亚太地区的主要就业趋势

October 2025 Global uncertainty and changes inthe law are painting a challengingpicture for companies operatingacross the Asia Pacific region.Here, we highlight recent trendsand recommendations forcompanies to take. Key Trend One: Heightened geo-political tensionsand uncertainty adds pressure on employers The re-election of our Labour Government andsignificant amendments over the last few yearsto federal employment, anti-discrimination laws,whistleblowing, and work health & safety laws meansthat employers need to focus on compliance. Sanctionsfor breaches have significantly increased in keyareas, as has the range of persons who may be heldresponsible for breaches. Tensions in international relations as well as elections in several Asia Pacific jurisdictionshave forced global employers to adapt their operations to changing policies andlegal requirements. Michael Michalandos |Partner, Australia Changes to immigration policiesmean that some APAC jurisdictions are focussing on protectionof the local workforce through more stringent local job advertisement and recruitment requirements. Incontrast, we are also seeing several jurisdictions relaxing immigration policies to attract overseas talentand boost local economies. Korea’s already stringent labor environment is poisedfor unprecedented expansion with the Yellow EnvelopeAct, set to take effect in March 2026, fundamentallyredefining ‘employer’, exposing multinationalcorporations to collective bargaining obligations evenwith those not directly employed by the company,and expanding industrial action rights to encompassmanagement decisions - marking what is likely to bethe most significant labor law shift in decades. Increasing compliance scrutinyaround unlawful immigration, workplace fairness, background checks,work permits, including potential information sharing across different agencies. Companies should understand different jurisdictional immigration requirements and have in placerobust policies for immigration and travel for all employees, including standard operation procedures(SOPs) and processes for raising the alarm in the event of workplace raids or other unexpected events. Beomsu Kim*|Partner, South Korea More employee-friendly policiesintroduced in the wake of recent governmental elections. The introduction of the Workplace Fairness Act 2025 isa watershed moment: guidance is now enacted into law.This means that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) hasthe right to take action against errant companies, andindividual directors/officers may incur liability. Stay up to date with the raft of employment law changes being introduced across Asia Pacific. Withmore employee-friendly legislation being passed, we also expect to see an uptick in union activityin the region. Sign up to our Global Employer Horizon Scanner here. Zhao Yang Ng+|Principal, Singapore Key Trend Two: Risk mitigation around employee useof tech and adoption of AI Incidents involving deepfakes and cyber breaches are becoming more prevalent, particularly when itcomes to investigations around fraud. With widespread availability of technical and sophisticated tools,propensity of potential manipulation of documentation and/or evidence increases. Additionally, the abuseof such technologies can also result in employee harassment cases. Asia Pacific AI laws around recruitment are not asnuanced or robust as in other parts of the world,but this is an area that continues to grow insophistication. Companies should consider factors suchas anti-discrimination, privacy, minimum local hirerequirements, and the need for human involvement indecision-making processes. Conduct regular employee training on potential cyber breaches and deepfakes so employees can identifypotential threats. Employers should have in place a clear acceptable use policy covering employee use ofdevices and communication channels. Failure to specify specific consequences of breach in polices or failureto implement such policies in accordance with local law requirements may prevent employers from takingspecific legal actions in the event of policy breaches. Jonathan Isaacs |APAC Chair, Hong Kong While enforcement around ethical AI practices remains somewhat uneven throughout the region,jurisdiction-specific regulation may require companies to disclose the use of automated decision-makingsystems which include use of AI. The human decision-making element in relation to the input and outputof AI is also highly relevant as it ultimately determines the structure of the AI system as well as how resultsare interpreted. Phishing issues are becoming more complex with theuse of deepfakes and AI. The widespread availabilityof sophisticated technology tools is being seen in bothconduct incidents, such as workplace harassment,and in investigations such as via the manipulation ofdocumentation. The role of forensics is key. Companies should look out for jurisdiction-specific legislation around the use of AI with or without directhuman in