International HR Adviser Spring 2022 by International HR Adviser

SPRING 2022

ISSUE 88 FREE SUBSCRIPTION OFFER INSIDE

International HR Adviser The Leading Magazine For International HR Professionals Worldwide

FEATURES INCLUDE: The Path To Net Zero: Leading The Way With Your Workforce Global Tax Update • UK Year-End Employer Compliance Reporting - Key Reminders For Tax Year 2021/22 Head of Talent Reveals The Secret To A Perfect Hire • Immigration Update How To Be A Courageous Leader In The Post-Pandemic Era Case Study - 'Wheraebouts' Traveller And A Remote Working Tracking Solution For Groupon Why Is It Hard To Measure Expatriate Performance - Top Five Reasons And What You Can Do To Change That Health And Wellbeing - UK Trends And Benefits Survey HR In 2022 And Beyond - Trends, Challenges And Priorities Facing The People Profession ADVISORY PANEL FOR THIS ISSUE:

International HR Adviser The Leading Magazine For International HR Professionals Worldwide

IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT

The 2022 Global HR Conference FOR IN-HOUSE GLOBAL HR PROFESSIONALS ONLY

will take place in London on Monday 17th October This event is for Global HR Professionals and will include seminars by professionals in the field of Global Tax, Immigration, Technology, Benefits and Mobility Solutions. To register to receive a Free Email Invitation to this event, please email Helen Elliott: helen@internationalhradviser.com We look forward to seeing you there.

CONTENTS

In This Issue 3

11 12

14 15

The Path To Net Zero: Leading The Way With Your Workforce Helen Rylands, Deloitte LLP, Global Employer Services

Global Tax Update Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

UK Year-End Employer Compliance Reporting - Key Reminders For Tax Year 2021/22 Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

Head of Talent Reveals The Secret To A Perfect Hire Jake Kimber, Product Madness

New UK Work Visa Routes Opening This Spring David Hugkulstone, Smith Stone Walters

People Don't Want To Go Back To The Old Way Of Work Jeff Dewing, Cloudfm

How To Be A Courageous Leader In The Post-Pandemic Era Merliee A. Kern, The Luxe List

Case Study - 'Wheraebouts' Traveller And A Remote Working Tracking Solution For Groupon Tom Crosby, GT Global Tracker

Why Is It Hard To Measure Expatriate Performance - Top Five Reasons And What You Can Do To Change That Angie Weinberger, Global People Transitions

23 26

Health And Wellbeing - UK Trends And Benefits Survey Aon

HR In 2022 And Beyond - Trends, Challenges And Priorities Facing The People Profession Natural HR

Free Annual Subscription

Directory

www.internationalhradviser.com

Helen Elliott • Publisher • T: +44 (0) 20 8661 0186 • E: helen@internationalhradviser.com Ben Everson • T: +44 (0) 7921 694823 • E: ben@internationalhradviser.com International HR Adviser, PO Box 921, Sutton, SM1 2WB, UK Cover Design by Chris Duggan In Loving Memory of Assunta Mondello Origination by Debbie Morgan and Printing by Gemini Group The International HR Adviser team work with a British planet positive printer, with a commitment to best practice environmental management including achieving the top score in Europe for the Green Leaf Awards, full FSC Certification, and ISO14001. Well managed sourcing of both virgin pulp and recycled papers, in addition to carbon balancing ensures that you can enjoy International HR Adviser with a clear eco conscience. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information contained in this issue of “International HR Adviser”, the publishers and Directors of Inkspell Ltd cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither the publishers of “International HR Adviser” nor any third parties who provide information for “Expatriate Adviser” magazine, shall have any responsibility for or be liable in respect of the content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or for any errors or omissions therein. “International HR Adviser” does not endorse any products, services or company listings featured in this issue.

INTERNATIONAL HR STRATEGY

The Path To Net Zero: Leading The Way With Your Workforce Most o rga n i s at i o n s h ave environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations high on their strategic agenda, as they seek to play their part in the road to a ‘Net Zero’ future. Although it is encouraging to see corporates leading these initiatives, the pathway to a Net Zero future will be defined by the actions of the many and not the few. Businesses will need to make targeted interventions across their business functions and every individual will need to make deliberate choices to play a part in decarbonisation. In this article, we look at the role that employee reward and policy can play in reaching Net Zero ambitions. In the last two years we have witnessed disruption to where, when and how we work, at a pace unprecedented in recent history. Employers have been adjusting to significant change in their workforces and workplaces. As part of their response, employers have taken opportunities to look at their broader workforce policies, including how their workforce is rewarded and what choices are available as part of their reward. They have also looked more broadly at the policies they set to guide the behaviours of their employees in their day-to-day work. At the same time, organisations and governments around the world have been focusing on how they can ‘build back better’ following the COVID-19 pandemic, including how they can keep some of the gains made from a Net Zero perspective. In November 2021, world leaders came together at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, and around the world organisations have been setting corporate objectives and targets as they embark on their own journeys to Net Zero. In organisations that have set such targets, the question is now “how do we bring our Net Zero ambitions to fruition, and what is the role of each business function in that journey”? Leaders in Net Zero are now realising that to optimise their progress towards their ambitions, there is an opportunity to bring together business functions across their organisations including in HR, Reward, Global Mobility and Tax.

The Net Zero Workforce

In order for organisations to succeed in achieving those ambitions, they will need

a workforce which is appropriately skilled, engaged and motivated to bring them to life. Indeed, some are predicting that every workforce role in the future will incorporate sustainability into its remit to some degree. Additionally, the workforce is increasingly calling out corporate responsibility credentials as a key consideration when choosing a prospective employer. In order to be an employer of choice and gain access to top talent in an increasingly competitive talent market, organisations are considering ways in which they can enable employees to live their purpose at work.

They are also considering ways in which they can support personal change for their employees, by offering more choices in the reward package and workforce policies that support sustainability They are also considering ways in which they can support personal change for their employees, by offering more choices in the reward package and workforce policies

that support sustainability. Through their corporate buying power, and by accessing tax incentives available for certain employee benefits, they can make personal change more affordable for employees. By researching and determining a selection of optional benefits for employees, they are removing the barriers of time and effort when it comes to personal change and making it easier for employees to make a difference. This will be attractive to many in the workforce who may be increasingly time challenged and financially stretched, who are keen to do the right thing. In doing so, employers are also potentially improving attraction and retention rates too. The recent focus on providing more sustainable choices to employees at work has included focus in some key areas, including core reward changes and travelrelated reward options and policies, as well as some other emerging reward offerings.

Sustainable Reward Trend #1: Core Reward Changes

Core, contractual components of the reward package can be the most challenging to change, due to the legal steps that must be taken in order for such changes to be made. However, following the disruption to working life as a result of the pandemic, many organisations are already reconsidering their core reward packages which creates an opportunity to ‘build back better’ when it comes to incorporating sustainable changes or options. One popular area of focus is on employee pension arrangements. Given the significant sums invested in pension funds, there is a major opportunity to consider how the funds are invested and how aligned those investments are with the wider sustainability objectives of the organisation. Deloitte, for example, announced in 2021, that it was introducing a new sustainable default pension fund for all of its 35,000 pension plan members in the UK, with £1bn of investment moving into the fund, and many other employers are adopting similar changes.

Sustainable Reward Trend #2: Travel Related Benefits And Policies

An area of change that is proving popular with employers relates to employee travel, and related benefits and policies. Generally, there remains a desire to bring teams together in person for some collaboration

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

opportunities and to promote personal connections between teams and external contacts, especially after an extended period of travel and social restrictions that, in many cases, prevented working together in person. Many businesses are realising the opportunity to reduce financial costs as well as reducing their climate impact by making sustainable changes to travel policies, considering their preferred suppliers, classes of travel permitted by the policy, and at a more fundamental level, guidance to support their employees in choices about when travelling is the right choice, versus virtual collaboration methods. Attention is also being placed on global mobility, identifying opportunities to decarbonise global mobility programmes and employee travel policies. While global assignees typically comprise a small proportion of an organisation’s workforce, their climate impact is often disproportionately high. Examples of updates to policies include providing allowances for using ‘greener’ transport options, for example, public transport allowances, as well as changes that reduce waste and shipping associated with international assignments. Global mobility teams, like many other business functions, are holding their suppliers to account to make their services more sustainable in order to secure a place as a preferred supplier. Data analytics is also being deployed to enable businesses to understand their employee travel patterns, enabling better informed choices around decarbonisation for both employees and employers, and then using data to assess the impact of any changes made. Employers are also investing in reward options for employees to reflect changing attitudes to modes of travel, as well as to enable employees to reduce their own emissions in their personal and workrelated travel and commuting. Employers are implementing ‘cycle to work’ schemes, providing discounted car subscription and bike hire schemes, as well as car charging facilities at work and at home, and public transport subsidies. Cash allowances can be made instead of the traditional company car allowances, particularly popular with those employees who have decided that they no longer wish to travel by car. For those employees who are not yet ready for life without a car, there’s an opportunity for employers to enable their employees to access the beneficial tax regime associated with electric company cars. Accessing cars through a salary sacrifice arrangement where the employee gives up part of their salary in return for a brand new, insured and maintained, electric company car, can enable employees to access savings, compared to a private car lease or purchase, of up to 50%(1). Some employers also choose to reflect a saving as a result of the arrangement. Care is required in the planning and implementation,

www.internationalhradviser.com

in order to ensure that the salary sacrifice is effective and take up can be maximised.

Post-pandemic, many employers have been thinking more creatively about the rewards options that they might choose to invest in for their workforce Sustainable Reward Trend #3: Emerging Offerings

Post-pandemic, many employers have been thinking more creatively about the rewards options that they might choose to invest in for their workforce. Some are exploring ways in which they can provide information to their employees to support them in more sustainable personal choices and change, as well as using their corporate buying power to reduce the cost of such changes for employees by accessing discounts and lower cost flexible benefits. An example of emerging offerings in the market relates to an understandable focus on employees increasingly working from home. Employers have been considering whether they can offer access to opportunities for employees to obtain solar panels or insulation at home, or electric car charging points. The tax exemptions related to sustainable reward and benefits are generally focused on travel-related items as it stands. It will be interesting to see how the tax landscape may adapt in the future as governments focus on their sustainability objectives for society.

Opportunity For Action

So, what steps can HR, reward, tax and mobility teams take in order to play their part in aligning their business functions to their organisation’s Net Zero objectives? The following steps are a good starting point for those who wish to get involved:

Get Net Zero Workforce Literate • Research and read material that is available both within and outside your organisation and become familiar with key terms and targets • Understand what Net Zero means for your organisation - what are the key objectives and how could you make a difference in your role? Engage With Your Stakeholders • Identify the ‘owners’ of Net Zero workforce across your organisation – what are their roles, and what are they trying to achieve? • Engage with senior leadership and obtain buy-in where needed. Consider articulating how you/your function can enable their objectives. Understand Current State • Review existing documentation (policies, processes and communications) to understand what is and is not being done to achieve a Net Zero workforce • Conduct stakeholder interviews to understand areas of optimisation, as well as future ambitions • Conduct external benchmarking (where required) to understand position of comparator organisations. Reference: (1) Based on Deloitte whole life cost analysis comparing a diesel company car to a battery electric vehicle based on 36-month contract term for a higher rate taxpayer travelling 10,000 business miles per annum, and based on typical company car tax rates and private lease prices at the time of writing.

HELEN RYLANDS

Director, Global Employer Services Deloitte LLP hrylands@deloitte.co.uk +44 113 292 1334 Helen Rylands is a director in the Deloitte Global Employer Services service line, specialising on Employment Tax. Helen is Deloitte’s leader on ESG with regard to employee reward, policy and global mobility. More information on Deloitte ESG services can be found at: deloitte-uk-employers-and-the-roadto-net-zero.pdf

GLOBAL TAXATION

Global Tax Update BELGIUM

Amendments to the special tax regime for expatriates As announced, as part of the 2022 Federal budget measures, the Belgian government has agreed on the principles of a new special tax regime for inbound taxpayers and inbound researchers. This new special tax regime was included in the year-end ‘Programme Law’ and entered into force on 1 January 2022. The following summarises the key characteristics of this new special tax regime for inpatriates taxpayers and inpatriate researchers: 1. Legal Basis The new regime is included in the Income Tax Code and therefore provides more legal certainty than the former special tax status which was based on an administrative circular. 2. Qualifying Conditions 2.1. Absence of connection with Belgium During a period of 60 months prior to the arrival in Belgium, the qualifying employee or director should not: • Have been taxed as a resident taxpayer in Belgium • Have been living at a distance of less than 150 km from the Belgian borders • Have been taxed as a non-resident on Belgian professional income. The inpatriate must: • Be recruited from outside Belgium by a resident company, a Belgian establishment of a foreign company or a non-profit association; or • Through an assignment or transfer within a multinational group or non-profit organisation. In other words, in case of recruitment from abroad, Belgian companies who are not part of an international group also qualify for this inpatriate tax regime. This was usually not the case under the old regime. There is no foreign citizenship requirement anymore: Belgian nationals satisfying the conditions mentioned above are also eligible for these tax concessions. 2.2. Minimum gross compensation threshold: €75,000 There will be a minimum annual gross salary threshold of €75,000. This threshold includes gross salary, variable compensation as well as benefits in kind, but not the 30% tax free allowance itself. Should the employment or directorship not cover a full calendar year, this threshold would have to be pro-rated accordingly.

Exception For Researchers This annual minimum salary threshold will not be applicable for researchers as long as they meet the following conditions: • They hold a master’s degree in the following expertise area - agricultural sciences, applied sciences, industrial sciences, medical sciences, natural science pharmaceutical sciences, veterinary sciences and engineering; or • They have at least 10 years of relevant experience in these areas. Please note that this exception only applies to employees and not to directors. This exemption only applies when the researcher spends at least 80% of their professional time on research activities. 2.3. Contractual Based on the explanatory memorandum, it appears that the employment contract or directorship agreement should include provisions that confirm the application of the new special tax regime and the details of the compensation package and tax-free allowance that will be paid. Although it is not confirmed by the Law, we assume that it will be confirmed in an upcoming administrative circular detailing the practical aspects of this new regime. 3. Benefits Of The New Regime • The employer may reimburse or compensate the expatriate on a tax-free basis for the recurring additional costs resulting from the expatriation (e.g. cost of living, housing cost etc.). This reimbursement is limited to 30% of the gross remuneration, but it has now been clarified that a lower percentage is also possible, which means that more expatriates become eligible for the new scheme. On the other hand, the benefits are capped at a maximum tax-free amount of €90,000. Please note that the social security position should still be aligned with the tax exemption • This lump-sum tax free amount of 30% replaces the current travel exemption and deductions of costs proper to the employer (currently capped at €11,250 or €29,750) • The reimbursement of school fees, moving and installation costs can still be reimbursed as costs proper to the employer on top of the 30% compensation (conditions apply). 4. Maximum Duration The new inpatriate regime can apply for an initial 5-year period with a possible 3-year extension (through the filing of a new request by demonstrating that the qualifying conditions are still met).

