career counselling therefore remains a critical part of the mobility package. A further area concerns career prospects for couples. As more assignees and their
repatriating
families repatriate but as job opportunities decline in the home country for returning partners, relocation policy might be extended to off er career counselling support for partners on repatriation.
HEALTH AND MEDICAL CARE The health and well-being of employees and their family members are an immediate priority for organisations involved in global mobility. This has always been the case but this issue has taken on increased signifi cance in the pandemic. Employers have a duty of care to ensure that assignees and any accompanying family are able to access healthcare and emergency services. It is therefore vital to ensure that emergency evacuation, health insurance and hospital access are available and that there is provision made for addressing Covid-19 health issues as far as is practicable. It is vital to communicate clearly with employees
and their families to explain the nature of cover and access available to them when they relocating to a new host country so that they are able to make informed decisions as to the implications of undertaking a family accompanied assignment. If assignees are relocating alone and leaving family members behind, again clear information must be provided as to how employee health and well-being will be managed, including how emergency returns will be handled should there be family emergencies back home. As explained in our factsheet on international assignment policy actions in the global pandemic era, as quarantine restrictions are brought into force, relaxed and re-imposed as the disease spreads, is contained, and then spikes again, careful and on-going attention needs to be paid to government advice with respect to when to undertake only essential travel as well as any quarantine restrictions on entering or returning from a diff erent country.
A further point to remember is that remote working can also require attention to be paid to health issues especially when the assignee is based in a third country as opposed to the home or host countries and is undertaking business travel between these various locations. Assignees’ mobility patterns need to be tracked to ensure appropriate health coverage and to have the necessary information to hand to enact emergency evacuation procedures speedily. On-going communication lies at the heart of ensuring policy provision in respect of health and medical care is enacted successfully.
PREPARATION AND TRAINING Adjustment in the host country is known to be facilitated by preparatory cultural and language training. This is typically provided for employees, their partners and sometimes for accompanying children relocating abroad to help them settle in eff ectively. Preparation and training is also needed for repatriation. For those families who have been abroad for some time, coming back to a new pandemic landscape with diff erent restrictions on work, leisure and social activities can present a huge challenge. Preparation and training should include briefi ng on these aspects of life back at home.
SUPPORT FOR THOSE WITH EXTENDED FAMILIES Relocation policy might make provision for home leave to attend to family members who require input into their care. For example, assignees with aging parents may need to return to their home countries to arrange care services. Global mobility professionals might consider a fl exible approach to the use of home leave to enable more frequent trips home as necessary. Awareness of quarantine and travel restrictions will be required though. Again, an emphasis on communicating with assignees and their families to apprise them of travel issues will be needed. Given the disproportionate eff ect of Covid-19 on the elderly, a compassionate approach is required to support family reunifi cations. Notwithstanding this, a close eye will need to be kept on compliance issues if regular travel between countries takes place.
DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FACTSHEET
International Assignment Policy Actions in the Global Pandemic Factsheet from our Global Mobility Toolkit. Hear Dr Shortland explore the topic in a short webinar replay.
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THINK GLOBAL PEOPLE POLIC Y DE SIGN
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