The Spanish government has passed the most significant changes to its labour law seen in decades. The legislation is set to encourage employer flexibility, changing the rules on dismissals, contracting and collective agreements. For a more detailed explanantion of the new provisions, click here.

The French Supreme Court has given a surprisingly liberal ruling in a case where the working locations and hours of an employee were unilaterally modified by her employer. The employee concerned had been required to work at two sites in the afternoon instead of one site in the morning. According to the Court the introduction of new working arrangements falls within the legitimate managerial authority of an employer. An employee’s right to a personal and family life may only be asserted where that right is excessively undermined (Cass.Soc, 3 Nov 2011, no 10-14.702).

Employers in Italy are no longer required to inform their Provincial Labour Office (Direzione Provinciale del Lavoro, DPL) about any changes from a full-time to a part-time employment contract (Law No. 183/2011). A written agreement between the parties is all that is necessary to make the change lawful.

The French law on the financing of social security for 2012 has been published in the Official Journal. There are a number of important changes this year:

* The rate of the so-called employer ‘forfait social’ contribution is increased from 6% to 8%.

* The social security scheme applicable to severance payments has been amended in respect to the termination of corporate officers, senior managers and persons referred to in Article 80 of the General Tax code. The nontaxable share excluded from social security contributions now has an upper limit of 72,744 euros.

* The rate of abatement for business expenses has been reduced. The automatic deduction is now set at a fixed rate of 1.75%.

*There are also changes in the way that the “fillon reduction” is calculated for employees on low incomes.

The UK government has confirmed that it will postpone the implementation of the increase in parental leave required by the EU Parental Leave Directive. This change will increase the rights to unpaid parental leave, for those with a child under the age of five, from 13 weeks to 18 weeks. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills intends to make use of the one year grace period provided for in the Directive.

Russia’s ruling “United Russia” party is planning to introduce substantial increases in the national minimum wage in order to bring it more into line with the official subsistence level. Parliament plans to follow a three-step schedule this year with the monthly minimum wage increased from the current 4,600 rubles (115 euros) to 5,000 rubles (125 euros) in March 2012. On June 1st it will be increased to 5,500 rubles (138 euros), and finally to 6,500 (163 euros) by October 1st.

The Criminal Chamber of the French Supreme Court has ruled that an employee may be convicted of harassment under articles L1152-1 and 222-33-2 of the French Labour Code even if the individual concerned is actually the subordinate of the victim. These provisions do not specify the relative status of the parties. In the case in question the employee had harassed his superior for several years by spreading false rumours and through the portrayal of his victim as professionally incompetent. This had led to the victim’s eventual suicide (Cass.Crim, December 6 2011, no 10-82266).

Swiss trade unions have gained the necessary 100,000+ signatures to require the Federal Chancery to call a referendum on a national minimum wage of 22 francs (18.2 euros) per hour. If supported by the Swiss population, this measure would raise gross monthly earnings to 4,000 francs (3,313 euros) for those in the lowest paid jobs. It is estimated that approximately 400,000 workers would be affected by such a statutory increase.

The Hungarian Metropolitan Court has ordered over one year’s imprisonment and 10 million euros in damages in a case concerning industrial espionage. Former managers of a Hungarian pharmaceutical company were found to have sold company files containing restricted trade and business secrets to rival companies. These included production methodologies, details of patents and business contacts. The case has now gone to appeal.

The European Commission is set to propose changes to the EU Data Protection Directive that will dictate how employers handle personal information. The proposals include, for the first time, a single set of privacy standards for all 27 EU countries. Any company maintaining databases that include personal information will have to comply with the new rules and be able to show how and why they are using personal information.