Asia Pacific Employment Law Guide 2015 Teaser

ASIA PACIFIC
EMPLOYMENT
LAW GUIDE 2015
LEGAL GUIDE
April 2015
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
ASIA PACIFIC EMPLOYMENT LAW GUIDE 2015
01
INTRODUCTION
I am delighted to introduce to you the 2015 edition

of Herbert Smith Freehills' Asia Pacific
Employment Law Guide.
This latest edition of the Guide contains a high level summary of the key
employment laws and principles in 21 jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific
region. The Guide is produced and updated annually and has, over the
years, become the 'go to' resource for HR managers and in-house
counsel with employment-related responsibilities in the region.
The Asia Pacific region continues to be a dynamic arena for employment
law issues. Language and cultural differences overlay employment laws
which are at different stages of evolution and have different goals in
mind. A useful approach is to consider the 'employer friendliness' of a
particular jurisdiction, with countries like Hong Kong and Singapore at
one end of the spectrum. These jurisdictions allow employers to react to
market changes relatively easily, and allow for unilateral termination of
employment, reflecting the emphasis on providing support for successful
commercial endeavours. On the other end of the spectrum are the
'employee friendly' jurisdictions, which provide detailed employee
protection and often require consultation and consent prior to any
workplace changes. Jurisdictions in this category include Indonesia,
Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Thailand and China. Somewhere in the middle
are jurisdictions like Australia, New Zealand and India which, whilst
highly regulated, still allow employers a degree of flexibility in relation to
organisational change and restructure. Navigating the various
employment landscapes across the Asia Pacific region remains a
complicated task for HR managers and in-house counsel, and we hope
this Guide will make that journey a little easier.
In addition to the varying labour laws, the past twelve months have seen
a number of changes in the employment law landscape across the Asia
Pacific region. Workplace health and safety has remained a hot topic: in
China, amendments to the Work Safety Law have seen harsher penalties
given to companies and their executives to prevent work place accidents,
while in Japan a seminal decision on power harassment resulted in a high
value pay out to the family of a deceased employee. Collective bargaining
rules have been revisited in both New Zealand and Singapore: the new
Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 provides new benefits to
employers in respect of collective bargaining and strike action in New
Zealand, while over in Singapore amendments to the Industrial Relations
Act will allow managerial and executive level employees to be
represented in the collective bargaining process for the first time.
Hong Kong has also been a busy jurisdiction, with new paternity leave
rules taking effect in 2015, and a number of new changes contemplated
to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance to reflect wage and price
increases. Since the 2014 edition of the Guide the primary legislation
governing employment in Laos was replaced when the Law on the
Amendment of Labour Law of Lao People's Democratic Republic (No043/NA,
December 24, 2013) came into effect. The new law omits many of the
more onerous requirements that previously applied to disciplinary
matters and termination of employment and makes a number of
changes to the workplace health and safety regime and the laws
regulating union relations.
Herbert Smith Freehills' on-the-ground Employment, Pensions and
Incentives team is ideally placed to assist you to navigate this complex
and constantly evolving regional employment law landscape. We have
employment law specialists in each of our offices in Hong Kong,
Singapore, Japan, the Peoples' Republic of China, Korea, Thailand,
Indonesia and Australia. We believe the geographical location, size,
experience and expertise of our employment law team makes our firm
unique in the Asia Pacific region.
Our team members also have excellent relationships with local
employment law firms in jurisdictions where we do not have a physical
presence. These firms have assisted us in the preparation of this Guide
and we express our thanks to them for their contributions.
As always, please note that the information contained in this Guide is not
legal advice. While the content of it is current to 1 February 2015 (except
where otherwise stated), laws are of course subject to change. We
therefore recommend that you obtain formal legal advice before relying
on the information contained in this Guide.
The contact details of our on-the-ground Asia Pacific Employment,
Pensions and Incentives team members can be found at the back of this
Guide. I encourage you to contact them (or your usual Herbert Smith
Freehills contacts) with any questions you may have.
I trust that you will find this Guide a useful first resource for answers to
your questions about employment law in the Asia Pacific region. We look
forward to assisting you with any employment issues which arise in
these jurisdictions and to working with you to drive your business
forward in the region.
Alison Brown
Global Head of Employment,
Pensions and Incentives
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
T +44 20 7466 2427
alison.brown@hsf.com
Does the duty of trust and confidence still exist in employment

