You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

July 29, 2020

Laos: Positive trends after impact of COVID-19

Subscribe to Updates
Taylor Vinters – International Employment Law Update

On March 29, 2020 Laos imposed lockdown and confinement measures instructing Lao citizens to stay home, and nonessential businesses to cease operations. Certain temporary measures are now being lifted but the borders and international checkpoints remain closed.

The impact on some industries during the pandemic has been severe, but we are also seeing some positives coming out of this which may well continue once the lockdown measures have been lifted:

  • Importance given to hygiene and safety measures. The official Government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and related guidance which has been published regarding the enforcement of stricter precautionary measures, has reaffirmed the importance of the hygiene and safety of employees in the workplace. In high-risk environments, it is likely that going forward there will be a higher degree of attention on health and safety measures and the obligations that employers must adhere to in protecting its staff.
  • Dialogue with the authorities. While it is usually felt that the Lao bureaucracy poses challenges to investors, this period has proved otherwise. Local authorities have notably been more responsive to the concerns raised by business owners in terms of the controlled easing of lockdown measures and guidance on the operation of essential business during the strict lockdown.
  • Adaptability. Despite the pandemic’s impact on the Lao economy, tech-based companies seem to have maintained business operations and avoided any economic loss by broadening access to resources online whilst staff work from home during the lockdown period. Accordingly, in the coming months and years, it is likely that there will be more options for submitting and dealing with matters entirely online, and a move towards the implementation of more robust IT infrastructures for business owners.
  • Paperless governance. Similarly, the challenges faced by Laos’ businesses operating according to cumbersome paper-based management practices have shed light on the value of electronic document and record management systems, and the potential for more inclusive e-governance in the future.

Comment

We are likely to see a shift to more web-based and online-based businesses, and companies working more flexibly in respect of employees and where they are based. Although the pandemic lockdown   has impacted some businesses negatively, it has also highlighted that there are alternative ways for employers to remain connected with their employees and that their businesses can operate under a different model to their existing one.

Related Professionals

Practices

Employment

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

March 31, 2020
Delay in Social Security ContributionsOn March 20, 2020, Myanmar’s Social Security Board announced that it will allow employers to make social security payments quarterly, instead of monthly, due to the hardship businesses are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will provide a degree of relief for employers, although the measures do not yet go as far as reducing the required social security contributions.Workplace Requirements
Read More
March 31, 2020
Due to the complicated and unpredictable developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese government has taken various measures, which have grown more stringent over time, to combat the spread of the disease. Due in part to these timely measures, as of Monday, March 30, Vietnam had reported just over 200 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and no fatalities—encouraging numbers for a country of its size.
Read More
March 30, 2020
As the COVID-19 situation escalates, governments worldwide are imposing travel restrictions, mandatory quarantine procedures, and curfews and lockdowns in an attempt to slow the transmission of the virus. The Thai government has announced many measures to deal with the COVID-19 outbreaks, including ordering the postponement of the Songkran holidays and the temporary shutdown of portions of the public and private sectors. 
Read More
March 27, 2020
Due to the economic impact of COVID-19, the Board of the Social Security Office has agreed to reduce the rate for both employee and employer contributions to the Social Security Fund.On March 23, 2020, it was announced that there would be a reduction from a 5% contribution to a 4% contribution, for both employees and employers, for a period of six months, commencing in March and ending in August.
Read More