Australia: minimum wage to rise by 5.75% from 1 July 2023 National legislation The Fair Work Commission, an independent body in Australia with responsibility for setting wage levels, announced on 2 June that the national minimum wage will be increased,…
Germany: ruling confirms lower wages for temporary workers Legal developments Germany's Federal Labour Court (BAG) has rejected a complaint brought by a temporary warehouse worker at a major clothing retailer, who was seeking pay equal to that of her colleagues on permanent contracts. This ruling, handed down on 31 May, was in fact a re-examination following a judgement by the European Court of Justice in December 2022. At that time, the court had ruled that, while pay inequality between permanent and temporary workers may exist, this could be partially offset by time off.
Technologies France: scale-up Qonto supports growth push with mental health start-up moka.care National legislation Quality of life at work Since 2019, French financial services company Qonto has offered its staff access to mental health professionals, group prevention workshops and training for managers with the help of the start-up moka.care. Thanks to this mental healthcare solution, Qonto has been able to adapt its HR policy and support its rapid growth.
Italy: government reaffirms opposition to minimum wage introduction National legislation Responding in passing to the opposition’s call for a national minimum wage, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pointed to government efforts to boost workers’ purchasing power by cutting social security contributions on wages.…
Réglementaire EU: Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive secure another step forward European legislation On 01 June, MEPs voted by 366 to 225, to adopt the Wolters report on the European Commission’s proposal introducing corporate due diligence, in a version approximating the compromise reached in the EU Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee in April.…
Great Britain: redundancy protection extended for expectant and new parents National legislation On 24 May King Charles III signed the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill into law. Once in force, this legislation will afford pregnant women and new parents extended protection from employment dismissal lasting up to 18 months after childbirth.
Great Britain: Marks & Spencer introduces special neonatal leave for parents of babies requiring this specialist care Quality of life at work The iconic UK retailer chain’s Neonatal Paid Leave policy now means its 65,000 employees can take up to 12 weeks fully paid if their baby requires specialist neonatal care. In this way the group, which wants to avoid parents having to use up their parental leave allowance for such circumstances, has launched its policy ahead of similar plans by the UK government that has just adopted similar statutory leave.
Réglementaire Belgium: resignation notice periods capped at 13 weeks National legislation A law dated 20 March 2023 and published on 28 April 2023 in the Moniteur belge (official journal) clarifies the rules applying to employee resignations.…
Argentina: Parliament examining text aimed at extending maternity and paternity leave National legislation Argentina's Parliament has begun examining the government’s ambitious ‘Taking Care, Equally’ project that was presented in 2022 as part of its ‘comprehensive integrated system for Argentina’s care policies’ approach. The cornerstone of the text centres on longer leave periods for mothers and co-parents following childbirth.
EU: European Agency for Health & Safety at Work publishes recommendations for coping with heatwaves European legislation As the effects of climate change become more apparent, several economic sectors are increasingly having to cope with managing the steadily rising number and intensity of heat wave periods The European Agency for Health &…
