| 13:00 |
13:55 |
Diversity and data
Diversity and inclusion can have a huge impact on an organisation's performance. Together, they create an environment that enhances productivity and profitability, which are key values that companies are striving to achieve in today's dynamic world. Workplace diversity encompasses a wide range of human differences, from race and ethnicity to gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
This panel will specifically look at gender diversity including its impact on pay. We will explore the issue through the prism of the EU directive, as well as the situation in countries such as Indonesia, Germany and the UK. We will also look at diversity from the perspective of opportunities and threats, including positive discrimination.
This panel will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss and share their most pressing concerns and experiences regarding areas such as:
• Gender pay gap reporting,
• EU Pay Transparency Directive,
• Diversity at board level,
• Risk of positive discrimination,
• Data gathering vs. data privacy laws.
Moderator
Szymon Kubiak, Partner, Wardynski & Partners, Poland
Speakers
Lia Alizia, Partner, Makarim & Taira S., Indonesia
Ming Evans, Associate General Counsel, Employment Group Legal, Smiths Group Plc, UK
Sian Keall, Partner, Travers Smith, UK
Thomas Winzer, Partner, Gleiss Lutz, Germany
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| 14:15 |
15:10 |
Restrictive covenants
This panel will role-play as internal executive management at a global company having a debate and questioning legal experts on topics such as:
• Should we implement restrictive covenants worldwide?
• Impetus, recent situation where competitor hired top executive.
• Is it the right thing to do? Why or why not?
• Public policy and culture considerations (e.g. stifling innovation; hiring challenges).
• Are they necessary in the competitive environment? For example, for leverage (two-week street issue where competition in
business segment has them already).
• At what levels of the company?
• Different segments of the business? What is the competitive landscape in that segment?
• Scope of roll-out – can and should we include contractors, lower level employees?
• Cost-benefit? (significant customization and updates required; costs to acquire in jurisdictions that require payment and may
have waiting periods; litigation costs).
• Do they work? What outcomes can you achieve in the relevant jurisdictions? What are challenges to enforcement, including
complex procedural issues such as choice of law/venue?
• Alternatives to enforcement/litigation of restrictive covenants: Cease and desist; fiduciary duties; trade secret and other IP
protection; protection of confidential information.
• Rapid changes in the law may render restrictive covenants obsolete.
Moderator
Jennifer Redmond, Partner, Sheppard Mullin, USA
Speakers
Jerome Aubertin, Partner, Stibbe, Belgium
Renato Canizares, Partner, Demarest, Brazil
Elsie Chan, Partner, Deacons, Hong Kong
Vanessa Markham, Assistant General Counsel, Employment, Oracle, UK
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| 15:30 |
16:25 |
Post at your own risk?
This panel will consider the legal and employee relations aspects of employment in a digital age, including a discussion of the ability of employers to conduct social media background checks and monitoring and to discipline and dismiss employees for social media use and other off duty conduct.
• Introduction/pros and cons of social media in the workplace.
• Do employers in your jurisdictions regularly conduct social media background checks on prospective employees or engage in social
media monitoring of existing employees? Should they? What are the pros/cons and best practices?
• Do all employees have “free speech”? Can you discipline or dismiss an employee for what they do or say in their free time?
• Can being Facebook “friends” and “following” co-workers on social media be positive to develop relationships amongst co-workers?
Or is it just a minefield? Do employers need to comment publicly on every world event? In a polarized world, how can employees'
social media activity outside the workplace, create employee disputes in the workplace?
Moderator
Holly Reid, Partner, Blakes, Canada
Speakers
Kate Astbury, Director of Legal – Employment, Incentives & Pensions, Monzo Bank, UK
Foulques de Rostolan, Partner, Holis Avocats, France
Anshul Prakash, Partner, Khaitan & Co, India
Jet Stolk, Partner, HOUTHOFF, Netherlands
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| 17:00 |
17:50 |
1st Roundtable Session
Venue: The Parliament Chamber
Employee incentive schemes
Incentive structures, including bonuses, serve as powerful tools to motivate and reward employees for their contributions to organizational success. However, the manner in which these incentives are designed, implemented, and disclosed can significantly impact perceptions of fairness, transparency, and corporate governance.
