Out of Court Dispute Resolution
The number of investors expressing an interest in starting businesses in Lao PDR has been increasing in recent years as the government of Lao PDR has continuously focused on providing regulatory changes in favor of both domestic and foreign investments. These investment policies have created many opportunities for new investors and competitors as well as increasing employment in Lao PDR. As a result of higher levels of employment, the government of Lao PDR has adopted the Prime Minister’s Decree on Labour Dispute Resolution No.76 dated 28 February 2018 (the “Decree”) to simplify out-of-court methods of resolving labour disputes under the Labour Law with the aim of protecting the rights and interests of both employees and employers and making issues arising out of, or relating to, employment efficiently resolvable. The Decree expands the descriptions of the two categories of labour disputes, namely those constituting a ‘Regulatory Dispute’ and an ‘Interest Dispute’, which in each case may be an ‘individual’ or ‘collective’ dispute. Regulatory Disputes are disputes resulting from either an employer or employee who fails to comply with the labour law, the internal regulations of a labour unit, the individual or collective employment contracts pertaining to the employer and other labour related legislation. This may include breaches such as overtime work exceeding that provided for by law or payment of wages lower than the minimum wage as determined by the government. An Interest Dispute is a dispute arising from either party having not responded to a request for new rights and/or interests by the other party, for example, working hours, wages or labour welfare arrangements. The Decree also provides more...The Changing Landscape of Doing Business in Lao PDR
The latest developments in the ease of doing business in Lao PDR.