Netherlands: guide published to combat sexual harassment and violence in the workplace Quality of life at work Mariëtte Hamera, the Dutch government’s commissioner responsible for gender-based harassment and sexual violence, has published a new guide to help companies “create a safe working environment”…
United States: whistleblowers soon to be handed rewards? Legal developments A new whistleblowing programme is currently being trialled on the other side of the Atlantic. Whistleblowers could soon be rewarded for exposing misconduct within companies and financial institutions.
Germany: Deutsche Bahn proposes switch to 35-hour week with an ‘options-based’ model National industrial relations After two months of failed collective bargaining and "surprise" strikes, the train drivers' union GDL and Deutsche Bahn have reached an innovative agreement on a 35-hour working week with no reduction in pay, starting in 2029, and in several "non-automatic" stages.
Belgium: minimum wage to rise to €2,000 on 1 April National legislation The minimum wage in Belgium will be increased by €35.70 from 1 April, taking the level of pay from €1,994.18 to €2,029.88 gross per month.…
Réglementaire EU: employers air concerns to MEPs ahead of their review of the European Works Councils Directive European legislation Business Europe and five European sectoral employer federations wrote to MEPs on 22 March, asking them to water down the proposed revision of the European Works Council Directive,…
Réglementaire Netherlands: bill seeks to provide more security for precarious workers National legislation On 15 March, Dutch minister for social affairs and employment Karien Van Gennip sent a bill entitled “more security for precarious workers” to the Council of State for its opinion.…
Réglementaire Czech Republic: government approves a draft reform of the minimum wage National legislation The Czech government has passed a draft amendment setting out new rules for calculating the minimum wage. From now on, the wage level will no longer be decided by the executive, but will be regularly revised on the basis of a calculation established by law. The aim of the reform is to bring Czech law into line with the provisions of the European directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union. This change will have an impact on the guaranteed minimum wage, which will no longer apply in private companies.
Réglementaire Denmark: additional parental leave for parents of twins National legislation On 19 March, the Danish parliament unanimously adopted a bill amending the legislation on parental leave. The bill grants biological and adoptive parents of twins (or more) 26 weeks of additional paid leave (13 weeks for each parent).…
EU: hospitality sector social partners sign joint declaration on skills shortages Transnational industrial relations In a joint text published on 19 March, the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) and HOTREC, the hotel sector employer federation,…
Réglementaire China: steps towards more paid leave and a right to disconnect National legislation Every year in March, the two main assemblies of the People's Republic of China hold their plenary sessions. Once again this year, from 4 to 11 March, this important event gave the Chinese government the opportunity to take stock and provide a glimpse of upcoming policy movements, particularly in relation to employment and working conditions.
ILO reaches first agreement on issue of living wages Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders On 13 March, the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization approved an agreement on the issue of living wages, reached during a meeting of experts,…
United Kingdom: more and more companies break the menopause taboo in the workplace Corporate practices An increasing number of companies in the UK are taking menopause-related symptoms into account in the workplace, with measures such as flexible work, manager training, consultation with experts and office design. The UK authorities, via the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), have just published a new practical guide and are pioneering the way.
Sanofi takes programme dedicated to employees with cancer to global scale Corporate practices The pharmaceutical group, which has been offering social and financial support to employees with cancer or close to patients in France since 2017, has decided to extend this programme worldwide with 100% salary continuation. The move follows positive feedback on the scheme, Florence Cauvet, HR director for France at Sanofi, tells mind RH.
Technologies How Tech Foundations (Atos) is using artificial intelligence to optimise the HR management of its consultants Training/Professional development Tech Foundations, the outsourcing and cloud business line of the Atos group, has been using Whoz, a HR staffing solution using artificial intelligence to allocate consultants to clients, for several months now. It is based on a detailed skills map, drawn up jointly by managers and employees themselves. The solution, which is reserved for digital services companies, could soon be extended to the entire market.
Technologies France: Orange harnesses virtual reality for staff cybersecurity training Training/Professional development Since October 2023, Orange has been rolling out virtual reality training to raise awareness among employees of the cybersecurity risks encountered in the workplace. The company drew on a track record of training carried out using this technology over several years by provider Uptale, particularly in soft skills, as well as on in-house support from its business divisions.
Technologies Ireland: Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council launches The first meeting of Ireland’s AI Advisory Council was held on 17 January. The aim of the new institution,…
Netherlands: guide published to combat sexual harassment and violence in the workplace Quality of life at work Mariëtte Hamera, the Dutch government’s commissioner responsible for gender-based harassment and sexual violence, has published a new guide to help companies “create a safe working environment”…
United States: whistleblowers soon to be handed rewards? Legal developments A new whistleblowing programme is currently being trialled on the other side of the Atlantic. Whistleblowers could soon be rewarded for exposing misconduct within companies and financial institutions.
Belgium: minimum wage to rise to €2,000 on 1 April National legislation The minimum wage in Belgium will be increased by €35.70 from 1 April, taking the level of pay from €1,994.18 to €2,029.88 gross per month.…
Germany: Deutsche Bahn proposes switch to 35-hour week with an ‘options-based’ model National industrial relations After two months of failed collective bargaining and "surprise" strikes, the train drivers' union GDL and Deutsche Bahn have reached an innovative agreement on a 35-hour working week with no reduction in pay, starting in 2029, and in several "non-automatic" stages.
EU: hospitality sector social partners sign joint declaration on skills shortages Transnational industrial relations In a joint text published on 19 March, the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) and HOTREC, the hotel sector employer federation,…
Safran steps up commitment to the professional integration of young people with renewal of European agreement Transnational industrial relations Safran and the trade union federation IndustriAll Europe have renewed for the second time the European agreement on the professional integration of young people, which has bound the two parties since 2013. The agreement reinforces the group's ambitions on work-study students and interns and will see it diversify its recruitment methods.
Free Looking back at 2023: new inclusion topics emerged Diversity and inclusion were in the spotlight in 2023. This was reflected in Spain, where a law was passed to combat discrimination against LGBTI people and menstrual leave was introduced, as well as in Ireland, where domestic violence leave was introduced. These issues are also gaining ground within companies.
Free Looking back at 2023: initiatives across the board to tackle the skills shortage Amid the shortage of skilled labour, thinking ahead to the professions of the future and securing the skills needed to support business transformation have been among the main concerns of HR departments – as well as European governments – in recent times and numerous initiatives were launched in 2023 to attract and train new sources of talent.
Free Looking back at 2023: a new way of viewing older workers With the retirement age rising and a skills shortage in many parts of the world at present, companies need to learn to change the way they look at older employees and see them as an opportunity. Initiatives have begun to emerge in this area.