contracts? This question was considered by both the Australian and
Singapore courts, with very different results. In Australia, the High Court
ruled in the negative, while in Singapore, following Hong Kong's lead, the
opposite conclusion was reached, illustrating just how different even
seemingly similar common law jurisdictions can be.
April 2015
02
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01
AUSTRALIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
Disciplinary procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
Termination of employment . . . . . . . . . 09
Discrimination and harassment . . . . . 11
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Occupational health and safety . . . . . 12
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Regulation of outsourcing and
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Industrial relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
BANGLADESH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Disciplinary procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Discrimination and harassment. . . . . . 19
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Industrial relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
CAMBODIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Regulation of outsourcing
and contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
HONG KONG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Minimum statutory terms. . . . . . . . . . . 31
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
andcontracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
INDIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Disciplinary procedures asic. . . . . . . . . 40
Whistle-blowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Occupational health and safety. . . . . . 42
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
INDONESIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Whistle-blowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Data protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
and contracting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
JAPAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Minimum statutory terms. . . . . . . . . . . 50
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
KOREA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Whistle-blowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Data protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
andcontracting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
LAOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
03
andcontracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
MACAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Termination of employment . . . . . . . . 72
Whistle-blowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Data protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
and contracting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
MALAYSIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
andcontracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
MONGOLIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
and contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
04
MYANMAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA. . . . . . . . 111

Minimum statutory terms. . . . . . . . . . 111
Disciplinary procedures . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Discrimination and harassment . . . . 117
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Occupational health and safety . . . . 117
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Industrial relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
NEW ZEALAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
SINGAPORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Disciplinary procedures . . . . . . . . . . .123
Termination of employment . . . . . . . .123
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
THE PHILIPPINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

Minimum statutory terms. . . . . . . . . . 104
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
SRI LANKA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
05
TAIWAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Discrimination and harassment . . . .138
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
Occupational health and safety . . . .138
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
andcontracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
VIETNAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
andcontracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
THAILAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
Minimum terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Whistle-blowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Data protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
andcontracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . .154

CONTACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTORS
154
EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTORS
COUNTRY
BANGLADESH
CONTACT
Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed & Associates

Afzal Syed afzal@siaalaw.com
CAMBODIA
KCP Cambodia
Jay Cohen jay.cohen@kcpartnership.com
INDIA
Kochhar & Ko
Manishi Pathak manishi.pathak@kochhar.com
KOREA
Lee & Ko
Paul Cho paul.cho@leeko.com
LAOS
DFDL
Rupert Haw rupert.haw@dfdl.com
MACAU
JNV Legal
Pedro Branco pedro.branco@jnvlegal.com
Joanna Rodrigues jrodrigues@jnvlegal.com
MALAYSIA
Skrine
Siva Kumar Kanagasabai skk@skrine.com
MONGOLIA
MahoneyLiotta LLP
Daniel Mahoney daniel.mahoney@mlmongolia.com
MYANMAR
Herbert Smith Freehills with assistance from Myanmar Legal Services

Paul Cruise paul.cruise@hsf.com
NEW ZEALAND
Bell Gully
Grace Stacy-Jacobs grace.stacey-jacobs@bellgully.com
Tim Clarke tim.clarke@bellgully.com
PHILIPPINES
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

Marianne M. Miguel mmmiguel@syciplaw.com
SINGAPORE
Prolegis LLC
Ban Leong Oo banleong.oo@pro-legis.com
SRI LANKA
Varners
Lakshika Siriwardana lakshi@varners.lk
Nimal Weeraratne weera@varners.lk
TAIWAN
Lee and Li
Joyce Chen joycechen@leeandli.com
Ken-Ying Tseng kenying@leeandli.com
VIETNAM
Frasers Law Company

