News Flash

The French government has announced an increase in the national minimum wage (SMIC). The 2% increase effective on July 1st represents a 0.6% rise above inflation and takes the hourly rate to 9.40 euros and monthly rate to 1425.67 euros.

The German parliament has passed a bill to implement the EU Directive for Highly Skilled Migrants. This means that from August 1st 2012, Citizens of non-EU states will be able to enter and reside in Germany in order to carry

From November 2012 applicants for a standard Russian work permit will be required to pass a test which includes questions about Russian history, language and culture. Those applying for permits under the highly qualified specialist program will, however, be exempted

The Portuguese Parliament has recently approved a revision of the Labour Code (no. 46/XII). The new law is awaiting promulgation and publication which is expected in the forthcoming weeks. The revision covers a wide range of employment issues including severance

The French Supreme Court has further limited an employee’s right to workplace privacy by ruling that information stored in the ‘my documents’ folder of a work computer may be monitored by their employer – even without the employee being present.

Spanish Royal Decree 3/2012 has modified article 13 of the Workers Statute by introducing and regulating the term ‘distance working’. This type of activity is normally carried out in the worker’s home, as opposed to a company workplace.
Under the

The average number of usual weekly hours worked by individuals in their main job varies significantly by level of seniority in a company. According to Eurostat, in 2011 managers in the EU worked an average of 44.9 hours a week

A new five-year pay deal has been concluded for temporary agency workers in Germany’s engineering sector.

Although in principle Germany follows the legal basis of equal pay for equal work, this rule was liberalised as part of the Hartz reforms

Due to an amendment in the Commercial Companies Code, it is now possible to form a new limited liability company in Poland with the minimum of delay and bureaucracy. Details can be  submitted online at the Ministry of justice website

Further details are emerging about the Dutch government’s austerity plan. It is now clear that the tax-free travel allowance that may be paid to employees for travelling to and from work is to be abolished. However, it would appear that

This week the largest trade union Federation in Europe will be formed following the merger of the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF), the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers’ Federation (EMCEF) and the European Trade Union Federation for Textiles, Clothing and

The Bulgarian minimum wage rose on May 1st from BGN 270 to BGN 290 (148.27 euros) a month. Trade unions are pressing the government to raise the minimum wage still further to BGN 330 (168.73 euros) by 2013.

Germany’s leading coalition party, the CDU, has decided to introduce a mandatory minimum wage covering all sectors of the economy. Agreement has yet to be reached with the other two coalition parties, but the CDU proposal would involve the establishment

The European Commission has proposed a new directive to simplify the re-registration of cars moving permanently between EU member states. The proposition would allow for vehicles to be registered in the member state where the owner ‘normally resides’. Citizens who

The Italian government has approved a number of important employment law reforms. These clamp down on the misuse of flexible employment contracts and make it easier to carry out
individual redundancies. In return, several improvements have been introduced to the