This new regime is no longer exclusively linked to the employer. Therefore, it could continue to apply when there is a change of employer. 5. Belgian Residency Unlike the previous system, the new special tax regime provides that standard residency rules included in the Belgian income tax legislation apply. Should the concerned expatriate not be considered as a resident taxpayer under the domestic tax rules, they would need to provide the tax authorities with a certificate of tax residency from another country. This residency status implies that qualifying expatriates will be taxable in Belgium on their worldwide income but are entitled to invoke the double tax treaties concluded by Belgium. 6. Procedure To benefit from the special tax regime, the employee/director and their employer need to submit a joint application within 3 months after the start of the Belgian employment/assignment. Every year, before January 31st, employers will have to provide the Belgian tax authorities with a listing of all the qualifying employees/directors for the preceding year. 7. Entry Into Force This new regime will be applicable for all employments/assignments starting as of 1 January 2022. 8. Transitional Measures The Law provides some opt-in/opt-out mechanisms for existing situations that need to be analysed on a case-by-case basis. This transitional period will be limited to 2 years. 8.1. Opt-In For New Regime Taxpayers benefitting from the previous special tax status for less than 5 years may opt for the new regime if they already meet the qualifying conditions of the new special tax regime. This opt-in demand needs to be filed by 31 July 2022 at the latest. The years of the current special regime will be deducted from the 5 year-limit of the new regime. 8.2. Opt-Out Taxpayers benefitting from the previous special tax status for less than 5 years and meeting the qualifying conditions of the new special tax regime may also opt out and remain subject to the previous regime until 31 December 2023. This option might be of interest to expatriates with high travel exclusion percentages.

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

8.3. Expatriates not qualifying for the new special tax status Expatriates present in Belgium for more than 5 years or not meeting the qualifying conditions of the new regime may continue to benefit from the previous concessions until 31 December 2023. They will become tax resident from 1 January 2024 and will then also no longer be entitled to any favourable tax treatment. BDO Comment Please do review the new rules to determine how this will impact both current and future assignees. Do watch out for further details regarding the practical arrangements for the operation of this new expatriate regime.

CANADA

Claiming a home office expense deduction for the 2021 tax filing season The Canadian federal government announced that it will extend the temporary flat rate method of claiming employee home office expenses for the 2021 and 2022 tax years. This means eligible employees working from home during COVID-19 have two options to claim home office expenses: the temporary flat rate method and the detailed method. 1. The Temporary Flat Rate Method The temporary flat rate method was first introduced by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in 2020. In late 2021, the federal government extended it to the 2021 and 2022 tax years and increased the maximum deductible from $400 to $500. The temporary flat rate method simplifies home office expense claims for employees who are eligible and choose to use this method. Who is eligible to use the temporary flat rate method? As an employee, you are eligible for this method if you: • Worked from home in 2021 due to COVID-19 (if you were not required to work from home but your employer provided you with the choice to work at home because of the pandemic, the CRA will consider you to have worked from home due to COVID-19) • Worked from home more than 50% of the time for a period of at least four consecutive weeks in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic • Are only claiming home office expenses and are not claiming any other employment expenses; and • Were not reimbursed by your employer for all your deductible home office expenses. How to calculate your home office tax deduction Under the temporary flat rate method, the home office expense deduction is calculated at $2 per day for each day the eligible

www.internationalhradviser.com

employee worked from home in 2021 due to COVID-19, up to a maximum of $500 (i.e., 250 work at home days). Days off, vacation days, sick leave days, and other leaves or absences don’t count as a workday from home.

The temporary flat rate method simplifies home office expense claims for employees who are eligible and choose to use this method Consistent with 2020, employees who use the temporary flat rate method do not need to track expenses, perform workspace calculations, or keep receipts. You also don’t need to obtain Form T2200 or T2200S. 2. The Detailed Method Before the temporary flat rate method was introduced, the detailed method was the usual way in which employees claimed home office expenses. Due to COVID-19, eligibility for this method has been broadened for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax years. Who is eligible to use the detailed method? As an employee, you are eligible for this method if: • You worked from home in 2021 due to COVID-19 (if you were not required to work from home but your employer provided you with the choice to work at home because of the pandemic, the CRA will consider you to have worked from home due to COVID-19), or were required to work from home by your employer • You were required to pay for expenses related to the workspace in your home • Your workspace is where you worked more than 50% of the time for a period of at least four consecutive weeks in the year, or you only use your workspace to earn employment income and it is used regularly and continually for meeting clients, or other people for work

• Your expenses are used directly in your work; and • You obtain a signed Form T2200 or T2200S from your employer. How to calculate your deduction The detailed method allows eligible employees to claim the employment portion of actual deductible expenses paid. To calculate your deduction using the detailed method, you need to determine the proportional size of your workspace compared to the total finished areas within your home, and the amount of time that your workspace is used for work, in order to calculate your workspace in home deduction. As these calculations can be tedious, the CRA has provided examples and an online calculator to assist. Form T2200S or T2200 You will need to obtain the signed T2200S or T2200 from your employer to make a claim under the detailed method. The T2200S, which was introduced for 2020, is a shortened version of the T2200 that employers should prepare for their employees who worked from home due to COVID-19 and wish to claim home office expenses under the detailed method. Please note that you cannot use the T2200S if you are also making a claim for other employment expenses, such as motor vehicle expenses, and the T2200 should be used instead. The relevant Form T2200 or T2200S should be kept on file but does not need to be submitted with your tax return. Which home office expense claim method is right for me? If your work or home situation has changed since you filed your 2020 return, you may want to estimate the deduction under both methods to see if the detailed method gives you a higher deduction, provided you meet the eligibility requirements. The detailed method typically yields a higher deduction for employees who rent their home. There are also additional deductible expenses like electricity, heat, and home internet access fees that can be included in your calculation under the detailed method. However, if you worked in a common space instead of a designated workspace, such as your dining table, then you would need to further prorate the deduction based on your work hours. Keep in mind that if you choose the detailed method, you need to obtain a signed T2200S or T2200 from your employer and track your expenses and receipts. How to make a home office expense deduction claim The CRA has released Form T777S, Statement of Employment Expenses for Working at

GLOBAL TAXATION Home Due to COVID-19 for 2021, which is a shortened version of the T777. You need to complete this form and file it with your 2021 tax return to claim a home office expense deduction. It can be used for either the temporary flat rate method or the detailed method of claiming home office expenses. Please note that you can only use the T777S if you are not claiming any other types of employment expenses such as motor vehicle expenses. Claiming home office expenses with Revenu Québec On its COVID-19: FAQ for Individuals webpage, Revenu Québec (RQ) confirmed it would continue to parallel the federal measures to simplify the process for employees deducting their home office expenses incurred during COVID-19 for 2021. Employees can choose between the temporary flat rate method (maximum deduction of $500) or the detailed method. Consistent with 2020, employees need to obtain form TP-64.3-V, General Employment Conditions from their employer when using the detailed method. This is Quebec’s version of the federal Form T2200. Although there is no simplified TP-64.3-V, the form indicates that only certain questions need to be answered for employees who worked from home because of the pandemic. BDO Comment Many Canadians worked from home in 2021, potentially making them eligible to claim the home office expense deduction. Employers will need to provide their employees with a completed and signed Form T2200S (or Form T2200) where applicable, and TP-64.3-V for Quebec purposes where applicable. Completing multiple forms requires a significant amount of resources and time, which is compounded by the many employees who worked from home in 2021. If you are experiencing resource constraints or could benefit from a more streamlined process, please seek professional assistance.

CHINA

Extension of PRC Individual Income Tax (“IIT”) Preferential Treatment on Annual Bonus, Benefit-in-kind Allowances and Equity Incentive Income The Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation announced an extension to the preferential tax treatment applying on annual bonuses, benefit-in-kind allowances and equity incentive income. The rules applying to annual bonuses and benefit-in-kind allowances will now be valid until 31 December 2023 whilst the current rules applying to equity incentive income will expire on 1 January 2023.

Annual Bonus Income Under current PRC IIT law and regulations, individuals who receive an annual bonus income could be assessed on a separate basis outside of their monthly income. However, individuals can select the more beneficial treatment based on their actual situation. The calculation formula is different for Chinese tax residents and non-Chinese tax resident individuals as follows: • China tax resident individuals IIT payable on annual bonus = Total annual bonus * Tax rate – Quick deduction * Monthly tax rate table should be applied. • Non-China tax resident individuals IIT payable on annual bonus = [(Total annual bonus/6)* Tax rate – Quick deduction] * 6 * Applicable monthly tax rate and quick deduction is determined by the total annual bonus amount which is divided by 6. Benefit-in-Kind Allowances Preferential tax treatment on the following benefit-in-kind allowances paid to foreign individuals working in China will continue until 31 December 2023: • Housing rental expenses • Children education expenses • Home leave airfare expenses • Language training expenses • Meal and laundry expenses • Relocation expenses. Equity Incentive Income From 31 December 2022, individuals who participate in qualified equity incentive plans implemented by foreign and Chinese listed companies could enjoy tax benefit treatment on such income in China. Equity incentive income could be treated as a separate income without combining it with an individual’s regular monthly employment income for IIT calculation purpose. The calculation formula for both Chinese tax residents and non-Chinese tax residents is: • China tax resident individuals IIT payable on equity incentive income = Total taxable equity incentive income * Tax rate – Quick deduction * Annual tax rate table should be applied. • Non-China tax resident individuals IIT payable on equity incentive income = [(Total taxable equity incentive income / 6) * Tax rate – Quick deduction] * 6 * Applicable monthly tax rate and quick deduction is determined by the total annual bonus amount which is divided by 6. In addition, the Chinese national tax government previously announced in October 2021, that tax registration of equity incentive plans was required. Tax registration for Year 2021, needed to be completed by the end of the year. Whilst starting from Year 2022, the initial tax registration needs to be undertaken on implementation of the equity incentive plan and the supplementary registration for new grants/vests is required within 15 days of

the following month. Penalties can apply for any registration failures. BDO Comment Companies/withholding agents need to pay more attention to their internal systems and processes to ensure adherence to the new rules. If necessary, it is recommended professional advice be sought to assist on the reporting and tax filing issues to avoid potential non-compliance risks.

ITALY

Budget law for 2022 amendments and favourable implications for individuals Significant changes in respect to the marginal tax brackets applicable to individual taxpayers have been introduced by the Budget Law for the 2022 fiscal year. The changes affect the income brackets and the number of personal income tax rates have been reduced from five to four. This amendment will have a major impact on medium income levels. The changes made can be summarised as follows: Old And New Brackets 2021 Up to 15,000 euro, 23% From 15,000.01 to 28,000 euro, 27% From 28,000.01 to 55,000 euro, 38% From 55,000.01 to 75,000 euro, 41% Above 75,000 euro, 43% 2022 Up to 15,000 euro, 23% Above 15,000 euro and up to 28,000 euro, 25% Above 28,000 euro and up to 50,000 euro, 35% Above 50,000 euro, 43%

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) removes Coronavirus tax relaxation from 5 April 2022 In 2020, HMRC introduced guidance stating non-UK resident employees stranded in the UK because of coronavirus travel restrictions would not be taxed on earnings for duties performed in the UK after their planned departure date, provided they are taxed in their home state. This relation will end on 5 April 2022 as travel restrictions have been largely withdrawn and self-isolation rules were removed in February, meaning it is no longer ‘just and reasonable’ to treat these duties as performed outside the UK. If an individual is non-UK resident, ordinarily any days they spend working in the UK will be treated as days on which they performed duties in the UK. From 6 April 2022, this will be the case even if they are prevented from leaving the UK as a result of coronavirus related circumstances. Further details are not available at the time of writing but will be issued shortly. Prepared by BDO LLP. For further information please contact Andrew Bailey on 0207 893 2946 or at andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

UK Year-End Employer Compliance Reporting - Key Reminders For Tax Year 2021/22 For those employers who work in tax and with tax, you will be aware that deadlines are ever present. Within the UK these deadlines are generally linked to the UK tax year – April 6 to April 5. The deadlines and actions required vary depending on the subject matter, the forms involved, and the situation. In addition to standard/regular Pay As You Earn (PAYE) employment deadlines for employers, there are further requirements imposed on employers in relation to individuals in receipt of benefits and employment related securities. Where individuals work across borders, special PAYE arrangements exist to provide greater flexibility for employers. Inevitably HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will apply penalties and interest where forms are submitted late or not at all, and where any tax due is paid late. Seeking to navigate your way through these myriad reporting requirements can be complex. Details are generally not in one place, are fragmented in reference material, and sometimes hard to locate. Within this article we have sought to bring many such reporting requirements together for easy future reference. We have focused purely on UK deadlines, but in so doing this demonstrates the wide-ranging imposition placed on employers. Naturally where cross border moves occur then employer filings may be required in other countries.

Standard UK Employment Deadlines In Relation To Benefits

As an employer you will be aware that where you provide benefits to employees or meet certain expenses then you will need to make annual returns to HMRC, together with any associated tax and National Insurance payments. Forms P11D Employers must report any non-payrolled taxable expenses and benefits-in-kind (BIK) provided to employees during 2021/22 using forms P11D. Employers will need to complete a form P11D for each employee provided with a non-payrolled BIK. In addition, you

www.internationalhradviser.com

will need to file the employer return P11D(b) if you have a Class 1A National Insurance Contribution liability or because you payroll expenses and benefits. Key Deadlines • Submission of P11D/P11D(b) to HMRC – 6 July 2022 • Payment of employer Class 1A NIC – 19 July 2022 (extended to 22nd if payment is by electronic means).

