OCTOBER 2019 - MANISH SPEAKS: GIVING MOBILITY CLAUSES DEEPER THOUGHT

Businesses are always susceptible to redundancy situations with their workforce at some point during their time, leaving them accountable for the fate of their employees’ transition. A redundancy situation often arises when companies decide to move base, switch to resource-rich areas or scale down production due to market fluctuations.

There are also times when companies start new ventures in different continents and move their talents for expertise and management. During such circumstances, companies formulate mobility clauses to reasonably ensure that the rights of both the employer and the employee are protected in their new setting.

Mobility clauses are contractual obligations included in an employee’s work contract that lays out rules on what to do when relocation is on the cards. Sometimes, the company may require the employee to move to another country/city or production site for a short-term or long-term period, depending on the case.

Most of the time, companies do not see such moves happening in the course of their business life-cycle and omit such clauses only to be battling cases at employment tribunals later. These cases can often come with expensive redundancy payouts if companies are not prudent enough to draft clearly-worded clauses.

When companies create mobility clauses, they must maintain flexibility to accommodate occurrences that are unpredictable in the future. For this very reason, laying out a long and wordy mobility clause can often land employers in a tight spot, very much like the disasters of an open-ended clause which specifies nothing at all.  Such clauses can never be enforced if the employee refuses to relocate.

The clause’s inclusion in the work contract also does not give the employer the power to enforce changes immediately without giving the employees prior notice. While most roving employees may not find relocation that discomforting, others who are usually based at the home site may find the relocation difficult especially if they are raising kids or caring for the elderly.

Employees, on their part, need to know how the mobility clause is worded in their work contract.  If the employer has put in a mobility clause, then those employees won’t be deemed redundant as they can find a new posting at the new location.

However, if employees are unwilling to take up the position at the new site without any specific reason, employers have the authority to terminate them on grounds of misconduct, which lessens their chance of securing a redundancy payment if the matter goes to court.

Job transitions nowadays have become even more complicated with companies moving employees across the globe. The ASEAN, for example, has a slew of MNCs who have a number of talents relocating from their home site in the West to oversee operations in the dominant markets of the East. Employee mobility in such cases is bound by a number of factors ranging from location, living costs and statutory demands on tax, filings, medical needs and bonuses.

Most of the time, MNCs ally with local PEOs to look into employee affairs on their behalf to avoid pitfalls and legal complications. Having a PEO that prioritises employee services and regularly informs them about contractual minutiae helps employees dodge language and labour regulation challenges with ease.

Propay Partners helps MNCs with employee mobility solutions by bridging this gap seamlessly. Though the employees work for the same brand under a different location, Propay Partners helps them settle into their new work lives through structured induction programmes and timely information on taxes, claims and benefits.  

Even if the MNC decides to close one of its offices in the ASEAN, Propay Partners helps employees navigate their way as per the framework specified by the client. The company also does due diligence for expat clearance so that the new development doesn’t alter their state of affairs.

As PEO, Propay Partners’ relocation policies are based on factors such as smooth compliance, familiarity of local culture and know-how of general local nuances so that talents don’t feel alienated in their new sphere of life.

While corporations employ relocation as a strategic move aimed to get the best talents in the best of places, Propay Partners handles relocation successfully by making the move as memorable as possible for the employee. 

Through 18 years of personalised, high-touch services for clients and talents alike, Propay Partners helps them get through specialised onboarding processes supported by dedicated helpdesks that promise acclimatization requirements of all kinds.