1 10 GUIDING TIPS FOR SETTING UP REGIONAL OFFICE HR Related Considerations

2 UNDERSTAND More about the country in terms of culture, availability of resources / labor Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 1

3 EXPAND Personal network by visiting the HR council, institutes and local HR manager of other firms Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 2

4 MEET HR consultants, tax consultants, and/or legal advisors to get advice on: - establishing local handbook or standard employment contract - setting up staff insurance scheme for mandatory requirement and staff benefits Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 3

5 GET In touch with headhunters and personal agencies to: - know more about the labor market - get more salary information for budgeting - check the local package Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 4

6 CHECK - The statutory requirement for local employment and expatriates assignment - I mmigration Law e.g. Any restriction to foreign workers? What are the work visa process and requirements? - The tax policy of ‘allowable duration of stay’ e.g. Travelers are subject to tax if they travel to a country for more than a certain no. of days a year (the traveler may need to keep record for the traveling schedule and plan ahead for tax efficiency) Setting Up Regional Office : Guideline 5

7 CONSIDER to hire a local HR or outsource the payroll / tax function to local service provider particularly in those countries of complex social security and/or withholding tax systems (Depends on the business plan and affordability) Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 6

8 STATUTORY REQUIREMENT  UNDERSTAND local employment and other HR related legislation having an impact on devising your HR strategy or policy. e.g. minimum wages, maximum no. of working hours  UNDERSTAND local tax law having an impact on compensation/ benefit policy/ tax liability for staff seconding or expatriate assigning Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 7

9 STAFFING REQUIREMENT  Positions require:  staff relocation from head office / regional headquarter to different countries  to be filled by local employees with reference to availability in the local labor market Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 8

10 HR STRATEGY / C&B POLICY  MAKE reference to the HR strategy / C&B policy of the head office and determine which strategy / policy should apply regionally or globally e.g Salary scale and types of benefits for different levels of staff  DETERMINE policy applying to international staff assignments e.g. Employees assigned from overseas may follow the terms offered in the country they originally reside (Cont’d) Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 9

11 HR STRATEGY / C&B POLICY (Cont’d)  DETERMINE what employment terms need to be adapted to meet the local minimum requirement e.g To employ HK staff, the minimum employer contribution to the local MPF system is 5% of the staff’s relevant income  “SERVICE PAY” - HR should inform Finance to accrue the fund in their books if there’s a potential liability in paying the employees upon their separation from the company  SALARY level will usually follow local cost of living and inflation Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 9

12 OTHER RECOMMENDATION FOR SELF-STARTER  SEARCH through websites for information on employment law & economic data in each country  VISIT official websites frequently, keep abreast of the changes  READ and understand the legislative document as far as possible to analyze different sources of information Setting Up Regional Office : Guiding Tip 10