News Flash

This week a number of provisions in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 came into effect in the UK. Amongst these provisions is one that makes the use of exclusivity clauses in zero-hour contracts unenforceable. As such, employers

The government of Odisha in India has agreed to raise minimum wage rates in the state in accordance with the recommendations of the state advisory committee. Trade unions, workers and the public still have an opportunity to object to the

Departing from its normal approach to the termination of expired enterprise agreement, the Australian Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently terminated 12 such agreements. If an enterprise agreement reaches its expiry date, it will continue to run indefinitely until it is

A new draft Labour Code is currently in the final stages of development in Ukraine. During a recent presentation of a package of legislative reforms, the head of the parliamentary committee on social policy, employment and pensions, Lyudmila Denisova, announced

The Chinese government has announced that they will be offering tax breaks to companies that employ individuals who have been unemployed for a period exceeding six months. Previously, tax breaks were only offered if an individual had been jobless for

In Malta, the number of non-fatal accidents at work decreased by 6.2% in Q1 2015 as compared with Q1 2014, according to the country’s National Statistical Office. These accidents involved a total of 670 people. Nearly one third of occupational

A recent decision of the High Court of England and Wales has demonstrated that employees will have to overcome very high hurdles if they wish to establish that their employer should have foreseen their work-related injury.

In this case, an

Hungary has published draft legislation to introduce a quota system for non-EEA workers. The quota system, which is expected to come into force on July 1^st 2015, would limit the number of employees in Hungary from outside the EEA

A draft law to encourage the employment of young workers is currently being considered in Romania. Under the draft law, employers who provide a person aged between 16 and 29 years with their first job would receive a bonus payment 

The UK’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) recently published its ‘top tips’ on managing mental health in the workplace. ACAS states that managers should look out for early signs that an employee may be suffering from depression, such as

As of May 20th 2015, employers in Ontario, Canada may be required to carry out a self-audit on their compliance with the Employment Standards Act and submit a report on their findings. Upon receiving written notice of a self-audit from

Following amendments to the Employment Standards Act, employers in Ontario, Canada are now required to provide a personal copy of the Ministry of Labour’s Employment Standards Poster to each of their employees.

A copy of the poster must be provided

The City Council of Los Angeles in the US has initially agreed to increase the city’s minimum wage rate to 15 US dollars per hour by July 2020. Starting in 2016 the minimum wage will increase each July 1^st

Cyprus’ Federation of Employers and Industrialists has submitted to the country’s President and Minister of Labour a draft law restricting the right to strike. The draft law proposes banning strikes in ‘essential services’ as well as political strikes and spontaneous

The European Commission has commenced legal action against Germany in relation to the application of its minimum wage legislation.

The legislation, which introduced a minimum wage rate of 8.50 euros per hour on January 1^st 2015, applies to all