continents and offers holistic relocation solutions to support businesses and relocating employees. Last year, we handled 120,000 relocations globally. Our core services are Immigration, Moving, Relocation, Real Estate and Records Management.We make it easy.

RELOCATION ASSOCIATIONSASSOCIATION OF RELOCATIONPROFESSIONALS (ARP)9&10 Diss Business Centre, Dark Lane, Diss, Norfolk, IP21 4NDContact: Tad ZurlindenTelephone: +44 (0)1379 651 671 Fax: +44 (0)1379 641 940Email: [email protected]: www.arp-relocation.comThe ARP is the professional association for the relocation industry in the UK. The ARP’s activities include seminars throughout the year, an annual conference, the publication of an annual Directory of Members and a website, which is updated regularly.

THE EUROPEAN RELOCATION ASSOCIATION (EURA)9&10 Diss Business Centre, Dark Lane, Diss, Norfolk, IP21 4NDTelephone +44 (0)1379 651 671

47


48 DIRECTORY

Fax: +44(0)1379 641 940E-mail: [email protected]: www.eura-relocation.comEuRA is an industry body for Relocation Professionals in both Europe and Worldwide.EuRa have launched The EuRA Quality Seal, the world’s first accreditation programme for relocation providers. This pioneering initiative provides a straight forward, cost effective audit to reflect your company’s excellence in providing relocation services.

SCHOOLS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL21 Star Street, London, W2 1QBContact: Laura Thompson, Director ofMarketing and Secondary AdmissionsTel: +44 (0) 20 7402 0416Web: www.icschool.co.ukEmail: [email protected] international day school located in 3 sites in the centre of London. We offer all three International Baccalaurate Programmes (PYP, MYP, and Diploma) to children aged 3-18yrs. ICS has a diverse community with 45 different nationalities, and boasts a strong tradition of working with students in a highly personalised tuition framework thus enabling every student to reach their maximum potential in a rigorous but supportive environment. For students needing English Language Support we offer our unique Preparation Programme that allows studentsto study mainstream academic subjects alongside the language tuition. We also welcome & provide outstanding support to children with Special Educational Needs. Students at ICS benefit from a wide ranging sports & activity programme during term time and also during school holidays. We have outdoor education centres at Chorleywood and Bawdsey, Suffolk and offer educational trips abroad as part of our Travel & Learn Programme. This year ICS is proud to be celebrating 35 years of offering international education.

ISL GROUP OF SCHOOLS

ISL SurreyOld Woking Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 8HYContact: Claudine HakimTelephone: +44 (0)1483 750 409

ISL London139 Gunnersbury Avenue, London W3 8LGContact: Yoel GordonTelephone: +44 (0)20 8992 5823

ISL QatarPO Box 18511, North Duhail, QatarContact: Nivin El AawarTelephone: +974 4433 8600Website: www.islschools.orgEmail: [email protected] International School of London (ISL) Group has schools in London, Surrey, and Qatar. The internationally recognised primary and secondary curricula have embedded language programmes (mother tongue, English as an Additional Language, and second language) which continue throughout the student’s stay in the school. A

team of experienced and qualified teachers and administrators provides every student with the opportunity to grow and learn in an environment that respects diversity and promotes identity, understanding, and a passion for learning.

MARYMOUNT INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LONDONAddress: George Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 7PEContact: Mrs Cheryl EyseleTelephone: +44 (0)20 8949 0571Email: [email protected]: www.marymountlondon.comWith an outstanding record teaching the respected International Baccalaureate for over 30 years, Marymount offers day and boarding to girls aged 11-18 who gain places at the world’s best universities.Consistently ranked within the top 5% globally, Marymount also offers the pre-IB Middle Years Programme; this stretches students without the need for incessant testing. The nurturing, supportive Catholic Community welcomes all faiths and achieves a shared purpose for girls of more than 40 nationalities.

NEWLAND COLLEGENewland Park, Chalfont St GilesBuckinghamshire HP8 4ADRegistrar: Sophia HaigWebsite: www.newlandcollege.co.ukEmail: [email protected] College is set in 100 acres of parkland in the heart of the Chilterns, 45 mins from central London.We are co-ed, with entry points at 11 and 13 years of age. We provide the International Baccalaureate curriculum. Boarding and day options are available. Email [email protected] to arrange a visit.

TASIS THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN ENGLANDColdharbour Lane, Thorpe, Surrey, TW20 8TEContact: Karen HouseTelephone: +44 (0)1932 582316Email: [email protected]: www.tasisengland.org TASIS England offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma, an American college preparatory curriculum, and AP courses to its diverse community of coed day (3-18) and boarding (14-18) students from 50 nations. The excellent academic programme, including ESL, is taught in small classes, allowing the individualised attention needed to encourage every student to reach their potential. Outstanding opportunities in art, drama, music, and athletics provide a balanced education. Extensive summer opportunities are also offered. Located close to London on a beautiful and historic 46-acre estate.

SERVICED APARTMENTSTHE ASSOCIATION OF SERVICED APARTMENT PROVIDERS (ASAP)Suite 3, The Business Centre, Innsworth Tech Park, Innsworth Lane, Gloucestershire GL3 1DLContact: ASAP Office

Telephone: +44 (0)1452 730452Email: [email protected]: www.theasap.org.ukTwitter: @ASAPTheLinkedIn: The Association of Serviced Apartment ProvidersASAP is in the industry association representing, promoting and improving the serviced apartment sector. Our 124 members including serviced apartment operators and agents represent in excess of 25,000 serviced apartments in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada.When booking your serviced apartment, look for our Quality Accreditation kitemark which confirms the operator is fully compliant with all the core legal, health and safety practices and means you can book with confidence.

BBFAvenue de Roodebeek 78 box 9, BrusselsContact: Bernard KerkhofTelephone: +32 (0)2 705 05 21Email: [email protected]: www.bbf.beTwitter: @BBFBelgium LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/bbf-serviced-apartmentsBBF is specialised in the rental of serviced apartments since 1992.Today we are leader in the market of temporary housing with a portfolio of over 1500 apartments in Brussels. We also offer corporate housing in other cities such as Budapest.Our flexible rental packages include excellent solutions for short and long term accommodation for personal and business travellers. For long term accommodation, minimum one year, we can offer unfurnished apartments where one has the choice to install their own furniture.

TAXATION BDO LLP55 Baker Street, London, W1U 7EUContact: Andrew BaileyTelephone: 020 7893 2946Fax: 020 7893 2418E-mail: [email protected]: www.bdo.co.ukBDO LLP is the award-winning, UK Member Firm of BDO International, the world's fifth largest accountancy network with more than 600 offices in 100 countries.We have a partner-led approach, which delivers the highest quality of service by using short, functional chains of communication to aid decision-making. Clients benefit from our fresh thinking, constructive challenge and practical understanding of the issues they face. Developing strong, personal relationships with our clients is at the forefront of our service approach.Tax advice is just one of our award-winning services and our expatriate team give practical and direct advice, delivering solutions which suit your needs.

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Date post:	23-Jul-2016
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