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Civil Unrest in Hong Kong and Global Mobility Duty of Care Employer Obligations

| November 30, 2019

duty of care employer obligationsFor many years, Hong Kong has been ranked as one of the safest cities in the world. However, the recent protests in Hong Kong and unrest have raised some security concerns for corporations with employees and families deployed there as part of its international relocation program. On November 14, the U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory for Hong Kong from Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions to Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. The U.S. State Department website advises the following: Read More

How Canada Raises the Bar for Attracting Foreign Skilled Talent

| October 24, 2019

The following article was written and originally published on October 11, 2019 by Worldwide ERC. View the original article. 

According to an article from Bloomberg, Canada took in 425,000 people in 2018, boosting population growth to a three-decade high of 1.4%. Canada boasts a strong economy and a progressive immigration system, and as a result, the Canadian government predicts that by 2031, over half of all working-age people in the country will have been born overseas. The article notes that this growth is a result of Canada’s desire for skilled talent. Large companies such as Amazon have benefited from the influx of talented foreigners and has created 10,000 jobs in Canada. Read More

Trump Administration Releases Plan to Overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

| September 27, 2019

housing reform planThe following article was written by Aidan Camas and originally published on  September 27, 2019 by Worldwide ERC. View the original article. 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has proposed to move Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac toward privatization, but with a federal loan guaranty.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released its new Housing Reform Plan, which aims to re-privatize mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump instructed the Treasury Department to draft a plan that would end the federal government’s conservatorship over Fannie and Freddie, which began as part of a federal government bailout in response to the 2008 financial crisis. In the years following the financial crisis, the federal government has struggled to agree upon a plan that addresses the future of these institutions. As part of the federal government’s conservatorship, all profit made by the mortgage giants is being “swept” into the Treasury Department’s account. It is estimated that Fannie and Freddie have now paid the federal government billions of dollars more than they were given as a bailout. The profitability of Fannie and Freddie for the government is another reason Congress has had little incentive to make changes to the current relationship. Treasury’s new 50-point plan outlines how the Trump Administration would like to see Fannie and Freddie recapitalized but getting this accomplished will require the help of both Congress and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), something that will be a major undertaking. Read More

Steve Townsend, CRP, GMS-T Named SVP, Client Services at TRC Global Mobility

| September 3, 2019

Steve Townsend - TRC Global MobilityTRC Global Mobility, Inc. (TRC) is pleased to announce that Steve Townsend, CRP, GMS-T, has been promoted to the role of Senior Vice President, Client Services. As a member of TRC’s executive team, Steve will lead TRC’s Operations and Client Relations functions and report to TRC’s President.

Steve has been an integral part of TRC’s business development effort since 2011, representing TRC in the Southwestern and Southern U.S.

He had a long and successful career in operations management before joining TRC. In his 17-year career at Prudential Relocation, Steve served as Vice President, Relationship Management. As one of Prudential’s senior operations leaders, Steve directed multiple teams in client relations and service delivery, achieving an overall client retention rate of 98 percent. Earlier at Prudential, he served as Vice President, Client Services. Steve began his career at a mid-sized energy company, where he directed an in-house mobility team, redesigned and enhanced the employee domestic relocation policies, and managed the sales of corporate owned real estate. Read More

EU Elections Highlight Political Polarization Throughout Europe (and how this impacts global mobility)

| June 6, 2019

eu elections global mobilityThe following article was originally published on  May 30, 2019 by Worldwide ERC. View the original article. 

Voters in the 28 European Union (EU) member states went to the polls last week to elect 751 new Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Results reveal that many traditional political parties struggled in this election and some were outperformed by both far-right populist parties and liberal green parties. The long-time center-left, center-right coalition that has been central to governing the EU for 40 years lost its majority: moving from holding 54% of seats before the vote to only 43% of seats. The newly elected EU Parliament officially takes power in July, but with the substantial number of new MEPs, it is unlikely that the Parliament will be fully up and running until this fall. Once the new Parliament begins to govern, the larger implications of these election results will be clearer. Read More

UK Parliament Votes to Delay Brexit: How this Impacts Global Mobility

| March 18, 2019

This article was originally published on Worldwide ERC:

BrexitFollowing a series of votes this week on Brexit, the United Kingdom (UK) House of Commons ultimately voted last night in support of seeking a delay of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (EU). Brexit is scheduled to occur on March 29 but would be pushed back to June 30 under the adopted proposal.

All twenty-seven members of the European Council will need to sign off on approving the delay when they meet on March 21. Prior to the vote, Council President Donald Tusk indicated his support for a delay. However, other EU officials have stated in the past that Brexit should only be delayed to provide time for a vote on a second referendum or a UK special election. Read More

New Mercer Study: What Will Attract Talented Workers to the World’s Emerging Megacities—and What Will Keep Them There?

| January 4, 2019

emerging megacities mercer studyAccording to a new Mercer study, People First: Driving Growth in Emerging Megacities, 47% of GDP growth between 2010-2025 will come from 443 growth economy cities worldwide. The underlying research question was what will attract the most talented workers to these growing cities—and what will make them stay?

Mercer surveyed 7,200 people in 15 cities and seven countries, asking them what is most important to them in the place they live and work. The results help us to understand what motivates people to stay in or move to a particular city—something of material importance to employers that are competing for talent. Read More

Impact of U.S. Elections on Mobility

| November 30, 2018

us election mobilityThe following post was originally published on November 29, 2018 by Worldwide ERC.

Dear colleagues:

The movement of government offers clues to the way business will unfold, as new lawmakers enter and others depart. With the recent elections in the United States, we want to provide you with an understanding of the impact such changes could have on mobility.

On November 6, midterm elections (which occur halfway between presidential elections for open Congressional seats) were held, resulting in Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Republicans expanding their majority in the United States Senate to 53-47. Democrats gained a net of 40 seats in the House. Read More

Worldwide ERC® Monitoring U.S. Birthright Citizenship Challenge

| November 12, 2018

The White House in Washington, DCOriginally Published by Worldwide ERC on November 4, 2018

On 4 November, HBO aired an interview from 29 October with U.S. President Donald Trump conducted by the media company Axios. In response to a question, the President cited his ability to issue an executive order to end the automatic citizenship for certain individuals born in the U.S.

Based on the video and written excerpts of the interview released by Axios, President Trump stated White House counsel believes he has the authority to end the citizenship right for newborns of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants through executive order. Read More

SHRM Survey: Lump Sums the Single Most Popular Relocation Benefit

| September 5, 2018

SHRM 2018 Employee Benefits A recent SHRM survey on employee benefits found that lump sum payments are the single most popular relocation benefit offered by the surveyed companies. Lump sums are offered by 28% of responding companies, down slightly from 29% in 2017 and 32% in 2016. The survey does not differentiate between lump sums that are one part of a company’s relocation package and lump sums that represent the company’s entire relocation benefit.

The 2018 Employee Benefits Survey, administered by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in February and March 2018, assessed the prevalence of more than 300 benefits. Human resource professionals were asked whether their organizations formally offered each benefit or had plans to do so in the next 12 months. This report examines changes in the prevalence of benefits over the past five years.

Other relocation benefits most commonly offered in 2018 include temporary relocation benefits (16% of companies), location visit assistance (16%), reimbursement of shipping fees (12%), and cost-of-living differentials (11%). Read More

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