24 Sep How to Handle Labor Issues in Offshore and Staff Leasing
Labor is a sensitive issue in offshore and staff leasing. And the industry is taking the blows. Labor issues cover such diverse areas as conflict of laws between on-site country and the offsite partner, privacy, contracts, intellectual property rights, and workers’ rights. Labor issues break out even in huge and established companies, so the safest measure any offshore and leased staff specialist can do is by observing these:
- Get a license. Presently, there are twelve states that require staff leasing companies to get a license: Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Arkansas, Florida, Maine, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, and Oregon. Apply for a license to avoid legal issues and to gain your leased; staff’s respect as well.
- Understand on-site and offsite labor laws. Most global companies are accused of exploiting developing counties’ workforce through offshore and leased staff work. Many of the accusations are, in fact, misguided: For one thing, they are grossly misunderstood. For any offshore and staff leasing work to get underway, both parties (the off-site and on-site partners) need to come to an understanding of the laws involved in the business. It’s not about the staff leasing company taking advantage of lower labor cost, but definitely a case of playing fair. If the offshore and staff leasing firm is legitimate, no toes are stepped and nobody gets disadvantaged. From your end, you should be clear about your offshore site’s labor laws covering working hours, wage, health, and safety.
- Weigh in the effects of offshoring and staff leasing on your company. Make the people in the higher ups accountable for every offshoring move the company makes, so when legal issues arise, you don’t end up finger pointing. Make sure there’s a legal department in place, and you have a legal counsel to turn to.
- Make your leased staff understand their rights at the outset. To state the obvious, tell your leased team that they’re not supposed to expect to be treated like a full time on-site office personnel. Make them understand the operations of an offshore and staff leasing company. Tell them they’re not entitled to their home country’s benefits, but for a job well done, you may consider handing out incentives. By telling them this sincerely you don’t offer them any false hope. They’ll consider that as a real well-meaning gesture.
When a thing gets out of hand that it calls for a legal action, be prepared to face it. It shouldn’t have come up if you treated your leased staff well. Remember: Legal action is the last resort. And most times it doesn’t end happily.
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