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Jonathan M. Isaacs

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Jonathan Isaacs heads Baker McKenzie's China Employment Practice. Jonathan is listed as a leading lawyer for China employment law in various legal publications and has shared insights on labor and employment issues with many publications and media outlets, including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times, Reuters, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Voice of America, RTHK, LA Times and Fortune Magazine. He has also co-authored the leading treatise on Chinese employment law in English, Employment Law & Practice in China. He is admitted as a lawyer in the state of New York, USA.

It has become clear that flexibility is currency in the new working world and legal frameworks are evolving to catch up with the changing working culture. Four-day work-weeks, flexible working arrangements and the right to disconnect are all on offer to employees, giving the opportunity for better work-life balance, and giving employers a competitive edge in talent retention.

Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific Employers’ Forum took place in Singapore on Thursday, 27 April 2023. You can access a number of related resources relating to employment issues and trends.

• Government further strengthens enforcement measures against social insurance fraud
• Guangdong province issues detailed implementing rules for parental leave and elder care leave
• National authorities publish guideline cases dealing with protection of women’s rights
• Guangdong High People’s Court publishes guideline case on ex-employee theft of trade secrets
• Shanghai non-compete case shows courts may look at circumstantial evidence to prove breach by employees engaged in covert competition
• Henan court case shows importance of using correct terminology in an employment termination notice

Join us for a four-part webinar series as our US moderators welcome colleagues from around the globe to share the latest labor and employment law updates and trends. US-based multinational employers with business operations in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Americas regions will hear directly from local practitioners on the major developments they need to know, and come away with practical tips and takeaways to implement.

The newly amended Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women takes effect on 1 January 2023; Shanghai amends rules related to parental leave; the Supreme People’s Court issues a guiding case on how employers should handle sexual harassment in the workplace; an employee’s unsupported accusation of sexual harassment could constitute infringement of the right to reputation; the first equal opportunity case judgment in Guangdong Province is issued; and a Guangzhou court rules that a company’s internal disclosure of an employees’ information violates their privacy.

The newly revised Shanghai Labor Union Regulations came into effect on 1 June 2022. The recent round of revisions to the Regulations place emphasis on the democratic management of companies, though the revisions are stated in the form of general principles and provide little concrete guidance. The added provisions regarding gig workers are in line with recent national guidance over the past couple of years focusing on the rights and interests of gig workers. Companies with a labor union should pay particular attention to the obligation to notify the union of their unilateral termination of employment contracts.

While Hong Kong and mainland China have had anti-discrimination laws in place that protect employees from various types of discrimination at the workplace, recent developments and increasing employee awareness of their rights have led to increased focus on this area. Whilst Singapore does not currently have any workplace discrimination laws per se, there have been some recent developments.
Join us for this webinar where our employment team from Baker McKenzie Hong Kong & China, and Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow will explore the discrimination laws and regulations in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, consequences for non-compliance, and what employers need to bear in mind regarding their human resources policies.

In our four-part Navigating the World webinar series, US moderators welcomed colleagues from around the globe to share the latest labor and employment law updates and trends impacting US-based multinational employers with business operations in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific, including:
• the impact of the current social and political climate on multinational employers
• New significant legislative developments
• Inclusion and diversity (I&D) advancements and trends
• Best practices for a flexible workforce, addressing remote and hybrid work