APAC Employment Law Year-in-review: Out with the Tiger, in with the Rabbit

Australia

For Australian employers, 2022 was a year characterised by a combination of various commercial pressures: rising inflation and borrowing costs, supply chain shocks, and growing labour shortages as the national unemployment rate reached a low not seen in decades.

In the wake of a change in federal government, 2022 also heralded significant workplace law reform and trends in Australia, including:

1. the introduction of the Fair Work Legislation (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) (“FW Reform Act”), which made sweeping changes to enterprise bargaining, the entitlement to request flexible working arrangements, and the content and terms of certain contracts of employment;
2. strengthening of laws prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace;
3. a growing focus on the relationship between psychosocial workplace issues and employer’s duties under work health and safety legislation;
4. amending employee leave entitlements under the National Employment Standards; and
5. the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (“Disability Royal Commission”) continuing to inquire into measures taken by employers to respond to barriers to employment for people with a disability.

By Kristy Peacock-Smith and Ethan Aitchison. 

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, there have been a couple of important discrimination cases in the past year which we have examined in this look-back. Looking ahead, we cover some significant immigration measures introduced by the Government to attract overseas talent, and we explain the future changes to the MPF offsetting arrangement. Please read on to learn more about these topics:

1. When Dismissing an Alleged Discriminator is Discriminatory
2. The “Gweilo” Race Discrimination Case and Why it Failed
3. End of an Era – Long-Established MPF Offsetting Mechanism to be Abolished
4. Hong Kong Government Delivers Multiple Initiatives to Attract Overseas Talent

By Diana Purdy, Elaine Yeung, Melanie Yuen and Janet Leung.

Singapore

In 2022, we experienced a diverse change to the employment landscape in Singapore. In this article, we summarise the key changes of 2022 and share our thoughts on employment trends for 2023.

2022: A year in review

1. Changes to retirement and re-employment age
2. Implied term on reasonable notice periods in independent contractor agreements
3. Employment is a “two-way” relationship

2023 and beyond: What to expect

1. Overseas Networks & Expertise (ONE) Pass: A new pathway for expatriates to work in Singapore
2. Introduction of Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS)
3. Introduction of better protections for Platform Workers

By Seow Hui Goh, Natasha Cheng and Sharmaine Chan.