Foreign companies in Europe more law-abiding than local ones
Contributed by Ireland based Janet Anderson (name changed)
I have worked in three European countries other than my own and been offered jobs at lower than required minimum payment. The local companies think of foreigners as stupid and not knowing the law. On the contrary, I found my two American employers in the same countries; I must say these are the companies that have actually followed the laws of equal opportunities and equality in the best way possible.
In fact, I would know the law better than even the local workers – I guess when one travels to another country, it is in one’s best interest to understand the same well. But companies tend to treat us badly thinking of us as strangers who know little how things are done, especially being a woman.
American companies may be tough ones to work for in some ways- loads of rules and regulations, but they ensure greater equality between men and women, and between all employees, in the letter and spirit of the law. And they ensure we are paid on time, and as agreed in the contract. But companies not complying with the law rarely face any consequences.