The deadlines and actions required vary depending on the subject matter, the forms involved and the situation PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) Sometimes as an employer you may decide that you would prefer to meet the employee’s tax liability arising on benefits rather than have them pay the tax due through the payroll or via the P11D process. In this case you will need a PSA. A PSA is an agreement entered into between an employer and HMRC. It is used to cover all the tax and National Insurance due on minor, irregular or impracticable expenses or benefits for employees which are neither payrolled nor included on the P11D. If this is the first year for which an employer wishes to enter into a PSA with HMRC (i.e., for the 2021/22 tax year), the employer will need to have the PSA in place by 5 July 2022. Key Deadlines • Application to HMRC for PSA (usually using form P626 which includes the items required for the application) – 5 July 2022

• Payment of income tax and Class 1B NIC – 19 October 2022 (extended to 22nd if payment is by electronic means). Other Key Considerations: COVID-19 and P11Ds – what do employers need to know now? HMRC agreed certain relaxations to exemptions from P11D reporting which will end on 5 April 2022. As a summary: Home working costs - employees may claim tax relief for un-receipted allowance of up to £6 per week (£26 per month) either via reimbursed expenses or directly from pay where certain tests are met. Home-working equipment - there is an exemption for the reimbursement of employee’s costs or purchasing equipment obtained for the sole purpose of enabling the employee to work from home as a result of COVID-19. Mobile phone costs: employees who did not have access to their work phone, may have used their personal mobile phones more frequently during 2021/22. Claims for the costs of itemised business calls, texts and data only (and this is evidenced), are not taxable. The normal exemption for the provision of a mobile phone by the employer is not affected. Employer-provided COVID-19 testing for employees: The costs of antigen tests are not treated as a benefit subject to tax and NIC. Similarly, the cost of PPE provided to employees relating to their work is nontaxable and need not be reported on P11Ds. It is important for employers to ensure that any policies in place which have been designed to utilise these temporary tax exemptions have been revised in time for the new tax year commencing 6 April 2022. P11D’s and PSA’s might be a little light in content this year due to Covid restrictions, working from home and the absence of traditional expenses such as Christmas/ festive parties and late-night taxis. The gradual return to a new ‘normality’ and the ending of the Covid-19 related tax exemptions, will see an increase in expenses and reporting requirements as we move forward. It is as important as ever to ensure that you can tax benefits and expenses correctly and make the appropriate returns to HRMC.

TAXATION Employment Related Securities (ERS) - Share plan reporting

If you operate a share plan, or there has been any type of equity transaction involving UK employees or directors, you will almost certainly have to submit a return to HMRC by 6 July to report all transactions in Employment Related Securities (ERS), also known as Share Plan Reporting. Private and listed companies should report annually. Where plans are operated by parent companies, the parent or a UK employing company should report. In order to file the relevant returns, employers must register each plan or arrangement with HMRC via the ERS Online Services. There are specific registrations for UK tax-advantaged plans (CSOP, SAYE, SIP and EMI) which must be completed separately where relevant, and then a single registration for nontax-advantaged or other arrangements. What To Report Reportable transactions range from formal share plan activity to the acquisitions of securities such as shares or loan notes either on subscription, purchase or gift (regardless of whether there is any tax to pay) and taxable disposals of shares such as sales for more than market value. The reporting obligation exists for private and listed companies and HMRC is increasingly looking at the correlation between payroll, corporation tax deductions and share plan reporting. HMRC can use the information provided in the share plan returns to compare to employer payroll reporting and withholding in connection with employment related securities, corporation tax relief claims and employees’ own SelfAssessment tax returns, and check for any potential errors. There is often a disconnect between whether there is a reporting requirement and whether there is any tax due or payable, so employers should be cautious in assessing what might need to be submitted in an ERS return. Employees or directors may subscribe for shares at full value, and they may separately acquire securities through corporate transactions or reorganisations, and in all of these cases, a reporting obligation is likely to arise where there may be no employment tax to pay. Similarly, the grant of new options under a share plan may not create an immediate tax charge but will still need to be reported on a year-end ERS return. If you have plans that are already registered with HMRC, but there have not been any reportable events during the 2021/22 tax year, you are still required to submit a nil return to advise HMRC accordingly. Failure to submit a nil return will still attract late filing penalties. If the scheme has formally ceased, then you need to tell HMRC about the cessation of the scheme and give a final

event date; you must submit any outstanding returns through to the date of cessation. International Employees Internationally mobile employees can cause additional complexity in ERS reporting, particularly in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and the potential for displaced employees working outside their country of employment. An ERS reporting obligation could be triggered by a non-UK participant of an ERS plan if the employee was working in the UK at any time during the earnings period(s) of the award(s), so it is important to understand and track where all of your participants have been working, potentially over prolonged periods of time (e.g., for awards with three or five year vesting periods). This will also be important to consider for any payroll reporting requirements. It is also the case that, for non-UK parented international businesses, the UK business may not have full visibility on activity for all individuals where there is in fact a reporting obligation because the individual may have left the UK, may be working remotely in the UK but

not be a UK employee, or there may be confidentiality around participation in the long-term incentive plan. In all these cases, international groups need to liaise to ensure that the reporting obligations can be met. Deadlines And Penalties Transactions for each tax year should be included in the ERS return for that year which must be submitted by 6 July following the end of that tax year – 6 July 2022 for the tax year ending 5 April 2022. Penalties increase over time with £100 penalty for missing the 6 July deadline, £300 penalty issued on 6 October and a further £300 issued on 6 January. Daily penalties can then be applied from 6 April or 9 months after the deadline, however, we have never seen these applied in practice. The biggest risk for late returns is the additional attention from HMRC and we are seeing increasing levels of ERS compliance checks. Don’t take the risk of submitting your return late – now is the time to get prepared. Latest HMRC figures show that over one third of returns were submitted late last year.

Special Arrangements For International Assignees

The end of the UK tax year brings with it a number of reporting deadlines for employers in relation to international assignees who may have ‘special’ payroll arrangements and also for international business travellers. The impact of Covid and related restrictions on international movement may have limited the number of people affected by such special arrangements in the last 2 years, but as we move beyond Covid and borders reopen, do remember that such arrangements exist and are designed to provide employers with greater flexibility than standard PAYE arrangements which would otherwise apply. Modified Payroll A Modified Payroll arrangement is suitable for expatriate non-domiciled employees sent by their overseas employer to work in the UK, and who are covered by a tax equalisation agreement. Known as Appendix 6, the arrangement to operate a Modified Payroll avoids having to use the normal UK PAYE procedures and allows for best estimates of employment income and tax reliefs to be used. PAYE tax and NIC calculated under a modified payroll arrangement must be paid to HMRC by the 19th of each month unless there are five or fewer employees on the modified payroll, in which case payments are due on a quarterly basis. Year-end is the opportunity to re-visit best estimates and true-up the calculations such that all relevant compensation has been reported and taxes paid.

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

Modified NIC Schemes Where a UK company operates a Modified Payroll for its tax equalised employees working in the UK, a similar arrangement can be put in place for the payment and reporting of Class 1 and Class 1a National Insurance Contributions (NIC) where due. This is known as an Appendix 7a arrangement. As with the modified payroll taxes, NIC payments under this special arrangement must be paid to HMRC by the 19th of each month unless there are five or fewer employees on the modified payroll, in which case payments are due on a quarterly basis, by the 19th of April, July, October and January. There is a further arrangement (an Appendix 7b arrangement), for employers who have a UK payroll obligation relating to their UK outbound employees who remain liable to UK NIC. UK employers can enter into a special arrangement with HMRC whereby the strict real-time NIC requirements are relaxed for employees who have been sent to work on an overseas assignment. This allows employers to operate the payroll on a best estimate basis during the year, followed by a reconciliation at the year-end in order to true-up the NIC liability. Annual returns together with appropriate payment of NIC are due by 31 March.

Ongoing tracking of Business Travellers is required in order to make the annual reports and to reduce the reconciliation exercise that can be needed at year-end should relevant information not be easily accessed 10

www.internationalhradviser.com

Business Traveller Compliance: Short-Term Business Visitor Agreement and annual reporting Strict PAYE obligations exist for employers in the UK such that PAYE withholding is required in circumstances where an employee from an overseas parent, subsidiary or associated company visits the UK to work either for a planned project or on an ad-hoc basis. There is no de-minimus limit for this and as such PAYE is due from the first day of work in the UK. To assist with the administration in this area, HMRC introduced the Short-Term Business Visitor Agreement to enable the PAYE obligation to be relaxed in situations where individuals coming to the UK originated from countries with which the UK had a Double Taxation Agreement and would therefore not be subject to UK tax. Organisations are required to sign an agreement with HMRC which requires annual reporting of business visitors in exchange for a relaxation of the PAYE obligation (by 31 May following the end of the tax year). Ongoing tracking of Business Travellers is required in order to make the annual reports and to reduce the reconciliation exercise that can be needed at year-end should relevant information not be easily accessed. Annual PAYE Scheme (Appendix 8) The Short-Term Business Visitor Agreement only relaxes the PAYE requirements for individuals that meet the criteria of a relevant Double Taxation Agreement. It therefore does not cover non-resident employees employed by a foreign branch of a UK company, individuals coming from non-tax treaty countries, or where the treaty conditions are not met (e.g., due to a costs recharge). In these circumstances, the only option for a company is to operate PAYE. The Annual PAYE Scheme was introduced in order to combat the impracticality for employers of having to deal with employees that do not qualify for STBV treatment by allowing them to account for their visits to the UK for the whole tax year and operate PAYE at the tax year-end, with tax due and the associated RTI reporting to happen at month 12. This applies only to limited categories of visitors. It is necessary to make an application to operate a scheme, then to report, calculate and pay the appropriate tax by 31 May following the end of the tax year.

Summary

The above commentary helps to demonstrate the extent and complexity of employer reporting that may be required following a UK tax year end. Please do schedule the various deadlines in your calendar and be prepared to file the necessary reports and forms on a

timely basis. As indicated earlier, HMRC may charge interest and penalties for failures to submit forms or pay taxes when due. In certain circumstances, HMRC does, however, permit a number of relaxations to operation of strict PAYE rules so do register for these where appropriate. Good luck with tax year-end and in meeting your employer PAYE obligations.

Good luck with tax year-end and in meeting your employer PAYE obligations

ANDREW BAILEY

Andrew Bailey is head of Global Employer Services at BDO LLP. He has over 30 years’ experience in the field of expatriate taxation. Andrew is indebted to Stuart Strong, Steph Carr, Cheryl Thomson and Caroline Harwood for their contributions to this article. BDO can provide global assistance for employment related issues and matters arising from international assignments. If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other expatriate matters, please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Bailey on +44 (0) 20 7893 2946, email Andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk

RETAINING TALENT

Head Of Talent Reveals The Secret To A Perfect Hire How do you know a candidate is perfect for your company? Are your own biases creating a monoculture? How important are gut feelings? Jake Kimber, Head of Talent at rapidly growing mobile games company Product Madness, reveals his own recipe for making the right hire.

Ignore The Gut Feeling

There's a study that shows people make their minds up about others within five seconds. That’s it – a measly five seconds. The most important piece of advice when hiring is to turn off unconscious biases and go against your instant gut feeling. If you're thinking, 'I hired someone this age and it didn't work out, so all people this age must be the same’, it becomes discriminatory and counterproductive. You can tell when hiring managers are switching off and they’ve already decided – this cannot be the case. You need to go in with an open mind and remain as subjective and balanced as possible. However, there are some instances where gut feeling is valuable - and that’s when you think outside the box during a hiring process. If you have an instinct that someone previously working in analytics could be an excellent data scientist, that’s a positive assumption. Good gut feelings can lead to diverse hires and provide the company with much-needed alternative perspectives.

Culture ‘Add’, Not Culture Fit

Companies talk about looking for candidates that will fit the culture but, really, they're often talking about hiring people like them. We need to look beyond that. The aim should be a ‘culture add’; you want to enhance and develop your culture, and it should certainly amount to more than a particular type of person. A company culture is made up of a myriad of factors, including shared values and attitudes. People with all sorts of backgrounds can share fundamental values and simultaneously provide unique insight due to their own experiences and backgrounds. I spend a lot of my time recruiting for roles overseas; each country is different and to view someone through the context of your own society can be extremely

limiting. Instead, learn something about the candidate’s culture as it will provide context and prevent any close-mindedness. When interviewing multilingual candidates, it’s essential to be mindful that the language you interview them in may not be their mother tongue. They may not know the industry-specific lingo in all languages but this has no reflection on their skillset. You see in a lot of companies that people hire in their image and you can’t move forward like this. If your company is from one demographic, how can you expand your market?

Don’t Be Overly Prescriptive

When hiring, people are often overly prescriptive about what they’re looking for. A manager will ask the recruitment team for a combination of factors that simply does not exist, such as an extremely precise skillset which is difficult to find - or non-existent. It is also much harder to attract people in a tiny pool, especially if your company is not well known. Never stay narrow with your desires - think about other people that can work in the role as skills are always transferable. People are open to taking on new challenges. Also, I always dissuade managers from requiring candidates to have a certain number of years’ experience. Someone might make the same achievements in one year as someone else makes in five; the right person may not apply for a role on this technicality alone. Keep your options open.

Focusing On Global Talent

The secret to expanding a global company is to invest in local talent. Companies committed to setting down bases all round the world must add value to the area. The best decision a company can make is to discover young people and develop their careers. While university is a rite of passage for many young people, internship schemes can be highly valuable, not just for the young person but for a business. Companies that go in to schools and colleges, raise awareness of job opportunities, and then nurture talent will attract gifted and hardworking people who will remain committed to the company.

Value And Retain Your Staff

It’s not just about recruiting; it’s also about retaining. You must ensure the incredible

people who helped you succeed want to stay at the company. Companies offer incredible benefits to attract and maintain talent, and in this climate it is crucial to do the same in order to retain yours. Many companies offer beer Fridays and ping pong tables - but it’s about more than that. You need to demonstrate you will go above and beyond to ensure your employees feel valued. Whether it’s enabling them to move and work abroad, providing them with top counselling services, or subsidising their gym memberships, wellbeing must be a priority. By having a people-first approach, companies can’t go wrong; recruitment will rocket, people will thrive in the positive environment and the business will succeed. Investing in your employees’ happiness is the best decision a company can make.

JAKE KIMBER

Head of Talent at Product Madness. About Product Madness Founded in 2007, Product Madness is one of the world’s largest mobile game studios. With a global presence, it is today a top-grossing leader in social casino mobile games, entertaining players around the world with titles such as Heart of Vegas, Cashman Casino, Lightning Link and FaFaFa Gold. The company’s flagship title, Heart of Vegas, has entertained players since launching in 2013. It remains a top-grossing game on Facebook’s charts and continues to capture mobile markets around the globe. Product Madness is a subsidiary of Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) a leading global gaming provider and games publisher, with more than 6,000 employees around the world.

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

New UK Work Visa Routes Opening This Spring Following a major shake-up of the UK Immigration Rules, overseas businesses will soon be presented with a wider range of visa options when seeking to establish a presence in or transfer staff to the UK for temporary assignments. As part of its long-term plan to make the UK a global hub for top talent, the government is set to introduce several new business immigration categories this spring, which are designed to facilitate entry of the most highly skilled from around the world. The High Potential Individual visa, the Scale-up visa and the Global Business Mobility visa will all open for applications in a matter of weeks. However, overseas businesses looking to utilise these new routes for their employees should be aware of potential delays in the processing of UK visa applications due to the Ukraine crisis. In this article, we explore the basic principles of each new category and provide an update on current visa processing times for applications filed outside the UK.