Phung Thi Than Thao thao.phung@frasersvn.com

CONTACTS
CONTACT
GLOBAL HEAD OF EMPLOYMENT, PENSIONS

AND INCENTIVES
Alison Brown
Partner
T +44 20 7466 2427
M +44 778 5254950
alison.brown@hsf.com
AUSTRALIA
Steve Smith
Partner, Brisbane
T +61 7 3258 6549
M +61 417 134 499
steve.smith@hsf.com
Miles Bastick
Regional Practice Group Head (EPI)
Australia, Sydney
T +61 2 9225 5722
M +61 416 225 755
miles.bastick@hsf.com
Michael Gonski
Partner, Sydney
T +61 2 9225 5083
M +61 409 987 121
michael.gonski@hsf.com
Celia Yuen
Executive Counsel, Melbourne
T +61 3 9288 1238
M +61 400 517 832
celia.yuen@hsf.com
Helen Beech
Senior Associate, Perth
T +61 8 9211 7777
D +61 8 9211 7655
helen.beech@hsf.com
CONTACT
Bronwyn Sullivan
Senior Associate, Sydney
T +61 2 9225 5052
M +61 428 231 290
bronwyn.sullivan@hsf.com
Jess Toop
Senior Associate, Melbourne
T +61 3 9288 1637
M +61 408 011 420
jess.toop@hsf.com
Clarissa Robbins
Senior Associate, Brisbane
T +61 7 3258 6415
M +61 417 395 370
clarissa.robbins@hsf.com
Rachael Wong
Solicitor, Melbourne
T +61 3 9288 1234
D +61 3 9288 1453
rachael.wong@hsf.com
155
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS CONTACTS
156
CONTACT
HONG KONG
CONTACT
JAPAN
Gareth Thomas
Partner
T +852 2101 4025
M +852 9773 5042
gareth.thomas@hsf.com
Peter Godwin
Managing Partner
T +81 3 5412 5444
M +81 90 5502 4388
peter.godwin@hsf.com
Susan Leung
Consultant
T +852 2101 4136
M +852 6620 7532
susan.leung@hsf.com
Georgina Stevens
Senior Associate
T +81 3 5412 5412
D +81 3 5412 5482
georgina.stevens@hsf.com
Gillian McKenzie
Associate
T +852 2101 4222
M +852 9195 6606
gillian.mckenzie@hsf.com
Florence Cheung
Senior Associate,
Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi
T +81 3 5412 5412
D +81 3 5412 5416
florence.cheung@hsf.com
David Smail
Associate
T +852 2845 6639
D +852 2101 4632
david.smail@hsf.com
KOREA
Lewis McDonald
Managing Partner
T +82 2 6321 5711
M +82 10 3609 0320
lewis.mcdonald@hsf.com
INDONESIA
David Dawborn
Partner
T +62 21 5790 0571
M +62 811 189 0367
david.dawborn@hbtlaw.com
Santi Darmawan
Managing Partner, Hiswara
Bunjamin & Tandjung
T +62 21 574 4010
M +62 811 949 279
santi.darmawan@hbtlaw.com
Narendra Adiyasa
Senior Associate, Hiswara
Bunjamin & Tandjung
T +62 21 574 4010
M +62 811 1006 719
narendra.adiyasa@hbtlaw.com
James Doe
Partner
T +82 2 6321 5700
M +82 10 7191 4698
james.doe@hsf.com
CONTACT
PRC
CONTACT
THAILAND
Karen Ip
Partner, Beijing
T +86 10 6535 5135
M +86 138 1071 0056
karen.ip@hsf.com
Chinnawat Thongpakdee
Partner
T +66 2 657 3829
M +66 81 833 4700
chinnawat.thongpakdee@hsf.com
Nanda Lau
Partner, Shanghai
T +86 21 2322 2117
M +86 136 81917366
nanda.lau@hsf.com
Janaki Tampi
Associate (Admitted in Australia)
T + 66 2 657 3888
D +66 2 657 3835
janaki.tampi@hsf.com
Doreen Yan
Associate, Beijing
T +86 10 6535 5129
M +86 136 7116 8963
doreen.yan@hsf.com
Chotika Voravongsakul
Junior Associate
T +66 2 657 3888
D +66 2 657 3831
chotika.voravongsakul@hsf.com
Jasmine Chen
Associate, Shanghai
T +86 21 2322 2165
M +86 137 6114 3505
jasmine.chen@hsf.com
UK
Andrew Taggart
Partner
T +44 20 7466 2434
M +44 791 7461269
andrew.taggart@hsf.com
SINGAPORE
Fatim Jumabhoy
Of Counsel
T +65 6868 9822
M +65 9770 0320
fatim.jumabhoy@hsf.com
Daniel Schaffer
Partner
T +44 20 7466 2003
M +44 754 5513403
daniel.schaffer@hsf.com
Sarah Yazid
Associate
T +65 6868 9829
M +65 8339 5895
sarah.yazid@hsf.com
Paul Ellerman
Partner
T +44 20 7466 2728
M +44 780 9200186
paul.ellerman@hsf.com
Tara Grossman
Senior Associate
T +44 20 7374 8000
D +44 20 7466 2797
tara.grossman@hsf.com
157
The contents of this publication, current at the date of publication set out in this document, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as
such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication.
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and its affiliated and subsidiary businesses and firms and Herbert Smith Freehills, an Australian Partnership, are separate member firms of the international legal
practice known as Herbert Smith Freehills.
Herbert Smith Freehills 2015
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