The penalties for violation of the Data Protection Act have also been
increased from 25,000 to 50,000 euros per violation and from 250,000 to
300,000 euros for serious violations.
ITALY: OVERHAUL OF EMPLOYMENT AND SAFETY PROCEDURES The Italian
parliament has passed a new law increasing administrative restrictions
on employers and changing the allocation of accountability for
workplace safety. A company's activities may now be suspended if they
are found to be employing workers illegally, without the right
documentation, operating outside working time limits or repeatedly
violating safety requirements.
The law imposes tighter controls on the appointment of workplace safety
representatives.
They must be appointed in writing for a fixed period (with a set start
date), be qualified to a professional standard, have sufficient work
experience and be given the power to make decisions independently.
Employers are now obligated to carry out a risk assessment, which must
be dated and include information regarding stress-related risks. Such
provisions also extend to outsourced work. Here the employer and
contractor must specify potential risks and convert these into monetary
terms. Contracts without such an attachment will be invalid.
[Legislative Decree no. 81/2008].
LUXEMBOURG: MOVE TO TACKLE HARASSMENT AT WORK The social partners in
Luxembourg have signed an interprofessional agreement to tackle
harassment in the workplace.
This accord has been drafted to bring the framework agreement on
harassment and violence at work, signed by the European Social partners
on April 26th 2007, one step further to being incorporated into
Luxembourg Law. It provides guidelines to businesses on how to tackle
and prevent harassment in the workplace, a problem which affects 11.3%
of the country's working population - more than double the European
average.
The social partners have suggested that the government incorporates the
agreement into a Grand-Ducal Decree so that it would be generally
binding on all companies legally established in Luxembourg, as well in
associated companies.
SERBIA: BRIDGING THE PENSIONS DEFICIT
Serbia's ailing state pensions system currently consumes about one
quarter of the state budget.
The old pay-as-you-go system could operate comfortably in the former
communist era when there were 3.5 employed persons for every pensioner.
But now the number of employed and retired persons are nearly equal and
the system is bankrupt.
Pension increases are no longer linked to wages, but to rises in the
consumer price index, with adjustments made twice a year. By 2010, the
average pension will drop from 67.6% to 57.8% of the average net wage.
To overcome the decline in pensions and the funding problem it is
proposed to ban early retirement and raise the normal retirement age
from age 60 to 65. Even with such reforms it is becoming increasingly
clear that private retirement insurance is the only way to guarantee an
adequate retirement income. But the government know that such a step
can only be phased in slowly as few people can afford the additional
premiums.
UKRAINE: NO RELAXATION OF ENTRY LIMITS
The Ukrainian government has decided to postpone the application of new
rules relaxing admission requirements for foreign nationals. These
would have allowed entry for citizens of 85 countries as long as they
were in possession of cash or cheques to the value of 1000 euros.
Up to May 2009 most US and European citizens enjoyed visa free travel
for stays of up to 3 months. To extend their stay all they needed to do
was to make a quick return trip across the border. Under revised rules
numerous documents are required to obtain a visa and stays are now
restricted to 90 days in any 180 day period.
Border checkpoints also use new IT systems to pool data so that the
short-term residence limits can be applied.
PAYFILE: A REVIEW OF EUROPEAN REMUNERATION TRENDS
AUSTRIA: Austria is the latest country to impose limitations on the pay
of senior executives. In future, companies that have received state aid
will only be permitted to issue bonus payments if they make a profit
(net of state liability charges and interest on outstanding loans). In
addition, a company's freedom to distribute dividends will be
conditional on their current and longer-term liquidity.
BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA: The agency for statistics in Bosnia and Herzegovina
has reported that the average gross wage between January and June 2009
was 1203 KM (615 euros), an increase of 127 KM
(65 euros) on the same period in 2008.
BULGARIA: The Bulgarian Minister of Labour and Social Works Totyu
Mladenov has retracted an earlier declaration that Bulgaria's minimum
wage would be frozen for four years. He stated that the current minimum
wage of 240 leva per month
(123 euros) was not sufficient to take people above the poverty line
and would therefore only be frozen for one year.
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech Statistical Office
(CSU) has reported that the average gross monthly wage in the Czech
Republic rose by 2.8% from Q2 2008 to Q2 2009. The average gross
monthly wage now stands at 22,992 Koruny (900 euros).
FINLAND: The Finnish metalworkers union council have agreed a new
collective agreement that will raise wage rates by 0.5% this year.
Discussions about what increases will follow over the next two years
are still underway.