Under the High Potential Individual route, applicants with a qualification equivalent to a UK Bachelor’s or Master’s level degree will be permitted to stay for 2 years, and applicants holding a qualification equivalent to a UK PhD will be able to stay for 3 years.

Of the three new routes, the Global Business Mobility route is likely to be the most commonly used by businesses

The High Potential Individual Visa

The High Potential Individual route has been designed to make it easier for overseas citizens to come to the UK without a job offer if they demonstrate high potential. This unsponsored route is for recent graduates of top global universities, who want to work, or look for work in the UK following their studies. Applicants must have either a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree qualification from one of the top global universities outside the UK as published in the Global Universities List by the Home Office, awarded during the last 5 years from the date of application. The list will be compiled on an annual basis and consists of eligible non-UK institutions that are included in the list of the top 50 universities in at least two of the following ranking systems: • Times Higher Education World University Rankings • Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings • The Academic Ranking of World Universities.

www.internationalhradviser.com

The Scale-Up Visa

The Scale-up route is for talented individuals recruited by a UK Scale-up sponsor, who have the skills needed to enable to Scale-up business to continue growing. This category is intended to help the UK’s fastest growing businesses to access overseas talent. Applicants in this route must have a sponsored job offer from an authorised UK scale-up company. The job offer above must be skilled to graduate level (RQF 6 and equivalent) and be paid a salary of at least £33,000 per year or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. To register for this route, a company will need to demonstrate that they have an annualised growth of at least 20% for the previous 3-year period in terms of turnover or staffing. Companies will also need to have had a minimum of 10 employees at the start of this 3-year period. The Government will consider further ways in which scale-up companies may be able to register for this route in due course.

Under the Scale-up route, permission will be granted for 2 years. To extend their permission to stay, applicants must have PAYE earnings of at least £33,000 per year for at least 50% of their time in the route. Extensions will be granted for 3 years. The route also leads to settlement in the UK, providing the applicant meets the requirements.

The Global Business Mobility Visa

Of the three new routes being introduced this spring, the Global Business Mobility route is likely to be the most commonly used by businesses. This ‘umbrella category’ consists of five sponsored routes for overseas businesses seeking to establish a presence in, or transfer staff to, the UK for temporary assignments. The new routes will replace four existing work categories and create a new provision for secondments. As well as rebranding to make these provisions more easily identifiable by businesses seeking to send workers to the UK, the requirements and conditions for each have also been simplified and consolidated where possible to provide greater clarity to employers and workers. The five routes will correspond to different assignment types as follows: • Senior or Specialist Worker – For senior managers or specialist employees who are being assigned to a UK business linked to their employer overseas. This route replaces the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) route • Graduate Trainee – For workers on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and who are required to do a work placement in the UK. This route replaces the IntraCompany Transfer Graduate Trainee route • UK Expansion Worker – For senior managers or specialist employees who are being assigned to the UK to undertake work related to a business’s expansion to the UK. This route replaces the Sole Representative provisions in the Representative of an Overseas Business route • Service Supplier – For contractual service suppliers employed by an overseas service provider and self-employed independent professionals based overseas, that need to undertake an assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the

IMMIGRATION UK’s international trade commitments. This route replaces the contractual service supplier and independent professional provisions in the Temporary Work – International Agreement route

Employers should factor in the potential for longer waiting times if their employees will be applying for a visa under the new routes this spring

• Secondment Worker – For workers being seconded to the UK as part of a high value contract or investment by their employer overseas. This is a new route in the Immigration Rules.

of Ukraine. For this reason, applications for work, study and family visas may take longer to process at the present time. ‘Priority’ and ‘super priority’ visa services have also been temporarily suspended for new work, study and family visa applications, and it is not yet known when these services will resume. With this in mind, employers should factor in the potential for longer waiting times if their employees will be applying for a visa under the new routes this spring.

Longer Visa Processing Times For Overseas Applicants

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is currently prioritising applications under the Ukraine Family Scheme, in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the invasion

DAVID HUGKULSTONE Director

Smith Stone Walters: Immigration Practice Smith Stone Walters is an immigration practice. Our team of highly experienced, multi-lingual and multi-cultural specialists are based in global offices in London, New York, Hong Kong and Mumbai. Moving people across borders is our business. We understand, manage and support immigration moves throughout the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. We are more than a storehouse of expertise and knowledge. We are advocates, devoted to a unique goal. Making a difference in people’s lives and livelihoods, not just their immigration, is our purpose. That’s why we have dedicated offices around the world, supporting our clients every step of the way. Web: www.smithstonewalters.com Tel: 0208 461 6660 Email: info@smithstonewalters.com

The 2022 Expatriate’s Guide to Living in the UK is now available. Order Free Copies For Your UK Bound Expatriate Employees

WWW.EXPATSGUIDETOTHEUK.COM

Living and working in the UK can provide a fantastic opportunity to any expatriate individual or family. The UK offers a diverse range of cultures, and then the useful information covered inside this Guide will prove to be an invaluable resource for your UK bound colleagues. The 2022 Guide contains content covering: Banking • Embassies & High Commissions Driving & Transport • Education – Schools & Universities Healthcare & Hospitals • Immigration • Legal Issues Serviced Apartments • Taxation

20th Annu

The 2022 Expatriate 's Guide to L iving in th e UK

al Edition

The Guide has been published for 20 years, and each year we share over 25,000 copies with expatriates relocating to the UK. To order FREE copies please email: helen@expatsguidetotheuk.com, providing the mailing address you would like them sent to. Please visit our website www.expatsguidetotheuk.com which is the digital platform for the Guide.

Please share the website with friends, family, colleagues or employees relocating to the UK.

VISIT WWW.EXPATSGUIDETOTHEUK.COM TODAY!

Topics inc Banking, lude: Conversion Embassies Charts, Dr & High Co iving, Educ mmissions, ation & Sc Healthcare hooling, Property, , Immigrat Serviced Ap ion, Lega artments, l Issues, Taxation and Trave l

www.exp

atsguideto

theuk.com

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

People Don’t Want To Go Back To The Old Way Of Work Recent statistics show one-third of Britons are still working from home despite the rule changes. Working from home has proven to be successful over these last 2 years, and on average, those who work from home are 67% more productive. Therefore, if it is not adversely impacting business, forcing people back to the office just for the sake of it, simply does not make sense. At the end of the day, if someone gets the job done quicker and faster remotely then why not let them. Leaders worldwide need to accept that employees don’t want to go back to the old way of work - the world has changed and they need to embrace it or they could risk employees jumping ship to join more progressive businesses. To flourish in the ‘new age’ of work, CEOs should consider the following:

Flexibility

In today’s world flexibility is a must in one shape or another. The pandemic has changed the way we work forever, with a third of millennials saying they would leave their job if they had to come back into the office more. This highlights the importance of this factor, and demonstrates many people have gotten used to the freedom that flexible working provides and do not want to give up the benefits associated with this, such as time and money saved commuting. Although it is not a one size fits all approach, it is clear that rigid rules and barriers are outdated and should be a thing of the past. Firms should be as flexible as they possibly can to enable the better work-life balance that employees seek. Whether that is relooking at the standard 9am to 5pm hours by being flexible so employees can work around things like the school run and doctors’ appointments, or whether it is providing the option to choose your location and setting- i.e. working remotely in another town or country, or in ‘offices’ as and when they want to. This empowers staff, enabling them to make their own decisions and structure their workday to suit their needs.

New Age ‘Office’

Now remote working isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Some people prefer working out of their homes, going to an ‘office’ environment,

www.internationalhradviser.com

or just want a change of scenery every now and then. That is why it is so important to have those options. Shared workspaces can be great for this where employees choose when and where to go in allowing employees to work in a hybrid mode if they want to. If you want your employees to come in more often, entice them with ‘attractive facilities’ (coffee machines, free food, refrigerators, options to rent a desk/desktop, private room options if needed, community events etc.). Then there are some things that just work better in-person, like brainstorms or collaborative projects. It is important these environments are optimised for this to stimulate creativity. Ideally, offices should be re-designed with this in mind. If you are asking people to commute hours to come to an office to do what they can do at home, it is not worth it. Value your employee's time and instead use these in-person formats as space for networking and team building, something they cannot do remotely, and make it different from the average working day.

People Before Profits

Your employees are valuable assets. A company's very essence is built on great people and giving employees what they want will benefit you more than them. Therefore, looking out for their well-being should be your no.1 priority. Implementing care packages, increasing social activities, or rethinking traditional structures like the 5-day working week could be beneficial experiments thus far have been resulting in reduced stress levels and overall, more positive mental health. It is important businesses consider everyone’s individual needs, especially taking into consideration various situations like coming back from maternity leave, dealing with bereavement, or recovering from an illness.

The Great Resignation

The ‘Great Resignation’ is down to people putting their lives first and the want for better balance and flexibility post-Covid (which showed we can work productively from pretty much anywhere). They don’t want to feel constrained by lack of freedom and choice. Returning back to the ‘old way’ of work will encourage employees to look to more forward-thinking companies. The UK Labour Force Survey shows resignations and job-to-job moves in the UK

are at the highest level in 20 years. If your employees are thinking of leaving, there is probably something you could be doing better as a company to improve employee satisfaction. Investigating the reasons people leave is paramount in order to both attract and keep people.

Staff Retention

Gartner surveyed more than 3,500 employees around the world, and 65% said the pandemic had made them rethink the value that work should hold in their lives. Also, 56% said it made them want to contribute more to society, and 52% questioned the purpose of their jobs. This highlights how the pandemic has been a catalyst to elevate personal purpose and values. The ultimate attraction for an employee is to join a true purpose-driven organisation. If staff members truly believe in the purpose and that they can make a difference, they feel there is a real value behind what they are doing. Remember, when an employee is hard working, driven and believes in the purpose of the organisation, this is called passion. Whereas when an employee is working at something they don’t believe in, this is called ‘Stress’. The Employee Retention Report has found that career development is one of the top contributing reasons why employees leave their jobs. Lack of growth and development opportunities can cause job dissatisfaction leading to staff leaving their role in search of better career opportunities. Therefore, it is important to ensure people have a sense of advancement within the organisation. If you do not invest in your staff, they will not invest in your business. You get what you put in at the end of the day.

JEFF DEWING

Jeff Dewing is the CEO of Cloudfm and author of Doing the Opposite - a bestselling book following his incredible journey from owning a successful business (and football club) to losing it all and having only £7.60 in his bank account. Despite this Jeff, who started his career as a fridge and air-conditioning engineer, managed to turn his life around and build a new business from £1m to £70m turnover within four years. He attributes much of his success to his belief that you should never take the easy, straightforward path - if you challenge things and do the opposite good things will happen.

LEADERSHIP

How To Be A Courageous Leader In The Post-Pandemic Era 3 Must-Have Traits For Courageous Leadership In Today’s Workplace While some contest, or outright refute, whether or not former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said “success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts”, the power of that statement looms large irrespective of origin. Amid the wildly unforeseen fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, this quote is rather prophetic. It speaks to prosperity not being taken for granted and the notion that failure in and of itself isn’t a death knell. Relative to business, specifically, it also evokes many questions about the very nature of “courage”- a concept oft characterised by the demonstration of “strength in the face of pain or grief”. Of course, it’s presumed that successful leaders can and should inherently be courageous, but in what exact regard is courage a mission-critical managerial quality? To what extent should a leader exude courageousness versus humility? What actions, or results thereof, exemplify how courageous–or not–a leader is? Can a wholly well-intentioned show of courageousness backfire and end up doing more harm than good? We’re currently living in an unprecedented, decidedly challenging point in time when courage seems to be the order of the day. In an attempt to garner some crystal clarity on how this is actually defined and perceived when in practice, I took these and other questions to an assortment of experts and leaders in the business community. The result of that outreach is as eye-opening as it is inspiring, with salient inputs including this top-line wisdom.

Stick To Your Guns

By its very nature, the notion of courage connotes danger and evokes a sense of fear. Were there not peril, valour need not be required. To this point, Douglas A. Hicks, dean of Oxford College of Emory

University, underscores that courage not only enables someone “to take risks that others fear in order to achieve something important”, but also that doing so requires a backbone. “Courage is not about sticking one’s finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. It requires both self-confidence and resolve. CEOs show courage when they commit to keep employees on the payroll in (the) face of recession and do whatever it takes to create long-term profitability”, he said. Stacy Caprio of Her.CEO concurs, offering that “a courageous leader has the ability to look at the data and make decisions, even when these decisions go against the grain of public opinion, the media and general public panic. Not many leaders have this ability, but a true leader is able to make decisions independent of mass fear and panic”.

A courageous leader has the ability to look at the data and make decisions, even when these decisions go against the grain of public opinion, the media and general public panic

For those businesses that aren’t exactly linear with some kind of denotable beginning and end, instead operating as a continuous, ever-evolving process (like healthcare, education and financial management), Nicola Wealth Chairman and CEO, John Nicola, urges that “courage comes from the consistency of your message, your ability to support it and the loyalty of your people delivering it in all environments”. Not only germane to one’s actions, Nicola points out that moxie also manifests in a passive sense by “choosing to do nothing in the face of unrelenting pressure to act”. This as a courage of conviction, based on principles of an individual leader, a leadership team or the company at-large. Amid the ever-unfolding coronavirusdriven challenges, and during prior catastrophic events like the “dotcom crash” and the Great Financial Recession of 2008, Nicola has leaned on corporate ideology for sustenance. “During each of these periods we were under pressure to sell as markets dropped, to not rebalance and try and catch a falling knife, to go into cash and ride out the storm”, he said. Yet, Nicola instead mustered his courage and chose to “to do what we believed the right thing to be was” - a decision he says ultimately resulted in significant performance benefits for his firm’s clients. How important are these kinds of instincts? Southwestern Family of Companies CEO Dustin Hillis knows all too well, lamenting a time at the company when he had doubts about the sustainability of the business model - multiple facets therein - at that time. “Instead of having courage and actually boldly testing new models, and at the risk of my own income and reputation, I went against what my instincts were telling me. As a result, we went $1 million in debt and almost had to shut the business down. Making the pivot to change the model to what we ended up ultimately doing with coaching and consulting was twice as hard as it would have been two years earlier when I first had the thought. But I did not have the courage to actually take action on what the numbers, the feedback and my instincts were telling me”. With this, it’s understandable that Hillis currently defines courage as “being afraid

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

and taking action anyway”. He also advocates owning and being daring amid that distress. “True leaders are the ones who acknowledge they are afraid and up against a significant challenge, and yet they persevere and double down on activity during the hardest of times”, he said. Jennifer McCollum, CEO of leadership development firm Linkage Inc., further substantiates that courageous leaders stick steadfast to their personal standards. McCollum cites her firm’s research findings, which she says are drawn from 100,000 leadership assessments with data from more than one million leaders, revealing specific behaviours that make a leader courageous. One of the three found is “acts in alignment with personal values in challenging, conflicting or ambiguous situations”. With courage as a character trait not to be discounted as a key determinant of a leader’s overarching achievements, McCollum clarifies that, through her firm’s study over 30 years on what the most effective leaders do, “we know courage is a critical leadership practice that differentiates the most effective leaders from the rest”.

