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New World Law Alliance (WLA)

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World Law Alliance
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Employment Law
PRACTICES › SPECIALIST GROUPS › LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT

WLA LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT

Cross-border employment law, workforce restructuring, executive arrangements, and employment litigation co-practiced across 90+ jurisdictions. From day-one rights to multi-jurisdiction redundancy programmes — the right specialist in every territory.

LIVE EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION
LIVE
UNITED KINGDOM
Employment Rights Bill 2025 — Day-One Rights
Day-one unfair dismissal rights. Fire-and-rehire restrictions. Flexible working default. Significant impact for international employers with UK workforces.
LIVE — APRIL 2026
EUROPEAN UNION
EU Platform Work Directive
Presumption of employment status for platform workers. Algorithmic management transparency. Affects all platforms operating in EU member states.
TRANSPOSITION 2026
UAE — DIFC
DIFC Employment Law Amendment 2025
New secondment provisions. Enhanced mobility framework. End of service restructuring. Significant for international employers seconding staff to DIFC entities.
EFFECTIVE Q3 2026
INDIA
Labour Codes — Social Security & Wages
Four labour codes consolidating 29 central laws. Compliance obligation redesign for all employers. State-by-state implementation ongoing.
IMPLEMENTATION ONGOING
KEY EMPLOYMENT SCENARIOS

THE SITUATIONS WHERE WLA
EMPLOYMENT GROUP ADDS MOST VALUE.

Cross-border employment law is at its most complex — and most consequential — in these six scenarios. WLA Employment Group co-practices all of them.

SCENARIO 01
CROSS-BORDER WORKFORCE RESTRUCTURING

Redundancy programmes spanning multiple jurisdictions — Works Council consultation, collective dismissal procedures, consultation periods, and severance calculations all run simultaneously by specialist employment lawyers in each country.

EU UK US UAE India
01
SCENARIO 02
M&A EMPLOYMENT — TUPE & TRANSFERS

Employee transfer obligations on M&A transactions — TUPE in the UK, Article 3 Directive in the EU, equivalent regimes across 90+ jurisdictions. Works Council consultation, information and consultation obligations, and harmonisation planning.

UK TUPE EU Directive Germany France
02
SCENARIO 03
EXECUTIVE ARRANGEMENTS — CROSS-BORDER

Senior executive employment contracts, remuneration structures, and restrictive covenants that work across multiple legal systems — including post-termination restrictions that are enforceable in every relevant jurisdiction.

Multi-Jurisdiction Garden Leave Non-Compete
03
SCENARIO 04
SECONDMENTS & GLOBAL MOBILITY

International secondment arrangements, split payroll structures, social security coordination, and right-to-work compliance — coordinated alongside the WIA immigration practice for comprehensive cross-border employee mobility support.

Social Security Split Payroll Immigration
04
SCENARIO 05
EMPLOYMENT DISPUTES — CROSS-BORDER

Employment tribunal, labour court, and arbitration proceedings in multiple jurisdictions — particularly relevant for international employers facing claims in multiple territories arising from the same employment relationship.

Tribunals Labour Courts Arbitration
05
SCENARIO 06
AI & DATA IN THE WORKPLACE

AI deployment in employment contexts — EU AI Act high-risk AI obligations for recruitment and performance management, algorithmic management transparency, and data protection compliance for employee monitoring across jurisdictions.

EU AI Act GDPR UK GDPR
06
EMPLOYMENT FOR GENERAL COUNSEL

THE EMPLOYMENT LAW CHECKLIST
EVERY GC WITH GLOBAL STAFF NEEDS.

EMPLOYMENT COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST — MULTINATIONAL EMPLOYERS
Day-One Rights (UK) — UK Employment Rights Bill in force. Unfair dismissal from day one. Review all UK employment contracts.
Works Council Obligations — Any restructuring involving EU employees requires Works Council information and consultation before implementation.
DIFC Employment Amendment — UAE/DIFC secondment arrangements affected. Review all international secondment agreements.
AI in Employment (EU AI Act) — AI recruitment tools and performance management systems may be classified as high-risk AI. Compliance obligations apply.
India Labour Codes — State-by-state implementation. Review compliance obligations in each Indian state of operation.
Right-to-Work Compliance — Coordinate with WIA on business travel compliance across all jurisdictions where employees travel regularly.
WLA EMPLOYMENT GROUP MANAGES COMPLIANCE ACROSS EVERY JURISDICTION YOUR TEAM OPERATES IN.

For General Counsel managing international HR teams, the employment law compliance burden across multiple jurisdictions has never been greater — 2025 and 2026 have brought more significant employment law changes than any equivalent period in the past decade.

WLA Employment Group co-practices all cross-border employment matters through the same co-practice framework — one brief, specialist employment lawyers in every relevant jurisdiction, one WLA coordination layer. And the checklist on the left is just the start.

Cross-jurisdiction employment audit — current compliance status in every operating country
Employment contract template library — jurisdiction-specific, WLA-reviewed
Redundancy programme planning across all jurisdictions simultaneously
Executive arrangement review — are your non-competes enforceable everywhere you need them to be?
EMPLOYMENT IN M&A

EMPLOYMENT ISSUES THAT KILL
DEALS. WLA CATCHES THEM EARLY.

PRE-SIGNING
EMPLOYMENT DUE DILIGENCE

Workforce risk assessment, undisclosed liabilities, pension deficits, Works Council obligations, and employment claims — identified before you sign.

CO-PRACTICE ACTIVE
SIGNING TO COMPLETION
INFORMATION & CONSULTATION

Works Council, employee representative, and statutory consultation obligations in every relevant jurisdiction — managed in parallel with the deal timeline.

PARALLEL PROCESS
ON COMPLETION
TRANSFER OF EMPLOYMENT

TUPE, Article 3, and equivalent transfer regimes in every jurisdiction. Employee notification, contract variations, and terms harmonisation.

COMPLETION DAY
POST-COMPLETION
INTEGRATION & HARMONISATION

Post-completion workforce harmonisation — terms and conditions, benefits alignment, collective agreement analysis, and culture integration support.

ONGOING
BRIEF WLA ON YOUR CROSS-BORDER EMPLOYMENT MATTER. SPECIALIST IN 48 HOURS.