LITHUANIA: The Department of Statistics in Lithuania has reported that
remuneration in the private sector decreased by 1.8% between Q1 2009
and Q2 2009, with Q2 figures being 6.1% lower than during the same
period in 2008. The latest average monthly gross wage for the whole
economy stood at 2,172.60 litas (629 euros), down from
Q2 2008 figures of 2,236.80 litas (648 euros).
The only sector where wages rose over the year to Q2 2009 was
'professional, scientific and technical services' which registered an
average increase of 72 litas (21 euros).
NETHERLANDS: The Dutch government has announced that the majority of
the 180m euros funding it has made available for the 'Expert Personnel
Scheme' has already been allocated. The scheme funds the temporary
contracting out of highly-skilled professionals to government
departments and state institutions whilst they remain in their private
sector post. The funding covers the bulk of the employee's salary and
can be reclaimed by the company from the government.
Over 135m euros has already been allocated and the remaining 45m euros
is to be made available later this Autumn when a second phase of the
scheme is due to be implemented.
PORTUGAL: The National Statistics Institute in Portugal (INE) has
reported that the average net wage in now 766 euros per month, up 3.9%
on the same period in 2008. 60% of workers in Portugal earn less than
600 euros net per month, but the number of people earning more than
1200 euros net per month now totals 498,500 - up 52,000 over the last
year.
SLOVENIA: The Slovenian Ministry of Finance has revealed plans to add
two additional income tax bands,bringing the total number to five. If
the latest proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act become law, those
earning more than 30,500 euros p.a will have to pay 45% tax on income
between 30,500 and 37,000 euros and those earning 37,000 euros or more
will have to 50% tax on earnings above this threshold. In order to
soften the blow, the government has offered to increase tax relief on
certain items and reintroduce a tax offset on the cost of housing.
SPAIN: The Spanish Government has approved an additional 348m euros for
the Wage Guarantee Fund. The fund supplements employee wages if
employers are unable to meet their contractual obligations due to
financial difficulties. On August 31st 2009 the number of employees
receiving support from the fund was 128,798, up from an average of
62,982 in 2008.
UNITED KINGDOM: The UK Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) has clarified
the status of additional payments with regard to the National Minimum
Wage (NMW). Examples by the EAT where allowances could not be included
in NMW calculations included an employee being on-call, working
unsociable hours, and performing special duties. In these cases any
amounts paid are to be treated separately from basic wage calculations
and therefore cannot contribute to an employer fulfilling minimum wage
obligations.
IN THE COURTS
CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech Supreme Court has decided that an employee
who did not return from parental leave on the agreed date may not be
dismissed (even although they failed to inform their employer about the
delay), because the reason for their continued absence was the
inability to find childcare. The court ruled that the additional time
off was to be classified as unpaid parental leave [21 Cdo 4411/2007].
DENMARK: The Danish Western High Court has ruled that an employee's
demotion from a managerial position to a driver, and her subsequent
summary termination as a result of her refusal to accept the new
position, constituted unfair dismissal.
The court decided that the loss of white-collar status and the
substantial change in duties amounted to constructive dismissal even if
the employer had not terminated the employment contract. The employee
was awarded compensation equal to three months salary, plus 25,000
kroner (3,360 euros) because her employer had not provided her with a
new statement of employment particulars.
GERMANY: The German Federal Labour Court has ruled that a company may
exclude some employees from a general pay rise without a breach of the
equal treatment principle. The employees in question were excluded from
the pay rise as, unlike other employees, they had not signed a
modification to their employment contract reducing their vacation leave
and pay and therefore did not suffer the same detriment. The court
maintained that the equal treatment principle had not been violated
because all the employees had, in effect, been treated the same [Az: 5
AZR 486/08].
GERMANY: If an employee makes a claim for unpaid overtime the onus is
upon them to prove that the overtime was completed and that his or her
supervisor knew that the overtime had been undertaken. According to the
German labour court in Rhineland-Palatinate it is not sufficient for an
employee to submit personal records - the overtime request and record
must be signed off by their employer [LAG Rheinland-Pfalz of 11.03.2009
7 Sa 235/08].
GERMANY: An employee has been forced to pay compensation to his
employer following a ruling by the labour Court in Frankfurt, Germany.
The employee had taken his company laptop on holiday to Croatia and
accumulated a 31,000 euros bill through internet and roaming charges.
Whilst the judge agreed that the employee was allowed to use the
laptop, it was not proven by the employee that he used the internet for
business purposes. Therefore, he could not justify the bill being paid
by his employer [1 Ca AZ 1139/09].