Embrace Vulnerability

According to Aaron Velky, CEO of Ortus Academy, courageous leadership includes the decision to be truthful and vulnerable. “Whether or not the truth is easy to share and whether or not you know what speaking the truth will create as an outcome, courage is the ability to offer up where you are and what is real so that someone can process it individually”. Bravely delivering hard messages is not enough, however, as Velky goes on to clarify that, “When we share truth we have to be prepared to listen, but listening is vulnerable, and that's important too. Courage is owning what we are experiencing. Vulnerability is sharing it the good, bad and emotionally jarring”. Being able to admit and share regarding future uncertainties also speaks to vulnerability as a facet of courageous leadership. In fact, Velky says that the decision to acknowledge not only what is truthful and known, but also the unknown, is another distinct decision a brave leader makes. To demonstrate courage, Velky asserts that one needs to be fiercely committed to recognising what and how much you don't have figured out. “Stating the unknowns mitigates the toxicity that is felt when you hide fears and the reasons to have them. Fears are OK, the unknown is OK - once you acknowledge it”. One business leader who’s walking that highly-exposed walk of vulnerability is Mylen Yamamoto Tansingco, CEO of Cropsticks, Inc. - a social and environmentally-minded B Corporation operating in the foodservice and hospitality industry. “I do not have all

www.internationalhradviser.com

the answers and I'm not going to pretend I do either”, she’s refreshingly quick to admit. As case in point, Tansingco publicly shared what Cropsticks is currently going through amid COVID-19. In her YouTube video titled “Can my business survive?”, she shared her company’s small business story in endearing, unguarded and highly personal form. “I'm hoping to keep our community motivated and feel seen during this time”, though she understands this is not without some level of risk. “I hope it doesn't become a ‘courage fail’ after this all over”, she said. Yet she took the leap of faith into that unknown anyway.

Being able to admit and share regarding future uncertainties also speaks to vulnerability as a facet of courageous leadership Fortune 500 speaker, writer and coach Heather Coros, contends that courage is contagious. She emphasises that curiosity and innovation is only accessible in the brain when a sense of safety is present. “If you’re expecting your team to lean-in, then they need something that feels safe to lean against. By being that safe space, you give the gift of strength and vulnerability to the entire team. And as we know, vulnerability is essential to highly preferred skills like transparency, clear communication and team cohesion”. Perhaps most importantly in this post-pandemic era is Coros’ estimation that “courageous leadership creates a sense of stability amidst the chaos”.

Be Undaunted, Despite

Uniquely drawing on her experiences as a stand-up comedian before entering the corporate world, Jennifer Jay Palumbo,

CEO of Wonder Woman Writer, LLC, feels that being a courageous leader is accomplished by having unwavering poise. “You have to believe in yourself and your idea no matter how the person in the room reacts or not”, and “trust that you're talented and smart enough to figure it out and still accomplish the task at hand”. Mike Zaino, President and CEO of TZG Financial, likens this kind of requisite resolve among organisational leaders to that of an underdog continuing to fight with relentless persistence despite prior outcomes. It’s “getting knocked down seven times, and standing up eight”, he says. Yet, such doggedness should not be above reproach, as Zaino further points out that it certainly takes courage to not just hear - but accept constructive criticism. “You’re either learning or you’re dying”, he says. The idea that courageous leadership requires a willingness and ability to fail and “get back up again”, no matter how many times it need be performed, is one that’s shared by Mercy Project, Inc. CEO Chris Field. What particularly captures my imagination is Field’s belief that, for courageousness to be a leadership asset, it must be a concerted choice - a daily decision - rather than happenstance. “Courage is a muscle, one we must exercise and grow by being courageous...one decision at a time,” he submits. “Courage takes many forms, but none of them happen by accident”. While conveying courageousness certainly takes chutzpah, Women Presidents’ Organisation CEO Camille Burns cautions that it’s important to exude confidence without arrogance. “I think people often confuse risk-taking with being courageous”, she said. “Taking a risk is a bold move. But it is even more courageous to fail, to accept that something you tried did not have the outcome you wanted or expected”. Even so, risk-taking does certainly take its fair share of bravado and duly illustrates leaders with this attribute. Tim Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of NerdWallet, points out the prospect for growth moments during times of crisis-namely the one we’re currently immersed in. He appreciates the extent to whichCOVID-19 has ushered in a defining time for business leaders, offering, “Even though we’re navigating unprecedented uncertainties, I see this as a huge opportunity for the type of courageous decision-making and smart risk-taking that leads to immense personal and professional growth”, he said. “In fact, I can track most of my greatest periods of personal growth to a prior crisis”. Crises aside, Chen’s colleague Kelly Gillease, NerdWallet CMO, sees an opportunity for courageous risk-taking with frequency. “Great leaders exhibit courage in small ways every day by encouraging risks

LEADERSHIP and bigger thinking or being vulnerable and empathetic when a situation calls for it”, she said. As for the afore-mentioned chutzpah, “having a willingness to call out the elephant in the room” is also courageous behaviour that Gillease indicates she strives to model. When endeavouring to connote courage, attitude is also the name of the game. It’s important to temper said chutzpah so that it doesn’t come across as overly audacious. A haughty demeanor is never one that’s particularly welcomed in business, but this kind of disposition can veritably doom an executive’s image - especially when attempting to navigate a gaffe. “When someone does not acknowledge what they do not know, or the mistake they have made, it is a courage fail”, Burns warns. “Sustained naivety is when you deny the fail, or when you try to blame it on someone else or block out the writing on the walls. If there is no learning derived from failure, there is no achievement. Then, it is a double failure”. All told, it’s apparent that courageous business practices are guided not just by guts and grit, but also by focused and unwavering guidance that keeps a leader on course. Just ask Field, who muses, “Courage is knowing our North Star and regularly checking to make sure we're still headed there”.

References: • www.checkyourfact.com/2019/12/10/ fact-check-churchill-success-finalfailure-fatal-courage-counts/ • This article originally appeared in

'Fast Company'. www.fastcompany. com/90509920/3-must-have-traitsfor-courageous-leadership-in-a-postpandemic-workplace.

MERILEE A. KERN

MBA Forbes Business Council, Newsweek Expert Forum and Rolling Stone Culture Council Member Merilee Kern, MBA is a brand strategist and analyst who reports on industry change makers, movers, shakers and innovators: field experts and thought leaders, brands, products, services, destinations and events. Merilee is Founder of “The Luxe List” and Host of the “Savvy Ventures” (FOX Business/Bloomberg) business and “Savvy Living” lifestyle and travel TV shows. A prolific marketplace trends voice of authority and tastemaker, Merilee’s work reaches millions worldwide via TV (her own shows and others) as well as throngs of print and online publications. Connect with her at www.TheLuxeList.com and www.SavvyLiving.tv Instagram www.Instagram.com/LuxeListReports Twitter www.Twitter.com/LuxeListReports Facebook www.Facebook.com/LuxeListReports LinkedIN www.LinkedIn.com/in/MerileeKern.

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

Case Study - 'Whereabouts' Traveller And A Remote Working Tracking Solution For Groupon Many companies dealing with the challenge of ‘work from anywhere’ policies are facing similar issues. On the surface, at least it’s a simple policy, however, from an HR and People Management perspective, the outlook isn’t as rosy. Firstly, not everyone can work from anywhere; some roles need to be based in a specific location or require access to corporate infrastructure that might not exist in a remote location. So, one of the first issues HR needs to address is internal communications. Communicating the messaging around policies that not everyone can take advantage of runs the risk of declining staff morale and grumbles. Explaining the reasoning behind the decisions early in the process is essential. Secondly, there are numerous tax and compliance issues presented by a WFA policy. This affects payroll, HR and internal tax specialists. The USA alone has over 50,000 individual taxation policies that vary from state to state. So how do you ensure that the individual worker understands the potential impact of this decision, and then how do payroll unpick some of this complex legislation? These were some of the issues facing Groupon. The case study below is an example of insight, foresight and best practice. The rollout has been incredibly successful and gives a clear roadmap on progressing policy into implementation and the tools and technology that can support this.

The Problem

Groupon is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 15 countries. The nature of Groupon’s business model and company structure means that they have faced some challenges around remote worker compliance due to the size of the remote worker population, monitoring worker locations and right to work legislation. The Covid-19 pandemic increased this displaced worker issue for Groupon. The company's management realised the time

www.internationalhradviser.com

and energy that stakeholders were spending on manually managing this issue. Groupon asked GTN to implement a solution that would reduce the time spent by key stakeholders in managing the remote worker approval process and allow for increased automation for tracking and managing remote worker remote working events.

Requirements

Groupon had a clear set of requirements: • A risk-based approval process mapped against their internal processes • Integration with Workday HRCIS as a source of employee data • Remote working opportunities open to all employees • Ability to track days of presence versus days of work • Incorporate the remote worker policies developed by Groupon • Ability for any tool to process over 4000 traveller profiles. After an extensive due diligence and investigation process, Groupon decided to take the GTN Whereabouts tool, and the integration process began.

Implementation

The implementation process faced several challenges from a technological standpoint. 1) A complex approval process. 2) Policy on days of presence v days of work. 3) Covid provisions. 4) A day-one recording policy. Historical displaced workers were managed gradually through the system. The TST tool was enabled to be mapped around the layered internal approval process. Stakeholders could quickly see the approvals in the system and those requests that had been approved or declined. In addition, all remote requests had to demonstrate a legal right to work in the remote location, which is also handled within the system. The initial requirement was for a Days of Presence recording policy. Still, following concerns from the German Works Council on data recording and non working days, Groupon decided to implement a Days of Work recording policy. The Tool’s default setting is to record ‘days of presence’; however, an additional step was added for

Groupon that captures ‘days of work’ also. The remote worker policy that Groupon rolled out included an allowance of 30 days of remote work during a twelve-month rolling period. As highlighted earlier, Groupon required the TST Tool to integrate with the Workday HRIS. As a result of this integration, future integrations with Workday are easy to set up. As part of the unique onboarding policy of TST, clients are only billed for new integration work. This approach maximises the TST experience saving time and budget for the client. Employees use an SSO to gain access to the Groupon version of the tool.

What Does The Employee Have To Do?

Employees log into the Groupon-specific instance of the tool, as required by Groupon Info Security requirements, and complete a short ‘Remote Work Request’ questionnaire. The questionnaire asks the location of the remote working event, the intended dates and some location-specific elements, with the questionnaire changing depending on the location chosen. The employee submits the questionnaire, which runs an instant compliance assessment, offering an ‘approval’, ‘pend’ or ‘denial’ for the event. This is based on Groupon’s risk appetite, compliance documentation, and the employee’s personal travel history. The traveller may have already utilised their allocated remote working allowance, for example. If necessary, the Tool begins an approval process, mapped to appropriate stakeholders and managers of the employee to allow stakeholders to assess and approve the remote working event, whereupon approval, the employee will receive notification via the tool and email.

A Solid And Unified Core Stakeholder Group

Having a central stakeholder steering group is essential for a smooth implementation. By having this group in place, communications, technical questions and feedback during testing were easier to manage and led to a prompt and effective process. Groupon had the core stakeholder group in place before the project started.

CASE STUDY

This is one of the key takeaways that any company looking at this solution needs to consider. We see many HR and Mobility Teams who fail to make a case for a softwarebased solution because they failed to assemble the stakeholders from the outset. One point that should be noted is the role of the Travel Manager. In cases where remote workers are the focus of the project, then the Travel Manager is likely to have less involvement. Travel Managers are a vital part of the travel infrastructure within any organisation. The Travel Manager can provide critical data and information essential within the process. Of course, where the project is focused on business travel, then the Travel Manager will be a vital component of the team. It’s commonly thought that the larger the company the more significant the compliance and taxation risk. It’s the trip purpose that defines the risk attached to your travelling population, not the number of travellers. We are seeing employee tracking and trip purpose capture being explored by more Fortune 500 companies, but the same level of risk can be attributed to smaller companies. The illustration above outlines the ideal working structure. In our experience, these are the business areas that will be involved in the process and can be used as an initial route map when building the project team, depending of course, on the objectives and risk appetite behind the policy and implementation process.

Lessons Learned From The Process

A clear and developed policy: For an implementation to be successful, the policy needed to support the implementation should be agreed upon and clear from the

outset. Our driving fundamental at TST is that the technology should support the policy. Developing policy around the technology is an inefficient and more costly process. In addition, when communicating the reason for a new platform, a clear policy is critical to achieving widespread adoption of the tool and successful roll-out. Clean and accurate core data set: Any technology is only as good as the data it holds. Groupon identified this from the outset, and ensured that the traveller profile data provided to TST was as complete as possible. This enabled the team to focus on the implementation and roll-out. As a result, the tool performed according to the agreed objectives from the outset. Implementing the tool is very much a team effort, and in this case, both teams understood the importance of the relationships during implementation.

TOM CROSBY

To learn more about how TST can support your HR Teams in addressing similar issues, please e-mail Tom.Crosby@gtglobaltracker.com or visit www.globaltracker.com.

The importance of user testing: The user testing component was a vital element of this successful implementation. It was imperative as the approvals process was complex, and this element was crucial to ensure accurate mapping across the tool. It also provided a valuable part of generating buy-in from key stakeholders involved in using and rolling out the tool across the business.

Conclusion

This was a complex and challenging implementation for the TST team; an effective working relationship allowed for successful implementation and a policy that is working and helping Groupon compete in the global race for talent. The lessons we learned are helping us develop successful implementation pathways in the future.

DAVID LIVITT

Managing Director Global Practice Leader, Business Traveller & Remote Worker Solutions E: dlivitt@gtn.com www.gtn.com

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

Why It Is Hard to Measure Expatriate Performance Top Five Reasons And What You Can Do To Change That Managers often criticise expatriates who take up expensive international assignments for "underperforming" in their host locations. But nobody knows why that is. We don't have data to prove this. A study by Learnlight shows that four in ten international assignments are a "failure." And yet, the number of overseas projects continues to rise. Global companies are under considerable pressure to determine what makes a successful overseas assignment and understand why they often fail.

Why Is It Challenging To Measure Expatriate Performance?

