Mexico: Harmon Hall-01

Date Filed
02 Dec 2011
Status
Closed
Phase
Dispute Resolution (DR), Compliance
Country
Mexico

Case Tracker

Eligibility
Eligibility
Assessment
Assessment
Dispute Resolution
Dispute Resolution
Monitoring
Closed
Compliance
Appraisal
Closed
CURRENT Status
Appraisal (COMPLIANCE)
Closed

Complaint Overview

Complainant

Confidential

Concerns

Compensation, fair treatment, intimidation, management systems

Cross-Cutting Issues
Labor Discrimination

Project Information

Region
Latin America & the Caribbean
Institution
IFC
Name & Number
Harmon Hall 29753
Company
Harmon Hall Holding, S.A. de C.V.
Sector
Health and Education
Department
Other
Category
B
Commitment

$7.9 million equity

Synopsis

Complaint

Harmon Hall is a large English language school chain in Mexico, with a network of 110 English schools in 63 cities and over 40,000 students in the entire system. Harmon Hall also has two K-12 schools and plans to grow this business line. IFC provided Harmon Hall with an $7.9 million equity investment.

In December 2011, the CAO received a complaint raising concerns regarding employment rights, healthcare, compensation, and fair treatment for workers employed by Harmon Hall. Specifically, the complainants contend that poor working conditions, inadequate wages, and extensive working hours are contrary to Mexican legal regulations and employment law. The complainants requested confidentiality. 

Action

CAO accepted the complaint in January 2012, and initiated an assessment to explore options for addressing the issues raised with the parties.  During the assessment, both parties agreed to a collaborative problem-solving process facilitated by the CAO to develop corrective actions in response to concerns raised in the complaint. CAO assumed a monitoring role for a period of six months after the agreed actions were developed and implemented. However, two individual cases within the complaint remain unresolved. Hence, CAO’s dispute resolution function concluded its involvement and a compliance appraisal of the two unresolved cases was initiated on July 23, 2013. 

CAO completed the appraisal in August 2013.  Having considered the issues raised in the unresolved complaints and conducted a review of documentation related to the investment, CAO has not identified substantial concerns regarding environmental and/or social outcomes, and/or issues of systemic importance to IFC/MIGA of the type that would warrant a compliance investigation.

Status

CAO closed the case on August 30, 2013. CAO's Appraisal Report and Assessment Report are available under 'View Documents' below.

Updated: August 30, 2013

 

Case Documents

  • Assessment Report(s)
    Ombudsman Assessment Report
    Jul 01, 2012
    English
    Ombudsman Assessment Report
    IFC Response to Ombudsman Assessment Report
    Jul 24, 2012
    English
    IFC Response to Ombudsman Assessment Report
    Close-out Report(s)
    CAO_Conclusion Report Harmon
    Jul 23, 2013
    English
    CAO_Conclusion Report Harmon
  • Compliance

    Appraisal Report(s)
    CAO Appraisal Report: Harmon Hall
    Aug 30, 2013
    English
    CAO Appraisal Report: Harmon Hall
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