Chapter 5

The Future of Work

  • Meet the ADP Experts

    Ellen Feeney
    Vice President Legal Counsel

    Ronno Lee
    Vice President, Product Management

    Is the rise of ‘gig workers’ a potential opportunity for businesses, or a compliance nightmare?

    “In the United States alone, dozens of different legal tests create compliance challenges and it is often difficult to predict agency action and litigation results.”
    Ellen: The rise of “gig workers” is both an opportunity for businesses and a compliance challenge. Organizations can use gig workers (also referred to as freelancers, independent contractors, contingent workers, and on-demand workers) to supplement their existing workforce as part of a comprehensive and smart talent strategy. Companies may have an immediate need for labor that does not fit neatly into existing organization charts and properly matched freelancers can easily fill those needs.

    Before bringing in freelancers or increasing their reliance on independent contractors, however, employers should think about compliance as part of their overall talent strategy. Most businesses already have policies in place for engaging independents contractors. Businesses should reexamine these policies periodically and make sure their organization and all managers are following these policies which should include clear rules of engagement for using contingent talent.

    As the rise of gig workers and the gig economy continues, federal and state government agencies and courts are also increasing their scrutiny of these arrangements. In the United States alone, dozens of different legal tests create compliance challenges and it is often difficult to predict agency action and litigation results. Businesses should keep informed of the current status of independent contractor laws and be deliberate in how they engage contingent labor in order to manage compliance risk.

    As more and more organizations become global, what are some compliance concerns for employers when their employees may be working from anywhere in the world?

    “The most common compliance requirements are those around payroll, benefits, leave, labor relations, and taxation.”

    Ronno: Organizations with employees working across different countries are keenly aware of the need to meet local regulatory requirements. After all, penalties for non-compliance can be costly, both in fines and in reputational damage.

    The most common compliance requirements are those around payroll, benefits, leave, labor relations, and taxation. Which is not helped by the fact that there are new regulations being rolled by different countries on an almost daily basis.

    There are many examples of changes around the world. We are seeing countries becoming more aggressive in enforcing tax regulations targeting people who work in multiple tax jurisdictions. And of course the implications of GPDR, the new EU legislation governing data privacy, will have wide-reaching implications.

    In some countries, regulations can take years to implement. And there can be new changes introduced in every legislative cycle.

    Researching your specific requirements and interpreting them correctly requires local expertise that can be hard to find (and costly when you do). This is especially true for countries where the infrastructure is less developed and transparency is lacking.

    As more organizations become global, HR and payroll teams must do everything they can to be ready for these challenges.
    Example of Excellence
     

    Read The Evolution of Work: The Changing Nature of the Global Workforce to understand various perspectives on workplace trends and how they impact employees – regardless of geography or industry – to help you adapt as quickly as these changes are taking place.