Since the failure or success of an assignment depends on how expatriates perform on the job, it becomes pertinent to consider how expatriates perform and why it is not easy to measure their performance. I will highlight and elaborate on five reasons why it is challenging to measure expatriate performance in the following points. • Define Goals. Goals for Expatriates are often not clearly defined. They are often conflicting as they have to consider the interests of the home and host company or headquarters and subsidiaries. For example, it becomes difficult to work when expatriates are trying to achieve the home company goals while simultaneously trying to fit in the expectations of the host company. Expatriates would generally perform better if the purposes of the host company aligned with the objectives of the home company • Share Responsibility for Expatriates Performances. Managers had to calibrate performance ratings for years. However, we know that there is an unconscious bias in the data. The first rater is usually a direct manager. This person usually underestimates their own weaknesses and thinks that the expatriates are the sole (or at least the main) responsible for the failure. However, the host country manager often does not help the

www.internationalhradviser.com

expatriates solve dilemmas. Therefore, the direct manager should consider it a responsibility to make it seamless for the expatriates to integrate well into the host country system, networks, and teams

Allow for Team Performance. Cultural concepts of performance are biased. Definitions of "high performance" build on Western values and do not consider team performance • Allow for Team Performance. Cultural concepts of performance are biased. Definitions of "high performance" build on Western values and do not consider team performance. The gig economy will need more vital team collaboration and fewer individual players. In this context, Eastern values and approaches might have an advantage

• Adapt Management Style or Philosophy to Agile. Management by objectives is outdated. We need a new conceptual framework of performance. Even in the past, setting annual targets was not always the best method of judging performance (irrespective of expatriates or local). Leaders worldwide consider performance in a new way. We need to adapt our thinking to the age of the knowledge worker and include more recent research on productivity in our thinking. We should abolish time-based performance and work models altogether, and build more flexible delivery models. Include group and team goals into your models • Take the Expatriates’ Cultural Adaptation into Account. Expatriates’ managers usually lack the informal network and access to the host culture, so it is not surprising if their performance drops in the first year. It is challenging to know how to navigate terrain that you are not familiar with. Also, they are busy adjusting and have a family to integrate into the new life abroad. One might think that we can accelerate the cultural adjustment and then go "back to the normal way of judging performance", but I would advise against such thinking. It takes time to fit into the system and culture of a new location. Hence, the whole process of cultural adjustment takes its toll on expatriates’ performance.

Expatriates’ Performance and Potential Assessment

Scullion and Collings (2011) describe the performance assessment system at Novartis which will be used as a generic example for global companies. The system "...grades employees on (a) business results (the "what") and (b) values and behaviours (the "how"). While the business results are unique to each business area, the values and behaviours (ten in all) are common across the entire firm". Together with the potential assessment, talents are assessed in a nine-box matrix. (Scullion, Collings, 2011, p. 29).

EXPATRIATE PERFORMANCE Basing expatriates' performance solely on business results may not give the overall picture of all that transpires to make an assignment either a success or a failure: there should be a holistic overview of all the processes included in cultural adjustment and family acculturation.

of global mobility and global talent management activities and functions in today’s organisations. The concept of Expatriate Return on Investment, suggested by McNulty and Inkson (2013), has theoretical value; however, it has not found practical application.

The Term "Expatriates’ Failure"

A Holistic Competency Model Is Needed

When discussing the success of an international assignment or project, a common way to measure "success" is expatriates’ adjustment which, in contradiction to "expatriates failure," is often equalised with completing an assignment for the planned assignment period. "The authors leave open how long it may take an expatriate to attain the same level of applicability and clarity abroad as at home, stressing that one or two years may not suffice. To reach higher levels, the person may very well have experienced an identity transformation far more profound than passing through a cycle of adjustment". (Hippler, Haslberger, Brewster, 2017, p.85). “A “comprehensive model of success is missing” and Caligiuri’s (1997) suggestion that future studies should clarify what is meant by adjustment, as opposed to performance, indicated the need for definitional and discriminant clarity when examining performance.” Care and Donahue (2017, p.107) Talent management approaches are driven by the US-based ideas about talent identification and definitions and use the “nine-box grid” to select key talents with a bias towards white males. The author thinks that it is time to revise our ideas about talent identification and management and democratise Global Mobility.

We not only need better integration of Talent Management and Global Mobility (hence the term Talent Mobility), but we also need to look at our performance management systems, global competency models, recruiting, and talent identification process in a new light. We finally need to advance HR to an interculturally competent function and reduce the inherent bias in all of our processes, tools, and leaders.

The Global Competency Model, Weinberger (2019)

My Global Competency Model attempts to integrate Eastern and Western mindsets into a model. Our coaching approach builds on Eastern and Western coaching practices and respects the ethics of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). The holistic approach I learned from my coach educator Drs. Boudewijn Vermeulen was further developed by Dr. Eva Kinast into a holistic, body-oriented, and intercultural coaching method. This method focuses on building and maintaining effective trustbased relationships, the body-mind-heart

connection and is inspired by Carl Gustav Jung’s psychology theories. I recommend weekly reflection and regular practices from Eastern mindsets and concepts such as ZEN. In my model, I also integrated body learning. I learned this concept from Dr. Muneo Jay Yoshikawa in a course on Eastern Mindscapes (back in 2005 at the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon). Reflected experiences are based on the single-loop and double-loop learning theory of Argyris and Schoen. Another essential component of my model is experiential learning. I first learned about it from Thiagi about 20 years ago, and have continued to apply it to all of my programmes.

Trust and Relationships Are Collaboration Glue

In almost every coaching session right now, leaders talk to me about the need to improve their trust-building skills (also in a virtual setting) and relationships. Relationships, in my view, are the glue to working well together in monocultural as well as multicultural environments. Collaboration (as opposed to Cooperation) requires a higher level of trust among project team members. Agile needs it. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion demand it.

What Does This Mean for Global Mobility?

“Better alignment between global mobility and companies’ global talent agenda is a precondition for making mobility truly strategic

Influence of Psychological Contract on Expatriate Retention

An issue in expatriation is often the lack of clarity around the role after repatriation. A psychological contract exists between the expatriates and the company, but there is no written agreement or clear understanding of the following role or roles in the process. Expectations are not properly managed, and often expatriates are disappointed with their title, pay, or role content in the following role when returning from an assignment. Two years after repatriation, there are several factors influencing retention significantly: a) Re-entry cultural adjustment b) Role expectation mismatch c) The lack of applicability of the learning from the previous assignment.

The Integration of Global Mobility and Global Talent Management

One of the reasons for this lack of synchronisation is the missing integration

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

and helping companies achieve a significant return on investment with their international assignments.” - Olivier Meier, Mercer. • Widen the Scope of Global Mobility. Include international hires, crossborder commuters, international transfers, lifestyle assignments, global digital nomads, and other groups of internationally mobile professionals • Review All Processes to Reduce Bias and White Supremacy. Your mission as a leader should be to reduce bias and white supremacy in all performance and promotion processes. Help us create a world where everyone has a chance and invite to the table those who are often overlooked • Define Assignment Objectives Upfront and Track Progress Throughout the Assignment. You must ensure that not only the home company or headquarters have clear-cut objectives for the expatriates but also that the host company’s objectives are in sync and align with that of the headquarters. Coach the expatriates or send them to me for coaching. Help them be a success rather than a failure

Better alignment between global mobility and companies’ global talent agenda is a precondition for making mobility truly strategic and helping companies achieve a significant return on investment with their international assignments 22

www.internationalhradviser.com

• Improve Productivity by Addressing D e v e l o p m e n t A re a s S u c h a s Communication, Process, and Cultural B a r r i e rs . I d e n t i f y key p ro b le m areas. Often, expatriates complain about the loss of connection to the home company. Nobody from the headquarters or home company is interested in how they fare in the new environment. If expatriates feel deserted, it could adversely affect their performance output. Proffering viable solutions to the pain points of expatriates, such as cultural roadblocks, would help improve expatriates’ performance. Finally, give them the vocabulary to speak about their blockers and send them to intercultural awareness training • Help Coordinate Annual Talent Reviews of All Expatriates. Reviews like this allow expatriates to express their perception of the international assignment • I n c rea se t h e E x p at r iate s’ S e l fAwareness. Let them learn about themselves. We use the IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory) and ICBI™ (Individual Cultural Blueprint Indicator) for self-awareness assessment. The outcomes can be a great conversation starter in a coaching session. We still have a lot to do to enhance Expatriate Performance. However, the chances are that with the democratisation of Global Mobility, we will also see globally aligned performance systems that focus less on individual performance and more on team collaboration and success.

Trompenaars, F. (2013) Riding the waves of culture, TED Talk Riding the waves of culture: Fons Trompenaars at TEDxAmsterdam Weinberger, A. (2019). The Global Mobility Workbook (Third Edition), Global People Transitions. www.angieweinberger.ch/gmwb/ Weinberger, A. (2019). The Use of Digital Intercultural Coaching with Expatriates and Implications for Transition Plans in Global Mobility [Master Thesis, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Holland]. RIS. https://feibv.nl/wp-content/ uploads/2019/04/Master-Thesis_ Weinberger-Angela_Jan-2019_Final.pdf

RESOURCES Collings, D. G. (2014). Integrating global mobility and global talent management: Exploring the challenges and strategic opportunities. Journal of World Business, 49(2), 253-261. https://www. sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/ S1090951613000850 Expatriates Financial Blog (2020). Who is an Expatriate Employee? Expatriates Employers, Expatriates Tips. https:// expatriatesfinancial.com/who-is-anexpatriate-employee/ McNulty, Y. & Inkson, K. (2013). Managing Expatriates, A Return on Investment Approach, Business Expert Press, New York, ISBN 1-606-49482-1 Meier, O. (N/A). How does global mobility fit in the global talent agenda?, Mercer. https://mobilityexchange.mercer. com/Insights/article/How-Does-GlobalMobility-Fit-in-the-Global-Talent-Agenda Ones, D. S., & Viswesvaran, C. V. (1997). Personality determinants in the prediction of aspects of expatriate job success (Z. Aycan (Ed.)). https://psycnet.apa.org / record/1998-07315-002

Global People Transitions Angie Weinberger has lived and worked in Germany, the UK, India and Australia before moving to Zurich in 2009. With a background in International Business Studies, she worked in HR with a focus on Global Mobility in large global corporations for the last 25 years. She knows various other industries through her coaching and training mandates. After having been an intercultural trainer since 2005, Weinberger has been certified as an “Intercultural Coach” by Dr. Eva Kinast, Munich Germany in 2010. She regularly updates her knowledge, expertise and skills in further education and has a decade of experience as an Executive Coach, Trainer and Consultant. She is a guest lecturer at various academic institutions and teaches “Global Mobility” and “Intercultural Competencies and Managing Diversity and Inclusion” in Germany, Holland, France and Switzerland. Angie Weinberger is on a mission to bring the human touch back into Global Mobility. E: angela@globalpeopletransitions.com www.globalpeopletransitions.com T: +41 791922877

ANGIE WEINBERGER

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Health And Wellbeing UK Benefits And Trends Survey Twelve months ago, when writing our introduction to the health and wellbeing section of our annual survey, we reflected on the high numbers of employers calling out their increased focus on employee health and declarations of intent for 2021. What has become clear from this year’s survey is that although employers are now, more than ever, acknowledging the role they have to play in supporting employee wellbeing in its broadest sense, the realities of delivering upon ambitions remain a challenge for most.

with less than 10% of employees not having any access. Both services were among the most common benefits embraced and promoted by employers during the pandemic, with both able to deliver in a fully remote setting. Elsewhere there is very little change in company funded or voluntary health and protection benefits which is reflective of overall market growth. One of the key call outs from this year’s survey is the continued evidence that a large percentage of the working population remains mostly dependent on the state for their health and financial wellbeing needs.

The standout statistic is the sharp increase in employers who acknowledge that they have a responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their employees (95% of all respondents agree or strongly agree with this statement). But although the pandemic has clearly played a role in heightening awareness of the impact of health on business performance, a number of long-standing barriers remain in place. For many of the questions raised in this section, responses have changed very little since 2021, despite in some cases, respondents calling out that this was meant to be part of their plans for the past 12 months. We have seen some positive progress in areas relating to inclusivity and diversity in particular. However, the dial has moved very little on some of the key questions that point towards the strategic enablers of a successful wellbeing programme that will create a resilient workforce. Formal strategies remain uncommon, data is being used but with little focus on measuring value, budgets remain scarce, and there is still a way to go to secure full buy-in from the C-suite. There is a lot of insightful data, and we will bring this together and call out what we think this means for you, the employer, in the year ahead.

A new question for 2022, and one prompted by a period of uncertainty and volatility across most of our main insurance lines. The majority of employers choose to test the market in line with standard rate guarantee periods, although this practice is more common on the risk insurances as opposed to the medical benefits. Aon’s broking data indicates that insurers’ proposed renewal terms are increases of between 13% and 23% on average across the main insurance lines of Life Assurance, Income Protection and Private Medical. It is concerning that around one in five employers are not proactively using market leverage to achieve greater value through improved renewal terms.

Which Of The Following Employee Benefits Are Available To All/Some Of Your Workforce?

Employer funded digital GP services continue to grow rapidly with over half of employers now having this valuable benefit in place for all staff (up from 40% last year). Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) continue as a key benefit

When Did You Last Review Your Existing Provider Against The Rest Of The Market For The Following Benefits?

From Your Income Protection Provider, How Much Do You Utilise The Claims Management And Rehab Services On Offer?

Another new question for 2022, and one focusing on the importance of building effective absence management pathways from a range of solution lines and providers. It is disappointing to see that less than 20% of employers view these services as an integral part of their process with around half using these services but in a limited capacity. The challenge of obtaining full value from these services and integrating effectively with other health suppliers, most notably Occupational Health (OH), is not a new one. But given the new challenges presented to employers in managing employee health in a more fractured, remote working landscape, and set against the long-term impact of the pandemic on our health, the importance

of robust, effective and targeted health management strategies has never been more evident.

To What Extent Do You Leverage Added Value Services (E.g. EAP’s, 2nd Opinion Services, Digital GP’s, Educational Content, Apps Etc.) From Healthcare And Risk Providers To Support Your Health And Wellbeing Strategy?

There is little movement in the responses when compared to last year, although the number of employers saying they are a key part of their strategy has increased slightly from 45% to 49%. For this number to increase further, we believe there is an opportunity for even greater innovation from providers, offering value added services that employers and their employees equally value. With overall market growth limited across the risk and health insurance lines, truly valued additional services may not just help increase utilisation of these services by employers, but also support growth for the industry as a whole.

What Benefit Design Changes Have You Actioned Over The Past Five Years On Your Risk And Healthcare Benefits?

Once again, we see a drop in responses to almost all of these most common benefit redesign activities. As highlighted in last year’s report, this can be seen as a sign that traditional measures to modernise or contain costs have either already been actioned, or there is a good reason as to why changes have not been made. Equally, some employers may have used this as a period of consolidation, to plan for future changes and enhance support where possible, as can be seen with Private Medical coverage being enhanced by 19% of respondents.

