13 January 2022
In Austria a debate is started to emerge on whether or not Long Covid can be classified as an occupational illness. On 09 January 2022 Brigitte Anderl, President of the National Chamber of Labour, to which all Austrian employees are officially affiliated, called for Long Covid to be placed on the official list of occupational illnesses. Such a listing would make it easier for employees suffering Long Covid to access rehabilitation care and, if necessary, disability pensions.
2 December 2021
On 20 November and facing a resurgence in the Covid-19 epidemic right across the country, Portugal’s government presented a series of reinforced measurestaken in the Council of Ministers as part of the new state of emergency. These measures include the compulsory wearing of masks in the workplace, ‘except for isolated positions where there is physical separation between workstations.’ While remote working is currently only a recommendation, the government has announced that schools will be closed between 02...
30 November 2021
On 17 November and faced with a resurgence in the number of Covid-19 cases, the Belgian authorities decided to modify the Royal Decree of 28 October 2021 and to make telework compulsory again in order to “limit the number of contacts, as well as reducing the number of people on public transport during peak times and thus avoiding their inability to uphold social distancing rules”. From 20 November until 12 December, all people whose work permits it, “regardless of the nature of their employment...
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.
