Labor and employment issues are always among the top concerns of manufacturers. Regardless of whether they produce automotive parts, chemicals, consumer electronics, textiles, or other products, manufacturers face these issues on a daily basis and throughout the entire employment relationship lifecycle—the initial hiring process, work assignments, wages, benefits, promotions, employee discipline, collective bargaining, and termination. The complex legal and regulatory environment presents a challenging landscape for employers in Thailand.

Foreign investors entering the growing economies of Vietnam and Thailand are often taken aback by the restrictive labor and employment laws in these jurisdictions. To offer employers insights into how best to overcome these difficulties, Tilleke & Gibbins will present a workshop on “Labor and Employment Law: Best Practices for Employers in Vietnam and Thailand” at this year’s Asian Legal Business Southeast Asia In-House Legal Summit in Singapore.

Foreign investors entering Vietnam, though pleased to find a skilled, hard-working, low-cost labor force already in place, are often taken aback by the country’s restrictive labor and employment laws. While the regulations under the socialist state are understandably pro-labor, employers can encounter hurdles in unexpected places.

Leading Southeast Asian regional law firm Tilleke & Gibbins has promoted four attorneys to the firm’s partnership, effective January 2013.Coming from across the major practice groups in the firm’s Bangkok office, the new partners include Charunun Sathitsuksomboon and Kobkit Thienpreecha of the firm’s corporate and commercial group, Chusert Supasitthumrong of the dispute resolution department, and Sukontip Jitmongkolthong of the intellectual property team.