What Benefit Design Changes Are You Considering In The Next 12-18 Months?

As with the previous question, employers are suggesting that this kind of redesign activity is becoming less likely. However, the one area worth highlighting is the 15% of respondents saying that rather than introducing more limits to their private medical plan, they are looking to increase coverage. Many of the employers ticking the “Other” box have also called out specific activities to enhance cover or providing additional benefits, especially focused on ESG with new green benefits

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

being launched and enhancing existing cover to be more inclusive and equitable. From our consultancy teams we know that issues such as women’s health in particular have been very topical throughout 2021. Our survey suggests we can expect to see this accelerate further in 2022.

To What Extent Do You Agree That The Employer Has A Responsibility For Influencing Employee Health And Wellbeing?

One of the headlines from this year’s survey is a significant shift in the number of employers who strongly agree that they have a responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their employees. This has risen from 20% last year to just over half of all respondents. And the numbers who have no view or disagree has fallen to only 5% of employers. This represents the most notable shift from previous years’ results. It is easy to draw connections to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the heightened awareness of ill-health, but the word “responsibility” is important to note here. 95% of employers in our survey agree, and most strongly agree, that they have a responsibility to their employees. It is interesting to see how this acknowledgement sits alongside some of the other responses.

Do You Have A Formalised Health And Wellbeing Strategy?

Given the acceptance that the employer has a role to play in supporting employee wellbeing, it is disappointing that this year’s results show no change in terms of the number of employers with a formal strategy already in place or planning to do so in the near future. Whilst we see greater activity around employee wellbeing, a strategic approach is critical to creating focus and achieving demonstrable results. This anomaly demands us to look elsewhere in this report for evidence of why this might be.

Which Of These Pillars Of Wellbeing Does Your Strategy Currently Offer?

Of those clients with a formal wellbeing strategy in place, almost all have dedicated support for emotional and physical wellbeing and around three quarters now also providing structured financial wellbeing support. It is encouraging to see the rise in employers with a focus on social wellbeing, as the pandemic has shone a light on the importance of positive human connections and the growing societal issue of loneliness. The importance of a wellbeing programme being fully rounded and covering all dimensions of personal and work wellbeing is well documented, and was called out in our 2020 Report: The Rising Resilient. Whilst the increasing number of employers with strategies covering multiple dimensions is encouraging, this still needs to be set into context with the previous response that calls

www.internationalhradviser.com

out that less than half of employers have a strategy in place at all.

Which Of The Following Company-Specific Data Analytics Are Being Used To Inform And Drive Your Corporate Health And Wellbeing Strategy?

Another significant shift from 2021, has seen double digit percentage increases for all these potential data sets. Only 13% of employers have said they do not use health data analytics to inform their wellbeing strategy. This is a clear signal that most employers want to be better informed and have access to more detailed insights to help them make better decisions.

This is a clear signal that most employers want to be better informed and have access to more detailed insights to help them make better decisions Which Of These Health Conditions Are You Concerned About In Your Organisation?

Another new question for 2022, and one that acknowledges the impact and challenges of managing specific health issues. From this question we see that stress is the top concern for employers – which perhaps isn’t surprising given the increased pressures people have faced at home and work over the past two years, combined with having to adapt to new ways of working for many. But stress isn’t exclusively linked to the pandemic. We saw reported cases of workrelated stress, depression and anxiety sharply increase in 2019, and it is now the top cause of work-related ill health. The case for taking proactive action is clear, and it’s positive to see this top of employers’ agendas too. At

the other end of the scale, less than 50% of employers are concerned over heart related conditions, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. This is somewhat concerning as heart disease remains the number one cause of death for males in the UK, and poor lifestyles giving rise to these health issues are risk factors for a multitude of other conditions. In our view, physical wellbeing should remain a focus for all wellbeing strategies, especially given the significant physical, emotional and indeed financial impact these conditions can have for the individual and those around them both at home and in the workplace.

How Do You Manage Health And Wellbeing In Your Organisation?

There are similar responses to last year here, which reinforces that for many organisations, wellbeing remains firmly in human resources’ remit in the majority or organisations. Of course, there are a broad range of stakeholders with an interest in and influence over employee wellbeing, and increasingly we are seeing employers work cross-function to achieve optimal outcomes. This year we specifically asked whether there was representation from the diversity and inclusion team, and this is already the case with nearly a third of employers. Given the importance being placed on DEI and other purpose led issues evidenced elsewhere in this survey, we can hope to see this figure increase next year.

Do You Have An Executive Sponsor For Health And Wellbeing In Your Business?

There has been a moderate increase in the number of employers with an executive sponsor for health and wellbeing, up to 46% from 42% in 2021. Last year we hoped to see this number increase in 2022, given the massive impact the pandemic has had on all aspects of many business operations. In this respect a four percentage points shift is far below expectations and calls into question what else can be done to elevate health and wellbeing as a strategic priority for the C-suite.

Do You Have A Specific Budget For Your Health And Wellbeing Programme?

70% of employers not currently having a dedicated budget for wellbeing is at odds with our earlier findings, that suggested only 5% of employers felt employee wellbeing was not their responsibility and is a deterioration on previous years. Whilst there could be various reasons for this, such as a tightening of the purse strings through the pandemic, or better use of free-of-charge value added benefits provided by insurers, or greater utilisation of in-house resources - there is an imperative for wellbeing to receive adequate

HEALTH AND WELLBEING investment if employers hope to see returns in productivity, engagement, attendance and various other areas critical to creating thriving businesses.

How Do You Expect Your Health And Wellbeing Budget To Change In The Next Year?

Positively, elsewhere in the survey, 44% of employers expressed an intent to increase their wellbeing budget in the next year, with only 1% planning to reduce their spend.

Do You Measure The Return On Investment Of Your Health And Wellbeing Programme?

Similar to previous years, the majority of respondents have not put in place some metrics for measuring value, despite previous surveys indicating that this was part of their future plans. The strain placed on human resource teams over the past 18 months is undoubtedly a factor in not seeing greater progress in this area, as priorities and resource has been focussed elsewhere. However, with ROI potentially supporting other key objectives around decision making, securing budget, targeted condition management and C-suite sponsorship, it is recommended that employers consider ways to elevate this up the agenda.

Have You Conducted A Stress Risk Assessment (Using E.g. The HSE’s Management Standards)?

Encouragingly we have seen an increase from 16% to 21% in the number of employers conducting a stress risk assessment. With no change in the number stating they have no intention to do so, this is one area where stated ambitions 12 months ago, have been delivered on. With workrelated mental health issues accounting for around 18 million working days lost in 2019/20(2), a stress audit can help add real focus and direction to an employer’s mental health strategy. The employer may see value in numerous areas, not just in health claims data and absence costs, but also the reduced impact of presenteeism and mitigation of work-related claims including under employers’ liability insurance.

Looking Forward, Which Areas Of Your Healthcare Spend Are You Most Looking To Focus On?

There is a clear trend here playing toward the mantra that prevention is better (and less expensive) than the cure. Equally, this illustrates investment that correlates with where employees are most likely to be in their health journey. It is positive to note that the focus on supporting employees

who may be unwell remains in place, as holistic health management programmes are a key component of a resilient business strategy.

Do You Plan To Implement Initiatives Relating To Employee Financial Wellbeing And What Do You Intend To Implement:

Overall, the intentions and timing of these intentions, to support employee financial wellbeing remains consistent with last year, with around two-thirds of employers planning to take further action. Again, consistent with 2021, is the intention to focus principally on improving communications and financial education. The findings indicate what is perhaps a shift away from interest in offering debt solutions and an increased focus on additional workplace savings vehicles. These findings are taken from the Healthcare section of Aon’s UK Benefits And Trends Survey 2022. To request your free copy of this survey please email: letstalkbenefits@aon.co.uk, or search for Aon's UK Benefits and Trends Survey 2022 on our global website. www.aon.com

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

HR In 2022 And Beyond Trends, Challenges And Priorities Facing The People Profession After one of the most turbulent years in this generation’s history, hopeful HR leaders embarked on a journey in 2021 seeking calmer waters for their profession, their businesses and importantly, their people. While the world of work changed for good, the people's profession had to evolve too. As businesses the world over experienced seismic shifts in perspective and priorities, HR teams led the charge in championing the human element of work to effectively balance productivity with employee engagement, satisfaction and happiness at a time that saw us more separated than ever. And here we find ourselves in 2022. It goes without saying that the continued uncertainty surrounding the global pandemic has compounded the need for talented HR professionals in businesses from every walk of life. Our last State of HR survey looked ahead to 2021 and yielded some fascinating insights into the profession, especially as we began to deal with COVID-19. But in a year in which we could refine the lessons learned through 2021, we also came to terms with new challenges such as ‘The Great Resignation’ and the continued surges in remote and hybrid work, 2021 was, in its own way, just as challenging as 2020 was for HR leaders. Once again, we took to the virtual streets to uncover HR leaders’ views, thoughts, and opinions from across the UK. Throughout this report, we’ll take a deep-dive into the people's profession and examine the trends, challenges and priorities facing HR teams in 2022 and beyond. It will also examine the ongoing (and seemingly lasting) impact that COVID has had on the world of work and what 2022 may bring for HR. With responses from Heads of HR, CHROs, HR Business Partners and Advisors; this report is designed to provide an overview of the state of the HR profession and deliver insights into current and future priorities and challenges. Throughout, we compare this year’s findings with previous years’ and examine the reasons for changing trends and attitudes towards HR.

www.internationalhradviser.com

Who Did We Survey?

To gather a snapshot of the world of HR and the current state of the profession, we surveyed over 110 HR professionals from across the UK to understand how they found 2021 and how their plans for 2022 were shaping up. HR professionals shared their experiences in businesses ranging from sub-hundred employee SMEs to giants with over 5,000. What’s more, we gathered responses from HR professionals at all stages in their careers, from CHROs to HR Business Partners, Co-Ordinators and Advisers to provide a well-rounded picture of the people's profession.

Is HR Valued As A Department?

One of the most significant findings from previous ‘State of HR’ surveys we have carried out was the worrying lack of value placed on the HR function. Back in 2019, we found HR to be significantly undervalued, with 1 in 5 stating that they believed HR was not valued in their business. To boot, this figure remained unchanged in 2020, despite a year where the world of work as we knew it changed overnight! While this figure has improved by 3%, 17% of respondents continue to believe that HR is not valued in their business. As HR teams rose to the challenge of another year living and working with COVID19, the majority of professionals will be at the forefront of supporting their businesses in adjusting to the changing working world. All the while, the remaining 17% of respondents continue to state that HR is not valued in their business. A lack of understanding of the importance of HR, being perceived as ‘people fixers’ and being overlooked by senior management, has left a significant proportion of HR professionals feeling undervalued in their roles in 2021. While 2021 may not have been as upending as 2020 was, the hurdles facing HR teams were still remarkably challenging. The pandemic created a huge shift in the way employees view their jobs and what they want from life in general. The work/life balance that flexible working affords employees, working at times to suit them and changing attitudes on benefits and perks, have led huge swathes

of employees to change roles or even switch careers entirely. It is clear that HR will never be a profit centre, but as a department that can singlehandedly increase employee performance and engagement, it has a profound impact on every organisation’s success and value. Here are just some of the reasons why our respondents felt the department wasn’t valued in their business… “Historically, HR has been viewed as a functional team rather than utilised for strategic benefit”. “Very limited understanding of the HR role, still a desire for us to be ‘people fixers’ spending a lot of time listening to unhappy staff so that managers don’t have to”. “Leaders want us to be strategic but focus on the administrative aspect of HR [...] they do not know how to measure our work unless it’s purely operational”. “The Senior Leadership Team don’t fully understand or appreciate the importance of a solid and thorough people function”.

Pay In Human Resources

In the most recent data published on Glassdoor in early 2022, the average salary for those working in HR in the UK is £47,178. And yet, the average salary cited by our respondents was between £35,000 and £45,000. Interestingly, this year’s research found that 45% of women earned more than the national average compared to 51% of males working in HR roles. Reassuringly, the number of men and women in receipt of wages in excess of £75,000 was fairly evenly split, with 13% of women earning over £75,000 and 15% of men. In 2022, the best-paid industry for HR continues to be real estate and property with all respondents earning in excess of £55,000 – a staggering £8,000 more than the national average. This is followed closely by the professional services and legal sectors, with 75% of respondents working in these industries earning more than the national average, and manufacturing, transport and logistics where 50% earn more than the average.

HR’S Priorities In 2022

It is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has fast-tracked changes in the way we work –

HR IN 2022 AND BEYOND prompting a slew of changes and trends in HR, to which the entire function had to respond in a coordinated and controlled manner. For this reason, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the biggest priority for HR leaders in 2022 is improving employee engagement and experience (cited by 70% of respondents). The world of work isn’t the same as it was when many of today’s HR leaders took up their roles and the volatile nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to re-evaluate entire. HR strategies on the fly to adapt and adjust to a new era of work. As remote work becomes the norm rather than the exception and we continue to live with the coronavirus, keeping employees engaged takes on a very different format. The ways in which employees express themselves as they carry out their jobs, what motivates them, and the methods that foster an engaged workforce have changed dramatically. Being physically distant from a workplace has changed the way employees perceive companies, and how and where they fit into overall business goals. What’s more, some leaders may fear that remote teams are harder to manage, and communication may be difficult or break down entirely. In our last survey, carried out while we continued to navigate lockdowns, furlough and remote work, employee health and wellbeing topped the priority list for HR teams looking ahead to 2021. At a time when the methods or advisory services recommended to employees to support their health and wellbeing in the past may not have been as readily available, HR professionals took it upon themselves to prioritise employee health and wellbeing in the wake of the coronavirus. For employees, the pandemic and a surge in remote working has transformed the job market into a true candidate’s playground. With individuals able to apply for roles across the country (and in some cases, across the globe), the work from anywhere attitude has become a key deciding factor for many seeking new opportunities. As such, it isn’t surprising that the recruitment and retention of employees is also high on the priority list for over two-thirds (67%) of HR managers. While the pandemic caused unfortunate redundancies on a huge scale, Brexit also led to significant labour shortages across industries such as logistics, hospitality and healthcare. The combination of COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions, and Brexit coming into effect, has seen many Europeans return to their home countries - and not return. Under the UK’s new immigration rules, EU nationals no longer have preferential treatment; instead, a new points-based system is designed to attract skilled workers. Ultimately, HR and talent teams continue to

compete fiercely for the best talent and, as a result, they must develop new strategies to attract and keep that talent for the long-term. Back in 2020, employee health and wellbeing topped the list of priorities for the year ahead as companies continued to be measured by the way in which they treat their people during these tumultuous times. Reassuringly, this is still a priority for 64% of HR teams as savvy leaders step up to provide ongoing support for their employees.

