News Flash
Ryanair found in breach of labour laws
A French criminal court has ordered Ryanair to pay over €8 million in damages for breach of labour laws. The airline had used Irish labour law and employment contracts, despite the employees concerned being stationed in Marseille. As a result,
Future of meal vouchers uncertain
The use of meal vouchers (chèques-repas) as a method of remuneration in Belgium could cease as from next year if a vote in October passes the proposed law. Meal vouchers, which are currently issued in 70,000 companies to 1.6 million
Third Party Harassment
UK employers will no longer be automatically held vicariously liable for harassment of employees by third parties (persons other than the employer and colleagues) or for failure to take reasonable steps to prevent such harassment.
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
High post-compete penalty not excessive
A Polish District Court has recently found that an employer was justified in the termination of an employee who refused to sign a post employment non-compete agreement. Although the penalties set out in the agreement were high the court accepted
Industrial action leaves employer in limbo
Denmark’s dysfunctional labour relations legislation has been illustrated by the recent walkout of 130 employees at Carlsberg’s Fredericia plant. The dispute is not between the trade union and the company, but between the local union for brewery workers and a
“Applicable law” case for air crews
In a surprise decision the Norwegian Appeals Court (Borgarting lagmannsrett) has decided that a case brought against the Irish airline Ryanair by a former cabin crew member for wrongful dismissal must be heard in a Norwegian court. Ryanair has repeatedly
Why the UK downturn has lasted so long
FedEE recently reported problems in the eurozone, where employers have continued to increase salaries during the downturn in spite of falling levels of corporate value added. However, the situation in the UK has been even more dramatic.
Over the so-called
Employees encouraged to report corporate crime
On September 15th 2013 Malta’s Whistleblower Act comes into force. This requires all large companies to establish a specialist unit to deal with information about fraud, corruption and other criminal acts. If the information is found to have any substance
Public-private job agency partnerships
Agreement has been reached on a common framework allowing collaboration between Spain’s public employment services and private sector agencies. A budget of 200 million euros has been established to cover the costs of the new ventures over the next two
Real wages rise, but agreement duration falls
An analysis of wage developments in Germany carried out by the Hans Boeckler Foundation has found that negotiated wage rates rose in Germany by an average of 2.7% last year, compared to a 2% rise in consumer prices over the
Works councils may veto the use of agency workers
The German Federal Labour Court (7 ABR 91/11) recently ruled that a works council had the right to veto the use of agency workers in their company because the workers were not subject to clear limitations on the duration of
CAO voting rights for nonunionised employees
An advisory body to the Dutch government – the Socio-Economic Council (SER) – has recommended thay non-unionised employees should be given a direct say in collective agreements (CAOs) operating in their economic sectors. Around 80% of employees in the Netherlands
Removal of tax break for high worth foreigners
Switzerland’s Federal Council (Cabinet) has issued a resolution which opposes a popular initiative to abolish flat tax-rate for wealthy foreigners. The system currently allows persons with a net wealth greater than 1,523,930 euros to be taxed at a fixed rate,
Further pressure on men to share maternity leave
One of the primary concerns of a draft “men-women equality” law just submitted to the French Cabinet is the encouragement of men to share maternity leave and also take paternity leave.
As the law stands, women may take six months
The legality of secondary employment contracts
The Czech Supreme Court has been deliberating over the practice of employing the same worker on two separate contracts. The case in question involved a delivery driver who was paid on one contract to deliver goods and on another for