23 July 2019
Germany’s law on remuneration transparency (c.f. article No. 10143) that came into force in July 2017 sought to narrow the country’s gender pay gap, which at 21%, is one of the highest in Europe (the EU average is 16%). Driving this legislation is a requirement on employers to be completely transparent, with women able to compel them to align their salaries with those of their male counterparts. At the time the legislation was designed it faced a great deal of resistance across business and even within...
23 July 2019
In the closing moments of Theresa May’s tenure as UK Prime Minister before her successor is announced on Tuesday 23 July and prior to her departure on Wednesday 24 July, the government has announced two new pieces of draft legislation. Riding on the #MeToo wave, the first piece of fresh legislation looks to prohibit NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) being used to prevent individuals from disclosing workplace sexual harassment information. The second piece of legislation concerns parents whose employment cannot be...
23 July 2019
In a legally binding opinion that was published in the Official Journal on 07 July 2019, the National Office for Private Data Protection (UODO) details the types data treatment that will now be subject to an impact evaluation, or risk hefty fines. Several types of data treatment related to employment contracts are impacted.
19 July 2019
The CCOO and UGT trade unions and the management of Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica have reached an agreement that will guarantee workers’ right to digitally disconnect and a second agreement on the way in which a daily working time register will be set up, both of which are in keeping with measures recently introduced into Spain’s employment law. The two agreements will apply to all Spanish subsidiaries of the group.
19 July 2019
On 16 July 2019, Ursula von der Leyen became the first woman to be elected president of the European Commission (see article n°11232). She will commence the role in November. A German politician, born in Belgium, she is a member of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union of Germany). Having been picked out by Angela Merkel, Ursula von der Leyen became minister for family in the German chancellor’s first grand coalition (2005 to 2009), before serving as minister for labour and social affairs (2009 to 2013) and,...
18 July 2019
On 16 July the UK government launched a public consultation on the establishment of a new single enforcement body to ensure national minimum and legal wages are paid and that the right to paid leave is upheld. The goal of this element of the Good Work Plan (c.f. article No. 10943) is to streamline and harmonize oversight as well as to become more efficient in offering better protection to workers at a time when the UK only has about half the number of labor inspectors recommended by the ILO International Labour...
17 July 2019
On 16 July 2019, the European Parliament’s three biggest political groups in terms of seats, the EPP (Christian-Democrats), the S&D (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats), and the Renew Europe (successor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group), backed the EU Council candidate for the position of President of the EU Commission. Current German Defense...
17 July 2019
One of the key measures of the recent labor reform (c.f. article No. 10330) was the compensation scale that sets ceiling and floor limits, which the labor tribunal can require employers to pay to employees in compensation for unjustified employment termination. However this measure has been highlighted on several occasions when the first instance courts set it aside and invoked in particular article 10 of the ILO Convention 158 on Termination of Employment, as well as article 24 of the European Social Charter that...
17 July 2019
Following a series of several negative economic indicators as well as some significant difficulties facing several of the nation’s larger corporates, Germans are increasingly concerned over the state of the domestic economy, and consequently over the situation in the labor market. Even if the outlook for the labor market is positive, experts expect that the rate of jobs creations, which has been particularly buoyant in recent years, will slow down.
16 July 2019
The new ‘work life balance’ Directive was published in the OJEU on 12 July. Now EU Members have until 02 August 2022 to align their own national legislation to this new EU text that requires a part of parental leave to be ‘remunerated’/’compensated’ and introduces a minimum 10-day paid paternal leave period as well as a carer leave period (unpaid) of 5 days. The text also adds flexibility to working time arrangements for parents and carers.
