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Ontario’s Working for Workers Five Act receives royal assent
On October 28, Bill 190, Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 received royal assent.
Global | Publication | August 2015
Indonesia’s Minister of Manpower (MoM) recently issued Regulation No. 16 of 2015 on Procedures for the Utilization of Foreign Employees (Regulation 16/2015). The new regulation came into effect on 29 June 2015 and replaces MoM Regulation No. 12 of 2013 (Regulation 12/2013). Similar to the 2013 regulation, Regulation 16/2015 sets out the procedures for obtaining work permits to employ expatriates in Indonesia.
Key features of Regulation 16/2015 include:
While Regulation 16/2015 essentially aims to provide clearer guidelines for employing expatriates, some of the new provisions are more onerous than those found in Regulation 12/2013.
Under Regulation 16/2015, an expatriate to be employed in Indonesia must first satisfy the following requirements:
However, the following exemptions apply:
Previously, the ratio of Indonesian to foreign employees in an Indonesian entity was not clearly regulated, except for representative offices. In practice, an unwritten policy of at least 3-to-1 has been used as guidance. Under the new regulation, however, an employer of expatriates must now have at least 10 Indonesian employees for each expatriate hired.
The 10-to-1 ratio does not apply to the following expatriate positions:
A significant change introduced by Regulation 16/2015 is an expansion to the types of work that require a temporary Expatriate Manpower Utilization Plan (Rencana Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing or RPTKA) and temporary Expatriate Work Permit (Izin Mempekerjakan Tenaga Kerja Asing or IMTA).
While local legal practitioners have differing opinions, we believe that the requirements to obtain the temporary RPTKA and IMTA for the types of work provided in Regulation 16/2015 will only apply to employment of expatriates by Indonesian companies. This is in line with Regulation 12/2013, which clarified that temporary RPTKA and IMTA were required for Indonesian companies to employ expatriates for a short period.
Under Regulation 16/2015, a temporary IMTA may be granted for the following activities:
In our view, the above activities of expatriates will be subject to the temporary RPTKA and IMTA requirement only if the activities are carried out by the expatriate in Indonesia while employed by an Indonesian company.
Temporary RPTKA and IMTA are generally valid for up to one month, except for work undertaken under points (2), (7) and (8) above, where the period may last up to six months (and is not extendable).
All directors and commissioners of Indonesian companies, and all members of the boards of patrons, management and supervisors of Indonesian foundations, including people not currently domiciled in Indonesia, are now required to obtain a work permit.
A strict reading of this requirement suggests that a company must now obtain an IMTA for any foreign director or commissioner, even if they reside overseas. The company must first apply for approval of its RPTKA before proceeding with IMTA applications for the individuals concerned. An IMTA issued for a company director or commissioner is valid for two years.
Regulation 16/2015 is silent on any transitional period to implement these new requirements. So there appear to be no exemptions to or delays in its implementation. Some of the new provisions will nevertheless require further clarification through MoM-led socialization and implementing regulations, and we will issue a further update as soon as that has happened. In the meantime, the MoM is likely to apply its own unwritten policy.
Publication
On October 28, Bill 190, Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 received royal assent.
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