GERMANY: The labour court in Munchen, Germany, has ruled that the
summary dismissal of an employee was justified for a serious breach of
workplace privacy. The court decided that a warning prior to dismissal
was not necessary following the discovery that the employee had
regularly read emails sent to other colleagues [LAG Mnchen, Urteil vom
08.07.2009, Az: 11 Sa 54/09].
GERMANY: The Labour Court in Mainz, Germany has ruled that a verbal
agreement reached prior to the conclusion of a written employment
contract was not valid. It was originally agreed that the employee
could not be terminated, but this undertaking was not included in the
final contract. The court held that the agreement would have been valid
if either no written contract of employment had been concluded, or if
the written contract had contained the provision. However by signing
the contract the employee was bound by the conditions contained within
it and all prior arrangements were void.
GERMANY: The labour court in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany has decided
that an employer had the right to summarily dismiss an employee after
they were informed of a physical attack on another employee outside of
the workplace. The court stated that the employment relationship
between the two colleagues was irreparably damaged and would affect the
atmosphere and performance in the workplace [5 Sa 313/08].
OTHER EUROPEAN NEWS IN BRIEF
DENMARK: The Danish trade union 3F has proposed that all 17 unions
represented by national trade union confederation LO should merge to
form one large union. This proposal comes in response to the merger of
several employers' organisations into a single organisation that now
represents companies employing 62% of the working population. 3F
contends that because of the merger of employers' organisations, and
the decline in trade union membership, unions could be left with little
bargaining power. The proposal is currently being discussed by union
leaders.
DENMARK: According to the latest Danish Labour Force Survey 95,000
employees in Denmark worked unpaid overtime during Q1 2009. Although
this was 15,000 down on Q4 2008, it still represented an increase of
18,000 on the same period in 2008.
ESTONIA: The Estonian Government will shortly consider a proposed 15%
increase in parental benefit. If approved, the new benefit will be
payable from early next year.
FRANCE: The French National assembly has adopted at first reading a
draft amendment to the labour code designed to ensure that employees of
international companies who are at risk of redundancy are given the
option of working for the same company in another country. In the event
of such an offer the employee would be informed about the salary, terms
and conditions applicable to the position. The employee would then have
six days to consider the offer. If no response is forthcoming then
their employer may assume that the offer has been refused.
GERMANY: The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) has reported
that the number of German employees with a full-time position and a
second regular job has doubled to 3.7% of the working population since
2002. This proportion is still relatively low when compared with
Scandinavian and Eastern European countries and an important feature of
German multiple jobholders is that the majority work in specialist
white-collar professions.
GERMANY: According to Germany's Federal Labour Agency only one third of
recipients of unemployment benefits are prepared to relocate to find a
job. Nevertheless, the majority of unemployed workers are willing to
commute a substantial distance, accept a job where they were
overqualified or take a drop in their former pay level in order to
re-enter the labour market. The lowest acceptable wage rate for male
workers surveyed by the agency was 7.58 euros per hour.
NETHERLANDS: Long-term sick leave patients in the Netherlands who have
been dismissed are now subject to additional rules concerning their
reintegration into employment. Individuals who have been off work for
two years or more may not turn down any offer of 'suitable work' if it
commands at least 65% of their previous salary and is within two hours
commuting distance from their home.
NETHERLANDS: The Dutch Education Minister Ronald Plasterk has announced
the establishment of a Commission to determine whether the Netherlands
should introduce a US-style four-tier educational system. Such a system
would allow for the streamlining of talent, providing employers with a
smaller pool of candidates to be considered for highly-skilled
positions.
Currently 47% of 18 year-olds enter higher education and the Minister
fears that this has led to a decline in the quality of University
degrees.
NETHERLANDS: The Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Alderman Lodewijk
Asscher has proposed that shops in Amsterdam be allowed to open on
Sundays. Currently, under the Shop Opening Times Act, only shops
targeting tourists are allowed to open 12 Sundays per year. But the
Minister proposes that all businesses should be given the freedom to
decide their own Sunday opening practices.
SWEDEN: City council employees in Sweden's capital city Stockholm will
no longer be able to smoke in their workplaces from May 1st 2010. The
council has banned smoking breaks during office hours and is setting up
a programme to help employees quit the habit.
UNITED KINGDOM: A UK scheme designed to keep those with fluctuating
mental health conditions in work is to be extended. The joint
initiative by the Department of Work and Pensions and mental health
charity MIND achieved a 90% success rate during its trial period. The
Department also plans to publish a National Strategy for Mental Health
and Employment which will outline ways of ensuring the wellbeing of
sufferers and improving their retention by employers.