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Global employee mobility
Relocation assignments in the current difficult climate
By Eran Shay, Managing Director, Benefit Business Solutions Ltd
Attracting quality talent to Gibraltar has traditionally been a challenge for many local companies, particularly
in the online gaming and the finance sectors. The task is going to be
even more challenging over the coming year as global employee mobility has been severely affected by Covid-19. Despite the fact that Gibraltar has been very lucky so far in withstanding the current crisis, with no coronavirus-related deaths to date, the pandemic has raised a whole new set of concerns for both employers and employees in respect of international relocation assignments, with new emphasis on healthcare insurance, employer’s duty of care, remote working and possible economic slowdown in the post-corona era.
Over the last few months, there have been a series of webinars with panels of experts in various relocation-related subject matters, to assist clients and contacts around
the world currently on relocation assignments. In addition, we have been able to provide a rapid-response team to assist employers and employees in real time with urgent questions that have risen due to the pandemic.
From the insights we have gained, we believe global employment mobility will be impacted by the virus in the following ways:
1. Before Covid-19, sending an employee on an international assignment was a trivial matter. In the post-corona era, HR or hiring managers will first ask the question: Could this role be done remotely and how can we make it work remotely?
2. If remote working is not preferred/possible, there is likely to be greater opportunity for home working in the host country. The CEO of Barclays recently announced offices may never see the same crowds again, and he is not alone in this view (Facebook, Google, and other tech companies have recently extended work from home until the end of 2020).
3. Many mobility managers have expressed there could be some reluctance for a while to take an assignment and be away from family and home healthcare. Companies may have to shift their talent planning to include more remote team collaboration until restrictions on travel are fully lifted. As many countries are already experiencing a second wave, delays to relocation assignments are inevitable.
4. Duty of care and compliance will gain importance – This crisis has highlighted how important it is to track your mobile workforce, including business travellers. More attention to data and having the right technology to track will be essential, as well as communication tools and being able to get reliable information to employees (thus avoiding employee’s reliance on social media). Moreover, from a liability perspective, the employer may want a proper legal review of assignment documentation to eliminate risk of litigation.
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Gibraltar International
www.gibraltarinternational.com


































































































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