6 October 2021
The Hospitality Council is a UK Government initiative that it set up to help the authorities identify the best support strategy at a time when the hospitality industry is attempting to recover now some of the effects of the pandemic are starting to recede. The council comprises 22 industry experts, including executives from companies such as Deliveroo and Burger King, and representatives of industry associations.
29 September 2021
On September 28 the government’s Council of Ministers approved an extension to the ERTE arrangements (Expediente de Regulación Temporal de Empleo extraordinary temporary employment regulations) for employees and to the reduction of charges on employers provided they ensure training for those who remain on ERTE arrangements. The reduction in social security contributions can reach up to 80% for companies that provide training courses to employees on short-time working. These new measures will apply from 01...
24 February 2021
While getting inoculated against Covid-19 is not compulsory in Italy, an issue currently being debated among labor lawyers is whether or not employers can terminate the employment contract of someone (or not hire someone) who refuses the Covid-19 vaccination. On 17 February, the Italian Data Protection Agency (Garante Per La Protezione Dei Dati Personali- GPDP) set an important...
11 January 2021
The Spanish government and social partners have agreed to extend temporary employment regulation plans (ERTEs, equivalent of short time working) enacted due to the reduction in business volumes resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. The mechanism should be extended until 31 May, in what would represent the fourth extension of the ERTE mechanism, set up in March 2020 (see article nº11729) to address the first lockdown, then extended and adjusted in May, June and September last year (see articles nº 11920,...
18 December 2020
Having extended its furlough scheme until 31 March, the UK government decided on 17 December to push its end date further back, this time to 30 April 2021. Dubbed the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the short-time working measure sees the government contribute 80% of the salary of employees for hours not worked. Having previously been exempted from all payments when the Job Retention Scheme was launched in March (see article n°11771), companies must now cover pay for hours worked as well as national insurance...
30 November 2020
Published in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE) on 27 November, a decree from the country’s labour ministry establishes priority access to vocational training for individuals affected by furlough measures as part of the ERTE (Expediente de Regulación Temporal de Empleo) scheme. This applies both in cases of furlough in the event of force majeure, directly linked to Covid-19, and those for technical, organisational or production reasons.
10 November 2020
On 07 November Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis imposed a minimum three-week national lockdown in a bid to manage the sudden escalation in the number of new coronavirus cases. With the new restrictions, companies must put at least 50% of their staff on telework arrangements. Alongside this the state salary-support program is extended for companies undergoing reduced activity.
5 November 2020
On 01 November 1, Peru’s Executive extended the regulation it adopted in March (here), which initially established a provisional framework facilitating the use of telework to manage the health crisis until 31 July 2021. It took advantage of the extension to recognize the right of workers to disconnect from their computers and communication tools during periods of rest, leave, and suspension of the work relationship. According to arrangements as defined by the emergency decree 127-2020 (here), employers cannot...
2 November 2020
On Friday 29 October, during a meeting with the governors of Japan’s prefectures as well as the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) and two other business lobbies, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the policy minister in charge of economic revitalisation and coordinating the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, urged representatives of these powerful organisations to take steps to extend the New Year holiday by one week – to 11 January inclusive. These measures are aimed at reducing population...
29 October 2020
Recommendations by the European Industry Federations to members of European Works Councils (EWCs), Works Councils in companies with a Societas Europaea status (SE-WCs), and Special Negotiating Bodies (SNBs) that were initially developed in March during the first wave of Covid-19 (c.f. article No.11804) were updated and published during the week 26 October in order to take account of the...