Under the UK’s new immigration rules, EU nationals no longer have preferential treatment; instead, a new points-based system is designed to attract skilled workers Many have chosen to bolster their existing Employee Assistance Programmes with a curated repository of resources, documentation and services that are made available for all employees to access at any time. Others have re-evaluated flexible working policies to meet changing employee needs or improved benefits. In the past two years alone, wellbeing has expanded beyond physical wellbeing to focus on building a culture of holistic wellbeing, including physical, emotional, financial, social, career, community, and purpose. At the heart of this is the growing need for flexibility in where, when, and how employees work. Conversely, HR systems and processes were bottom of the priority list for HR leaders, being cited by just 8% of respondents. In addition, enabling employees to work from home and improving payroll processes were also low on the agenda, with just 15% and 16% of respondents respectively citing them as a priority.

Challenges Facing HR In 2022

In the latter stages of 2021, the quarterly CIPD Labour Market Outlook study found that almost half (47%) of employers reported that they had vacancies that were hard to fill. What’s more, 1 in 4 predicted that the number of vacancies that would be difficult to fill would increase in Q1 of 2022. While industries such as hospitality, tourism, arts, construction, healthcare and manufacturing continue to battle coronavirus cases and restrictions, the lasting impact of Brexit is still being sorely felt by many. Interestingly, the task that is high on HR’s priority list also tops the list of their biggest challenges in 2022. 45% of respondents cited the recruitment of talent as the most difficult task for the year ahead. As the supply of labour shrinks, many employers have adopted tactics to combat the challenges they are facing around recruitment, such as raising wages, upskilling existing staff and hiring apprentices. Recruiting talent didn’t even feature in the top three challenges for HR leaders in last year’s report, being cited by just 28% of respondents. It is clear that the perfect storm of the ongoing pandemic and Brexit has made the lives of HR and talent teams harder than ever before when it comes to attracting candidates to fill open vacancies. 66% of our respondents shared that they had been impacted by recent staff shortages in the UK and of these, 56% stated that staff turnover has increased, 42% have had to use agency staff or temporary workers to fill gaps and 33% have offered more training to upskill existing staff in order to support shortstaffed departments. Furthermore, 42% cite inefficiencies and admin as significant challenges in 2022. Everchanging guidance around the pandemic, surges in the number of COVID cases and the changing legislation surrounding the recruitment of employees from outside the UK has led to a huge administrative headache for HR professionals. Thus, causing a number of inefficiencies while HR’s time is taken up by admin rather than focusing on strategic initiatives that add real value. As employers around the world continue to navigate the ongoing challenges that COVID is causing, the very nature of the pandemic makes planning ahead very challenging. While employers and employees alike are more accustomed to eleventhhour announcements, changing guidance and safety measures today than they were in early 2020, the fast-changing nature of work is causing inefficiencies and a significant increase in administrative work for HR teams. With vaccines and boosters being rolled out, there is hope after a very challenging time for many, and a return to some kind of normality is on the horizon. However,

www.internationalhradviser.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SPRING

a low Christmas trading period left many businesses (retail and hospitality in particular) in a perilous position during a very testing time, and now with new variants of the virus spreading at speed, the chance of a return to a ‘normal’ world of work has been stifled. While many continue to work from home or adjust to a hybrid model, maintaining employee morale and engagement is key to continued success. It’s not surprising that while the vast majority of HR leaders are prioritising employee engagement in 2022, 32% cited it as their biggest challenge for the year ahead. In 2022, this is not employee engagement as we know it. As a result, HR leaders have had to find entirely new and novel ways to engage their employees and ensure their spirits are kept high while they are working. Interestingly, the areas that HR finds the least challenging are on/offboarding employees (3%), compliance with legislation (4%) and data security (10%). This study also found that almost a third (31%) of HR leaders introduced new tools and technology to digitise HR processes in 2021. The move to a tech-driven department will have supported many with the areas that are low on this year’s priority list. HR technology and the digitisation of the department will have undoubtedly aided in streamlining on and offboarding, ensuring continued compliance with relevant legislation and safeguarding confidential employee data.

HR And Technology

HR is often the first port of call for employees during times of crisis or uncertainty, and as the pandemic swept the nation, HR teams had to adapt quickly to meet the changing requirements of business leaders and employees. For many, the most noticeable transition as a result of the pandemic was to cloudbased systems. The almost overnight move to remote work meant many had their plans for digital transformation fast-tracked to the springtime of 2020. Throughout the last two years, we witnessed a very urgent need to update policies and processes, track employee whereabouts, diversify support for health and wellbeing, modify working hours and continue to make business-critical decisions in an entirely novel situation. Clunky, paper-based HR systems and a lack of remote access will have made this year very difficult for many businesses. Encouragingly, the use of HR technology has risen by 1% on last year’s figures, with 80% of respondents now stating their company already used some form of HR technology with a further 14% saying they plan to in the next 12 months. Just 6% didn’t use any form of HR technology at all. Of those that are using HR technology, they reported a number of

www.internationalhradviser.com

business and departmental benefits of using such systems. The most common benefits experienced included: reduced HR admin (76%), going paperless (58%) and improved employee user experience (45%).

Clunky, paperbased HR systems and a lack of remote access will have made this year very difficult for many businesses Where Is HR Spending Their Budget?

This year, we also asked HR teams to rank where their budgets were being spent from highest to lowest to better understand the key priorities and strategies that they are employing to drive their business forwards. The top areas where most of the budget is being spent are: recruitment advertising and job boards, and employee training and development. Unsurprisingly, and in line with the priorities they shared with us for the year ahead, 60% of HR teams cited that recruitment advertising and job boards saw the highest level of spend in 2021. As employers seek to fill record numbers of vacancies, investing in advertising these roles on social media, networking sites and job boards will have played a key part in attracting candidates. As staff shortages in some industries continue to ravage hiring teams’ plans, many employers are looking internally and investing in the talent they already have. As such, 49% of respondents shared that training and development was another area where a significant portion of the budget was being allocated. The emergence of an ‘internal talent marketplace’ encourages the development of existing talent to bridge a skills gap. Investing in training and development is playing an increasingly important role in a company’s ongoing success and its ability to adapt to changing market forces, economic

conditions and external influences. And if the pandemic has taught us nothing else, it is the need for resilience, agility and flexibility. Conversely, the areas with the lowest amount of spend are overtime (cited by 65% as the area where the least amount of HR budget was spent), HR admin (42%) and strategic planning, consultants and advisory services (26%).

Top HR Initiatives For 2022

From mental health to work-life balance, an overall trend for 2022 that has appeared in this research is an increased focus on employees. In a 2021 survey by the CIPD, three- quarters of respondents reported that senior leaders had wellbeing on their agenda – up from 61% in 2020. Employee wellbeing tops the list of initiatives being championed in 2022 (80%), followed by supporting mental health (73%) and enabling flexible working (71%). Together, these three initiatives must work in harmony to strike a happy balance for employees. Some may prefer a hybrid model of work; others may prefer flexible working times to fit in with the school run or so they’re able to take a morning walk before starting work. Historically, wellbeing strategies have included the likes of Employee Assistance Programmes, mindfulness exercises, yoga lessons or guided meditation apps. But now, more than ever, companies need to reassess their provision of wellbeing initiatives to one that is proactive, rather than reactive. Initiatives must also address the drivers in the workplace that may lead to employee wellbeing suffering. That’s not to say that previous provisions are now moot, but they must be included in a wider, more comprehensive strategy to address any stressors or drivers of poor wellbeing in the workplace. Take remote work, for example. The overwhelming assumption is that it is good for wellbeing since it removes the need for stressful daily commutes, a distraction-free working environment and the work/life balance we all crave. But for some, it can have the opposite effect. Isolation, a blurring of lines between home and work, and a feeling of being unable to switch off after the working day is done can severely affect an individual’s wellbeing – mentally and physically. The last two years have been tough for all employees, and today, companies must be putting holistic measures in place to support their employees’ physical health, mental wellbeing and financial health in order to prevent burnout, mental health problems and wellbeing issues. If the last year has taught your employees anything, it is how crucial taking time for ourselves is. The flexibility to take the kids to school, go for a walk or head to the gym at lunchtime, spend time with loved ones and

HR IN 2022 AND BEYOND avoid the stress of the morning commute is now far more valued than ever before. Our own research (The Real Impact of Working from Home) found that employees have valued ‘more flexibility’, ‘no commute’ and ‘more time with family’ the most when working from home. Remember: there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to your employees. Naturally, what drives wellbeing – and what adversely affects it - will vary from business to business. Before you develop any kind of plan to boost wellbeing levels, you need to understand what your people value most, what makes their happiness levels soar and what can have the opposite effect. Find out what affects the wellbeing of your employees? Is it being able to work from home? Is it starting earlier and finishing early? You may look to create a survey to understand current perceptions of employee wellbeing initiatives, use employee pulse feedback or focus groups and team meetings to find out how you are currently doing.

The World Of Work In 2022

2021 was a whirlwind for HR. It’s fair to say that after the life-changing events of 2020, the world of work has been transformed forever. Workers around the globe quit their jobs as part of ‘The Great Resignation’, companies re-evaluated their flexible working arrangements, there was further emphasis on businesses to contribute towards a greener future and extensive debate about the plausibility of a four-day work week. Over the past 12 months, we saw leaders and businesses continue to adapt as the pandemic impacted entire sectors. ‘Hybrid work’ was a phrase barely even uttered by many of us before 2020 and the demand for remote working jobs has rocketed into 2022. Just take a look on LinkedIn, Indeed or any other job site – the sheer number of remote or hybrid roles is truly remarkable. An overwhelming majority (81%) of HR leaders shared that they will introduce a hybrid model of working in 2022, with a further 14% being entirely office-based and 4% operating fully remotely. The uptick in blended working that includes a combination of both officebased and remote working is clearly one that employees prefer and candidates will actively seek out in job vacancies. With two-thirds (66%) of leaders stating their company was considering reimagining their existing office space for hybrid work, it’s clear that 2021 has only cemented the format of work that the pandemic ushered in. In last year’s survey, we revealed that 30% of businesses felt they were unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. While few businesses could have anticipated the timings or outcomes of

government decisions and measures to reduce the spread of the virus, the findings of last year’s survey demonstrated a worrying lack of preparedness in many British businesses. While we must recognise the once-in-ageneration nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic has highlighted the need for thorough continuity planning so that every “what if?” is accounted

Workers around the globe quit their jobs as part of ‘The Great Resignation’, companies re-evaluated their flexible working arrangements, there was further emphasis on businesses to contribute towards a greener future and extensive debate about the plausibility of a fourday work week for and employees can be reassured. During unforeseen events like the coronavirus outbreak, a business continuity plan is crucial for HR leaders as they are often the first point of contact during any times of uncertainty. With firm plans in place to manage the workforce through any times of crisis, HR will

be able to support employees and respond to their questions with confidence. Given the speed at which the virus spread, it is reassuring to find that, in this year’s survey, 43% of respondents have now improved business continuity planning as a result of COVID and 34% have developed contingency plans.

The Future Of Human Resources

As we look ahead to 2022, many of us will continue to have COVID-tinted glasses casting a veil of uncertainty on what this year will bring: both professionally and personally. We asked our respondents what the future of HR might look like in their business in the next 12 months. Their responses varied hugely: some hoping to streamline HR procedures, others aiming to focus on people development plans, more structure and a focus on employee wellbeing and experience. Equally, some shared feelings of uncertainty, tiredness and expected cuts in the department. These anecdotes from our respondents provide a sense of very cautious optimism amongst HR leaders. When asked the same question last year, respondents were in the throes of the pandemic, navigating a return to the office and preparing for Brexit. This year’s cohort seems to be taking a conservative approach to the year ahead, while being acutely aware of the speed at which things can change. While we ended 2021 a hair’s breadth short of the light at the end of the tunnel, 2022 started with COVID19 restrictions reinstated across the UK. Despite another challenging year for HR, they are making the best out of a difficult situation and doing everything to ensure the wellbeing, happiness and morale of their people.

NATURAL HR

Natural HR was born in 2010 out of an internal requirement for an online employee management system that could help manage remote employees who needed to submit timesheets every week. We continue to evolve our software today in full collaboration with our customers. Not only does this mean you can directly input into our product roadmap, more importantly, it means you’ll have an HR system that grows as your business does. www.naturalhr.com

www.internationalhradviser.com

FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO

The Leading Magazine for International HR Professionals Worldwide

SPRING 202

ISSUE 88

FER INSIDE

RIPTION OF

FREE SUBSC

nal Internatio viser HR Ad The

ofessionals nal HR Pr

Worldwide

natio ne For Inter

agazi Leading M

orce 1/22 INCLUDE: Your Workf ers For Tax Year 202 FEATURES Way With ind Leading The Reporting - Key Rem n Update Net Zero: ce igratio Imm • The Path To Employer Complian e fect Hir Era upon UK Year-End s The Secret To A Per The Post-Pandemic on For Gro That Update • Leader In ent Reveal cking Soluti To Change Global Tax Head of Tal To Be A Courageous Remote Working Tra You Can Do How And What And A e Reasons s' Traveller Fiv vey out Top Sur s aeb sio efit mance - 'Wher Profes n d Ben Case Study asure Expatriate Perfor ing - UK Trends An s Facing The People Wellbe rd To Me d Prioritie Health And allenges An Why Is It Ha - Trends, Ch : And Beyond THIS ISSUE HR In 2022 PANEL FOR ADVISORY

Internatio nal HR Advise r WINTER 202

1/22

The Leading

Magazine Fo

ISSUE 87

FREE SUBSC

RIPTION OF

r Internatio

nal HR Pr ofessionals

Worldwide

FEATURES INCLUDE: Revisiting The A-Z Of Travel And Global Tax Immigration Update • Alternative Experiencing Employment The Future Structures Hiring in 202 Of Work In The Top 10 Real-Time: 2 • 5 Cybers Best And Wo Are You Evo ecurity My rst Cities For HR Trends lving? ths That Are Co For 2022 • Expatriate mpromisin s To Live In Why Every g Your Data HR Professio • Time To Sto nal Needs p Talking, Let To Be Aware 's Grab The Of The Ch Seat At Th anges The e Table ADVISORY Sustainabilit PANEL FOR y Agenda Wi THIS ISSUE ll Bring :

Visit our website www.internationalhradviser.com and complete the online registration. For further information please call Helen Elliott on +44 (0) 208 661 0186 Email: helen@internationalhradviser.com Website: www.internationalhradviser.com By signing up for the free subscription we will keep your details in our database to enable us to send you the magazine each quarter, and relevant email communications.

FER INSIDE