The Intersection of Culture and Law: What Every Global HR Professional Must Know

Key Concepts

• Best practices for managing a globally diverse workforce—such as translating HR policies into local languages or accommodating time zone differences in scheduling—are essential.

Understanding Law in a Global Context

Legal systems reflect the values and thinking patterns of the cultures in which they operate. Just as cultures differ, so too do laws. HR professionals must be familiar with the legal principles in the countries where their organizations operate, even if they are not legal experts.

Competency in Action

Effective communication in diverse workplaces draws on emotional intelligence (Leadership & Navigation), active listening (Communication), and openness to diverse practices (Global Mindset).

Consider the case of a major hospital in Qatar with a strategic partnership with a U.S. institution. A recently relocated U.S. recruiter was concerned about Qatar’s preferential treatment laws for Qatari nationals, fearing potential discrimination. However, a local recruiter explained that Qatarization policies—favoring citizens in employment—are comparable to U.S. affirmative action and U.K. positive action programs, supporting a minority population in a country with a majority of foreign workers.

This culturally sensitive explanation helped the U.S. recruiter better understand the purpose behind the local employment law, allowing her to make informed decisions while respecting local legal norms.

Navigating Diverse Legal Systems

Global HR professionals must be prepared to work across multiple legal systems. The legal landscape is dynamic and evolves in response to global developments—such as environmental mandates, data privacy regulations, or shifts in civil rights laws.

Understanding the foundational beliefs behind a country’s legal structure aids in compliance and strategic planning. HR teams must be mindful of how different legal traditions impact their practices.

Major Legal Systems Include:

1. Civil Law
   Based on comprehensive written statutes passed by legislative bodies. Laws are applied deductively, and courts follow the written code rather than relying on past decisions.

2. Common Law
   Built on legal precedent. Decisions are informed by past rulings, allowing the law to evolve through court judgments. In some cases, such precedents are codified into uniform laws, like the U.S. Uniform Commercial Code.

3. Religious Law
   Draws from religious texts and interpretations by religious authorities. Systems like Sharia (Islam), Canon Law (Christianity), and Halakha (Judaism) guide legal processes in some countries. HR must understand how religious and civil laws interact, especially when company policy and personal beliefs may conflict.

Fundamental Legal Concepts

There are some basic legal concepts that help explain and describe how (or, in some cases, whether) legal systems work and how an organization can expect to be treated in a given location. Exhibit 32 describes these key legal concepts and terms.

Concept/Term	Key Points
Rule of law	No individual is beyond the reach of the law; authority is exercised in accordance with written and publicly disclosed laws. This creates order and predictability for citizens and foreign entities/ individuals who may become litigants. A country with a strong rule of law will present lower risks for organizations, but also require greater accountability for compliance. A country with a weaker rule of law can still present opportunities, but will also present higher risks and lower control.
Due process	Laws are enforced only through accepted, codified procedures, thus avoiding arbitrary treatment and abuse of power.
Jurisdiction	Jurisdiction is the right of a legal body to exert judicial authority over a region, subject matter, or individual. Because global organizations operate across jurisdictions, they must be aware of applicable laws and who has legal authority over their operations in any given country, region, or municipality. Some jurisdictions may overlap, and it is important to recognize when or if there are potential conflicts- for example, cases when federal law supersedes local or provincial laws and when jurisdiction resides with the host country and not the home country.
Conflict of laws	Conflict of laws is a situation in which the laws of two or more jurisdictions differ and may exert a different result on a legal case depending on which system is deemed to have jurisdiction.
Forum or jurisdiction shopping	Jurisdiction shopping (or forum shopping) is the practice of taking complaints to jurisdictions sympathetic to the complainants' case. It is rarely effective where employment contracts are concerned, since residency laws favoring the jurisdiction in which the work is actually done tend to prevail.
Levels of law	Laws can be described by their areas of control: ·          National-federal laws applicable across the nation ·          Subnational/regional laws that apply to states, provinces, municipalities, or regions (Their relationship to federal laws can be  complex.) ·          Extraterritorial laws that extend beyond a nation's borders and protect or apply to the nation's citizens traveling or working abroad ·          Supranational-binding agreements between nations; may supersede national laws ·          International laws between nations that also apply to individuals within national borders (for example, human rights laws); usually ratified by participating countries, but can also be accepted without ratification