Can you guess the biggest challenge faced by HR managers with respect to their day to day work?

It is to navigate through a messy system of labour laws.

There are over 100 state and 40 central labour and employment statutes applicable in different parts of the country.

The complexity is overwhelming.

And yet, as you become a senior HR manager, you cannot hope to do your work well without having a grip over these laws

Here is the good news.

In 2019, the government proposed to replace the 29 important labour laws with four labour codes, with a view to simplify the law.

In August 2019, the Code on Wages was enacted.

In September 2020, three other Codes, namely the Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020, Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and the Code on Social Security, 2020 were notified.

But now you need to understand these new laws!

Why do HR Managers need to worry about the Labour Codes?

• To succeed as an HR manager, it is difficult to ignore knowledge of the legal system. They deal with it most frequently.
• The violence at the Wistron factory in Karnataka showed how important adherence to the legal system is, and led to the resignation of its India director. Such a crisis often starts from the HR department, and businesses are increasingly worried about this.
• Most day-to-day tasks for HR managers require legal knowledge and skills, whether it is hiring employees, consultants, senior executives, or contract labour, working with contracts, salary payments, social security benefits, labour compliances, taking disciplinary action, or responding to statutory authorities.
• In the manufacturing sector, handling industrial disputes, settlements & negotiations with union leaders, factory-related compliances, dealing with accidents, and a host of other situations require legal skills.
• HR Managers have a key role to play in the success of a business and their mistakes can cost their organizations dearly.
• If you want to move to the senior-most positions of a large Indian or multinational company, change industries, rise to directorship, or perform the most high-value work as an HR consultant, you cannot afford to ignore the legal system and you need to learn labour and employment laws.
• Knowing about the Labour Codes is inevitable if you want to excel in this area.

Challenges faced by HR managers with respect to the new Labour Codes

The four Labor Codes have completely overhauled the existing system. There are additional confusions as they are only partially in force.

HR managers need to follow the existing legal framework for now, but learn about four more comprehensive statutes at the same time.

They are required to keep a constant eye on the developments, and also prepare for a transition.

In other words, their work has increased, at least for now.

Specifically, enactment of the Codes has raised a new set of questions:

• Labour laws were already very complicated. How do the new Codes impact my daily work?
• What are the major changes under the new Labour Codes?
• Which systems and processes in my organization will need to be modified?
• Has my work really been made simpler? In what way?
• Will the Codes be beneficial for organizations?
• Why are organizations still following the old laws? When will the labour Codes be fully in effect?
• How can I transition myself to implement the new Codes smoothly?
• How can I get started with learning about the new Labour Codes?

Like HR managers, employment lawyers also face challenges in dealing with labour and employment laws.

• Most of the law firms in India have spun-off employment laws as an independent practice area, because of the importance of employment issues for clients.
• In-house counsels of a large Indian conglomerate, a foreign company with Indian presence, or a fast growing startup in India cannot afford to stay oblivious of employment laws any longer.

What you will learn in this workshop:

• Which everyday tasks will be influenced by the new Labour Codes?
• Legal risks for labour violations for organizations, directors and how HR managers can minimise them
• How to read a Labour Code yourself and compare it with existing law without feeling lost, overwhelmed or confused
• Powers of Inspectors, Commissioners and other authorities: how to correspond effectively and be prepared for inspections
• How HR managers can contribute to legal teams when matters escalate to Labour Courts and Tribunals
• Which laws don’t get replaced by the Labour Codes
• Changes in hiring-firing rules and disciplinary procedures
• Impact on salary structures, ESI, PF, gratuity and other social security benefits
• Downsizing, layoffs, retrenchment and termination - what do HR managers need to know about legal requirements under the Codes?
• How will working with contractors be impacted by the labour codes?
• Day-to-day tasks and incident management in factors - how are they going to be different?
• Trade unions, industrial disputes and collective bargaining - what is going to change?
• Which major labour laws don’t get replaced and what HR Managers must know about them
• How to learn more and develop further expertise in this area

Who is this for:

• HR managers who want to oversee legal compliance, work in the manufacturing sector or shift organizations to improve their career prospects
• HR consultants who want to expand their practice and advise clients on difficult situations which involve legal implications
• Payroll/ compliance executives and young HR executives who want to improve their career prospects
• Employment lawyers who want to work in a law firm or establish a practice before the labour tribunals
• In-house counsels who want to learn about employment law to handle workforce-related issues more effectively