Amidst growing social awareness and calls for corporate accountability, discussions around compensation fairness have moved to the forefront of public discourse. Stakeholders increasingly demand not only transparency in bonus and incentive structures but also alignment with principles of equity and social responsibility. This roundtable will dissect the current landscape but also identify actionable strategies and best practices such as:
Company governance, social scrutiny, compensation fairness
• claw-backs
• say on pay / board involvement
• long-term incentives and deferred compensation
• transparency and disclosure
Company incentives in a global world
• New metrics
- Definition of objectives and their localization, for both cultural and legal matters
- Dynamic structure, encouraging desired behaviors, contributing to long-term business results
• Diversity and inclusion as strategic imperative
Company incentives for the new world
• Compensation not about monetary benefits only anymore
- ESG criteria used for bonus assessments
• Tax implications
Moderators
Annalisa Reale, Partner, Chiomenti, Italy
Simone Wetzstein, Partner, Walder Wyss, Switzerland
Moving people internationally
This roundtable will discuss the following sub-topics:
• De facto employment risk - Risk of visiting consultants being considered de facto employees of the local entities.
• Potential Tax Issues - Permanent establishment risk and Personal income tax liability.
• Occupational health & safety abroad - Definition of “workplace accident”, LGBT risk, and Sexual harassment abroad.
• Data security concerns - Strict legislation often restricts the cross-border transfer of data, so how can employers comply
with their employees traveling abroad?
Moderators
Sarah Galeski, Counsel, Tilleke & Gibbins, Vietnam
Naomi Oppenheim, Director & Senior Managing Legal Counsel, BCG, UK
International redundancy exercises: Key considerations and potential pitfalls
Dealing with employment matters on a cross-border basis can be a challenge, and none more so, than when carrying out redundancy exercises. From both a private practice and in-house perspective, this roundtable will explore the key considerations from a planning and implementation perspective to try and avoid common pitfalls and other unintended consequences. This discussion will focus on three main segments:
• Timing and sequencing: Global needs of the business -v- local law & compliance considerations, collective consultation
obligations, external notifications, works councils, unions and/or employee representative engagement and employee
communication considerations;
• Selection: Business considerations -v- mandatory selection criteria, discrimination / positive discrimination considerations and
general adherence to corporate values; and
• Implementation: Mandatory entitlements, global severance policies and other add-ons (outplacement etc).
Moderators
Joao Almeida, Partner, Garrigues, Portugal
Gordon Barr, Partner, Al Tamimi & Co., United Arab Emirates
Matt Briggs, Senior Director, Labour & Employment, EMEA, Salesforce, UK
How to manage legal and reputation risk
Employee relations is now a critical component of reputation management. From #Metoo to mental health issues, how organisations are perceived by their employees has become a reputational threat as great as any other. What are the implications for legal strategy? How can legal and reputation risk be balanced to better protect an organisation?
Through several case studies, this session will explore thorny issues such as when an organisation should say sorry to protect its reputation – even if that threatens its legal case. Or what a company can do when an employee is using their personal social media channels to espouse controversial or divisive views. It will explore the rise of employee activism and whistleblowers, discussing how employees are increasingly willing to criticise their employers’ actions over controversial issues that affect society - and how this can impact organisations.
Moderator
Richard Campbell, Partner, Kekst CNC, UK
Employment law and AI
Artificial intelligence is developing at breathtaking speed, seemingly each week involving a leap forward in its capabilities and broadening its impact on the world of work. What are the risks and opportunities of AI in the workplace? How should we use it, and how should it be controlled?
• Use of AI in employment - Recruitment, Employee Relations matters, and Transformation of the workplace (digital literacy /
generational gap, and worker status) Vicarious Liability, and Discrimination.
• Use of AI by lawyers - To extent being used, Accuracy, and Confidentiality.
• Regulation across jurisdictions.
Moderators
Oliver Loach, People Director, Employment Law, Mitie, UK
Ailie Murray, Partner, Travers Smith, UK
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