General
We believe in measures to combat and avoid corrupt practices, and we expect our managers and employees to implement proper procedures to deal with the realities of the domestic environment. We expect leadership and demonstration by example to others in regard of these policies.
In Hughes Krupica’s terms and conditions which are issued to prospective and existing clients for engagements, there are specific provisions which draw to the attention of clients the policies of Hughes Krupica in relation to non-discrimination. Clients must accept such terms and Hughes Krupica reserves the right to take action and if necessary disengage clients who discriminate against or display unacceptable behaviour towards, or who allow or omit to prevent unacceptable behaviour towards any member of the Hughes Krupica team.
Recruitment
When Hughes Krupica seeks to recruit individuals for a position, we must have regard to the limitations of law and practicability in relation to (a) what work foreigners are permitted to carry out in the jurisdiction (b) any limitations on work permits or similar requirements (c) any minimum salary requirements (d) the local domestic availability of suitable staff (e) the appropriateness of relocating a candidate if required (f) language skills if required to perform essential duties or worth within a particular team.
Hughes Krupica will not positively discriminate in favour of any person. However, Hughes Krupica will also not negatively discriminate against any person. We require our existing team to work with all recruited team members and they are required to ensure they do not negatively discriminate against or positively discriminate in favour of any person.
Hughes Krupica does not adopt a positive discriminatory approach to ‘encourage’ females on a targeted basis to the exclusion of males to apply for positions. Instead, Hughes Krupica actively ensures that its recruitment advertisements, recruitment procedures, interviews and selection process do not discriminate against any candidate in relation to suitability for a position on grounds of gender. We also look carefully at our gender diversity balance in our team to consider and monitor for fair practices and balanced representation by gender.
Hughes Krupica provides both Maternity and Paternity Leave benefits to its staff.
Remote Working Policy
Hughes Krupica’s management have valued the concept of remote working, prior to advent of its popularity and accentuated usefulness during the COVID19 pandemic. Applying simple economic principles of efficient allocation of resources would naturally require the widest talent pool to choose individuals to contribute to a team, to avoid homogeneity and to inspire multi-cultural and multi-national creative and critical thinking. Whilst these principles are high minded, in reality many countries seek to protect industries and economies through restrictive labour practices. These laws must be respected and complied with, which will not necessarily prevent a remote working structure within a firm’s organisation.
Our team comprises Thai and non-Thai nationals, who have studied and qualified in law and non-law subjects at higher education including Masters Degree levels, and our management comprises individuals who have qualified as lawyers in multiple jurisdictions with practice and experience in different jurisdictions to their countries of origin. This structure lends itself to the concept of remote working where individuals can, regardless of location, provide their skills and value into an engagement which may or may not be ‘cross-border’ but may involve the requirement of innovative thought, regardless.
Remote working is under scrutiny post pandemic in the context of ensuring that neither the employer nor the employee develop rent-extracting or exploitative practices which damage the parties, the firm and stakeholders. If employees work remotely, they must be transparent and honest about their working time and productivity, accept reasonable monitoring and quality control practices, whilst the employer must provide a flexible framework to take into account the benefits and challenges of remote working to ensure wellbeing of the employee and allow a mutually agreed career development path with a mix of skills for the firm, and general skills for the market to be developed for the employee. The employee may also be a consultant, but should receive equivalence with regards to fairness of treatment.
Remote working is not a tool for companies to simply save costs through reducing or eliminating office space, thereby transferring the burden and cost of providing a working environment onto employees. Hughes Krupica has a policy to allow remote working on the following flexible basis:
1. Respect for timezone differences and co-ordination between the firms, employees, consultants, clients and stakeholders to align best practices on meeting times and work production times.
2. Flexible hours so that an agreed ‘aggregate’ of productive hours is a higher priority and focus to rigid ‘office based’ hours.
3. Promotion and support of family commitments including childcare, seniors-care, and/or family member care.
4. Financial support from the firm to allow hybrid working environments, so that use of co-working spaces, hosted working spaces and similar allow employees to vary their place of work out of home-office environments, to foster variety, creativity and wellbeing.
5. Recognition and respect for those that are able and wish to use parts of their week around their work commitment to exercise or conduct wellbeing activities ensuring that these regimes are disclosed so the team can align and adhere to client, meeting and deliverable commitments.
6. Using our tech adoption carefully to be appropriate to inclusiveness of remote workers. This can mean using audio-calls if an employee cannot participate in a video call for personal reasons at any given time, combining instructions through task management list allocation and using video instructions to provide re-watchable instructions which are more humanised in nature than a series of email instructions regarding work. We also use regular team Zoom calls to update each of the team members and management on client matters, any issues that need to be resolved and side-bars for addressing specific engagement matters.
The International Labour Organisation has also produced a series of papers providing excellent guidance on the history of remote working which is pre-1900s, the policies which can guide effective and fair remote working ensuring ‘decent work’ for employees, and the policies which can be designed to effectively balance rights and productivity between firms and employees. Hughes Krupica’s management is aware and up to date with debates and analyses in this field of labour protection and relations.
Nationality / Race
We will only specify a language proficiency requirement if there is a legal or commercial need to do so and will not use language as a way to actively discriminate.
Hughes Krupica cannot control the environment or countries where it operates, nor can it be responsible for any Nationalistic attitudes, which can cross-over into race and nationality discrimination. However, within the work environment between team members, Hughes Krupica will not tolerate such discrimination
Religion
Further, Hughes Krupica holds no opinions on atheism, agnosticism, or a disinterest in any religious matter. Further, where a philosophy is not a religion but may be deemed a religion by some, or vice versa, Hughes Krupica holds no views on that.
All members of the Hughes Krupica team are free to practice or not practice their beliefs, but all such practices must not interfere with the legal requirements to work, contractual requirements to work nor any member of the team. Any practice which makes teamwork impractical or negatively affects a working environment shall be avoided or actively rejected. Consideration to ensure any practices are not imposed on others must be adhered to, but also tolerance by others of the nature of another person’s beliefs or practices must similarly be respected.
If a country in which Hughes Krupica operates has a ‘National’ religion, or a predominant religious practice, and such requires the respect of particular holidays and practices, then the Hughes Krupica team and clients will be contractually required and practically encouraged to respect the same. Where members of a team do not practice or follow a National religion, they shall not be prejudiced or discriminated against. Such persons may elect to substitute National religious holidays with holidays for their own beliefs, provided that such substitution is permissible under law and provided that this does not result in additional holidays for one person over and above another on the grounds of religious beliefs or practices.
Culture
No culture should be held in higher regard over another culture. The history of a person’s nation should not be held against them or used to insult or criticize them in any circumstances whatsoever. The belief of a person in Monarchy shall be totally respected and never attacked. Where a country specifically legislates against any criticism or insulting of the Monarch, all persons shall be required by law to adhere to such legislation. In addition, the Hughes Krupica team should not participate in discussions relating to Monarchistic rule which could culturally offend any person. This includes in relation to Monarchy in jurisdictions where there are no legal protections preventing insults or criticism of Monarchy.
Cultural belief in hierarchy and demonstrations of respect through business etiquette shall be respected. However, Hughes Krupica team members shall not be subjected to any action that would, unless required by law, result in a diminishment of their self-respect or their preservation of their own cultural beliefs and norms.
Hughes Krupica encourages cultural exchange of information, provided this does not create conflict or interfere with work and business commitments.