8:15 – 8:50 – Registration and welcome coffee

8:50 – 9:00 – Welcome remarks from International Employment Lawyer 

9:00 – 9:45 – Plenary Session 1: The future of work: A conversation with regional regulators

MENA is undergoing a period of profound regulatory change. For employers, the cumulative effect can be challenging to navigate. This opening plenary brings together workforce regulators to discuss the direction of travel for labour-market regulation, the policy objectives behind the current reform agenda, what they have learned from their regional and global colleagues, and what the latest changes mean for employers operating on the ground.

9:45 – 10:45 – Plenary Session 2: AI, privacy, and the employee: How much monitoring is too much?

As employers across MENA adopt AI-powered tools to monitor productivity, analyse communications, assess performance, and identify workplace risks, the boundary between legitimate workforce management and employee privacy is becoming increasingly difficult to define. This panel will explore how employers can use AI-enabled monitoring responsibly and effectively, asking how much workplace surveillance is justified, what employees should be told, and where regulators and courts may draw the line.

10:45 – 11:15 – Coffee break

11:15 – 12:15 – Breakout Session 1: Local first? Localisation push and the future of expat talent

Workforce localisation is moving from a long-term policy objective to an increasingly important operational constraint for MENA employers. Governments are seeking to increase national participation in the private sector, while employers continue to rely on international talent to deliver major projects, build new industries, and fill skills gaps. For expatriate employees, the consequences are increasingly tangible: certain roles are becoming reserved for nationals, hiring and work-permit options are narrowing in some sectors, and employers are having to rethink succession, retention, and workforce structures. This panel will examine the localisation drive and how employers can get ahead of it.

11:15 – 12:15 – Breakout Session 2: The cost of goodbye: Getting end-of-service right

End-of-service gratuity remains one of the most important – and frequently misunderstood –benefits for employers operating across MENA. While the concept is common across the region, the rules governing eligibility, calculation, resignation, termination, salary basis, and payment can vary significantly between locations. This session will examine the key differences across key jurisdictions, the common mistakes that lead to disputes and unexpected liabilities, how regional employers can build robust processes for calculating and paying end-of-service benefits, as well as the practical issues around a shift towards funded savings schemes. 

12:15 – 13:30 – Networking lunch

13:30 – 14:30 – Breakout Session 3: Cross-border covenants: Can your restrictions keep up?

As businesses expand across borders and employees increasingly work across multiple jurisdictions, traditional restrictive covenants are being put under pressure. A clause drafted for a single-country workforce may be difficult to apply when an employee serves clients across several markets, works remotely from another jurisdiction, or moves between group entities. For employers operating across MENA, the challenge is not simply whether a non-compete, non-solicit, or confidentiality provision is valid in one jurisdiction, but whether it can protect the business effectively across multiple legal regimes. The panel will consider geographical scope, choice of law and jurisdiction, enforcement and forum shopping, and whether a single regional restrictive-covenant strategy is realistic.

13:30 – 14:30 – Breakout Session 4: From grievance to defamation: When workplace disputes cross the line

The boundary between a workplace complaint and a potentially defamatory statement can be narrower than many MENA employees may expect. Allegations made during disciplinary proceedings, internal investigations, grievance processes or online can create risks that extend well beyond the employment relationship. This panel will examine the defamation risks arising from workplace disputes, including how allegations against colleagues, managers, or employers can escalate into criminal complaints and explore the growing risk presented by social media. Drawing on practical examples from across the region, the panel will consider how employers can protect legitimate whistleblowing and internal reporting while managing the risk that workplace communications cross the line into defamation, what steps can be taken when they do.

14:30-14:45 – Comfort break

14:45 – 15:45 – Breakout Session 5: Team moves: Protecting the business without overplaying your hand

Team moves are among the most commercially sensitive employment law issues facing companies globally. Facing the loss of key talent, top clients, and business-critical trade secrets, the challenge for employers is to respond quickly and decisively without overreacting. Using recent real-life examples, this expert panel will explore how employers should assess and respond to team moves across the MENA region, with a focus on what to do in the first 72 hours, how to assess and execute a clear legal strategy, and how to balance enforcement with business continuity and employee relations. The issues will be analysed from the perspectives of gamekeeper, poacher, movers and third parties. 

14:45 – 15:45 – Breakout Session 6: Can we settle this? The art of mediation

As employment disputes become increasingly complex, MENA’s employers and employees are increasingly looking for ways to resolve disagreements quickly, commercially, and discreetly. Mediation can offer a valuable alternative to litigation, but success requires an understanding of the local legal framework, cultural context, and commercial realities. From termination and end-of-service disputes to discrimination, bonus claims, restrictive covenants, and executive departures, this session will explore practical strategies for reaching settlement while avoiding the pitfalls that can arise when applying a one-size-fits-all approach to disputes.

15:45 – 16:15 – Coffee break

16:15 – 17:30 – Plenary Session 3: Working through conflict: Lessons learned from the Iran War

The US conflict with Iran has tested local employers’ crisis-management plans and exposed areas where employment policies and legal frameworks may not have anticipated such disruption. This unprecedented challenge has impacted employee safety and workplace closures to travel disruption, remote working, pay, leave, and workforce restructuring. This session will explore the key employment and immigration law issues faced by regional employers, what worked – and what did not – and the lessons businesses should take forward when preparing for future geopolitical crises.

17:30 onwards – Closing remarks from International Employment Lawyer and networking drinks reception