Ready for the unexpected

International crises put an organisation’s values, structures and relationships under intense, immediate pressure. Drawing on insights from the recent ‘Managing an International Workforce’ conference organised and hosted by the Ius Laboris UK member firm, Lewis Silkin, this article distils practical guidance for international employers on effective crisis response, cross-border people management and organisational preparedness in high-risk scenarios.

As the ongoing turmoil in the Persian Gulf has demonstrated, crises are, unfortunately, a recurring part of the business landscape.

Extreme heat is becoming a regular workplace risk across many jurisdictions. Below, we bring together global employment law insights from our recent four-part series to help organisations manage heat-related risks appropriately and protect their workforce in increasingly challenging conditions.

As heatwaves become more frequent and intense, this four-part series examines employer obligations during extreme heat. In part one, we explore how different jurisdictions regulate heat-related risks at work, including whether they set maximum working temperatures.

This second article in our four-part series on extreme heat at work examines the practical measures employers are required to take during heatwaves.

In most jurisdictions, the answer depends on health and safety risk, rather than on temperature alone. In this fourth and final part of our extreme heat at work series, we examine when work stoppage may be lawful and why it matters for multinational employers managing heat risks across their workplaces.

When heatwaves intensify, employers often face a familiar question: can you relax the workplace dress code? Although most jurisdictions do not impose a specific legal requirement, health and safety obligations remain central. Below, we examine global perspectives from 24 countries on whether employers are specifically expected or required to relax dress codes during extreme heat.

Germany is developing a new framework for organisational resilience, centred on the idea of the ‘resilience scenario’, a state between normal operations and a declared emergency. Below, we examine what this means for employers and the lessons it offers for organisations around the world.

Global mobility is entering a new phase in 2026, shaped by digital border systems, heightened tax and social security scrutiny, the return of high-volume business travel under tighter regulation, and the need for greater geopolitical and operational resilience in mobility planning.