Bahrain British Business Forum legal group holds Labour Law workshop in partnership with Bahrain HR Forum

60 people of both Bahraini and expatriate nationalities attended the event held at the Fraser Suites.

Ms Sarah Jane Turcan, Partner, Charles Russell provided an overview of the issues to consider for foreign companies in establishing international assignments, and also provided a summary of the geographical scope of UK law in employment contracts. She commented, "Employers really need to ensure that they pay attention to the law in both the home and Bahraini market when they draft contracts and also to be aware of what is considered discriminatory in the process of recruitment."

Ms Amel Al Aseeri, Senior Associate from Zeenat Al Mansoori & Associates, addressed key terms in employment contracts under Bahraini Law, incorporating statutory and contractual employee entitlements and outlining the process of dispute resolution. She commented: "It is important to design a comprehensive set of employment terms and conditions generic to every contract that are in line with the needs of the business and the role of the employee. For example, how important are restrictive covenants or confidentiality clauses and how far-reaching do they need to be? - don't load contracts with restrictive covenants or clauses that you don't plan to enforce or that are irrelevant."

Mr. Clive Hopwell, Head of the BBBF Legal interest group, commented, "Following the session attendees asked many detailed questions, indicating that employers and HR professionals need to stay up to date. This debate and the strong turnout demonstrates that this kind of workshop is needed and is highly useful for expatriate staff in Bahrain."

Anyone interested in joining the group and staying up to date with events should contact the BBBF office.