In this APAC Employment Law Year-in-review, we look back at the various changes and developments in the year of 2021 across Australia, Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Singapore. We will also explore expectations and anticipated changes for 2022.
2021 continued to present employers in Australia with significant challenges as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Most significantly, employers were presented with rapidly evolving Public Health Orders mandating lockdowns, vaccines and other restrictions on attendance at the workplace. Additionally, there were the usual number of changes to the Fair Work Act 2009.
The six key employment law developments in Australia in 2021 were:
By Kristy Peacock-Smith, Leila Moddel, Thomas Du and Christopher Conrad.
As we prepare to usher in the Year of the Tiger, we take this opportunity to look back at the employment law developments of 2021 and consider what we can expect for 2022. There have been a number of interesting cases which clarify how we are to interpret certain statutory and common law requirements and principles. There have also been some legislative changes enhancing the statutory rights of employees. In this publication, we provide a snapshot of the some of the most significant developments in Hong Kong employment law.
Key employment law developments in 2021:
Employment law outlook for 2022:
By Pattie Walsh, Diana Purdy, Stephanie Wong and Melanie Yuen.
The PRC Civil Code and the PRC Personal Information Protection Law came into effect in 2021, making the protection of employees' rights a hot topic. In addition, throughout 2021 regulations and policies were promulgated one after another at both national and local levels, having a profound impact on our daily life. As we begin 2022, this annual review summarizes the key developments in China's HR and employment sector in 2021 and looks ahead to the key developments expected in 2022.
Key employment law developments in 2021:
Employment law outlook in 2022:
By Ying Wang and Susie Wang.
In 2021, we experienced a diverse change to the employment landscape in Singapore – from legislative plans to increase the retirement and re-employment age to cater to an increasingly mature workforce, introducing vaccination differentiated measures in the workplace and tightening immigration laws. In this article, we summarise the key changes of 2021 and share our thoughts on employment trends for 2022.
Key employment law developments in 2021:
Employment law outlook in 2022:
By Seow Hui Goh, Natasha Cheng and Sharmaine Chan.