Fighting through the gale force winds, 115 professionals (over 150 had registered), including senior HR managers and quite a number of senior executives, attended Amcham's first seminar of the year on the topic of labour law matters and how to avoid them. This overwhelming response is evidence of the high interest in the event, and the desire within the industry for concise and comprehensible explanations of the "ten most significant mistakes" companies make. 

The Amcham HR Committee has defined all of its public activities for the current year and most likely for the coming year around the central theme of, "Making work a better place to be", with a variety of subjects such as Diversity and Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety in the Workplace, Better Conditions for Working Parents, or Enhanced Employability. One subject that Amcham members repeatedly mention as critical for their companies is Legal Best Practices in the modern working environment. Thus, they have already conducted a very successful series of special workshops on this subject.

Bernhard Dedenbach, Managing Director of Korn/Ferry International, who is the Chairman of the Amcham HR committee, thinks that there are a number of reasons why this workshop gets such interest. "First of all and utmost, there is a growing awareness of business leaders and senior executives that a company' s HR policy is critical for the sustained success and reputation of the company, and this also includes the most sensitive issues with regards to the labour law. Secondly, the precedent events organized by the HR Committee, and most specifically former workshops around labour law, have created a certain interest and confirm that the HR community is eager to further develop its knowledge of best practices. Thirdly, we believe that the high quality of speakers at Amcham's HR events is acknowledged by the business community and thus contributes to the strong interest."

The purpose of this particular workshop was to create a greater awareness regarding the options of a company when treating labour law issues. "Ideally, company management succeeds in avoiding a series of typical mistakes that essentially are based on a wrong interpretation of the law or a simple lack of knowledge," said Dedenbach. "The workshop was designed for HR professionals as well as senior executives. Another event of comparable structure and quality is scheduled for fall."

The presentation from the seminar is available at www.amcham.lu