News Flash
Australia: Goodbye 457
The Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has announced that he is going to end the 457 via programme which has allowed employers to recruit skilled labour from overseas in recent years. The scheme allowed a worker to bring their family
Philippines: Strong job growth
Labour growth in the national capital region stood at 3.36% in Q4 2016, up from 0.62 in the equivalent period a year earlier. Although 7.79% of workers left their jobs during the quarter, the accession rate was 11.14%. The improvement
Comment: The FedEE Top 20
Which country is it best to invest in from an HR point of view? There are hundreds of factors to take into account from a general business perspective, but ultimately the list can be reduced to just six.
In an
Comment: The advanced parity method
There has been much talk and speculation in recent years about establishing pan-European and even pan-global pay rates. Certainly it is a preoccupation of many multinational enterprises to harmonise their reward policy. Generally, however, it is the local salaries market
Ireland: Employee tips distribution
A new national minimum wage bill has been introduced into the Irish Dáil (lower house of parliament) that is designed to ensure that employees in the service sector receive in full any tips or service charge payments left by customers.
Brazil: Labour reforms introduced
A controversial labour law has now been signed by Brazil’s President Michel Temer. It opens up Brazil as an outsourcing centre with only minimal restrictions and introduces a minimum 25-year contribution period before anyone may receive a state pension. Retirement
Iran: 14.5% hike in minimum pay
The workers’ minimum wage in Iran has been raised by 14.5% to 9.3 million rials (US$286.91) per month. The Supreme Labour Council also agreed a living monthly wage of 24.8 million rials (US$768.65), based on a family averaging three and
Comment: European night work trends
Although much has been written about the health dangers of working at night and EU Directives establish a framework of legal restrictions on the duration of night work and who can work at night, there is little reliable data on
Canada: Review of labour law
Alberta’s Labour Minister, Christina Gray, has launched a review of the Employment Standards and Labour Relations Codes. Neither measure has been fundamentally changed in over three decades and there is concern that, in particular, the legal framework for maternity and
USA: Travel ban blocked
A second executive order banning immigration from a number of Islamic countries has been temporarily blocked by federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii. It now remains uncertain how far the new US administration can go to control immigration.
Comment: Missing the point
Doaa Elghobashy was the first Olympic athlete to compete in a hijab last year, whilst Nike has announced it will be launching its own version of the sports hijab next year. This week secular Turkey has even agreed to let
Scotland: Referendum on independence
11.45am: The Scottish First Minister has confirmed that she will be seeking a Section 30 order to allow a second referendum on membership of the United Kingdom between the Autumn of 2018 and the Spring of 2019. This means that
Comment: The taxing question
One of the biggest issues facing companies operating across borders is in which country should their geographically mobile staff pay income tax and social security contributions.
A great deal depends on the nature of the geographical mobility and the countries
USA/EU: Visa Waiver in balance
The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee has voted to block visa-free travel by US citizens to EU countries in the schengen zone. This follows the refusal of US immigration authorities to allow visa-free travel for citizens of five EU countries
China: Combating unemployment
Unemployment insurance in many provinces of China has been lowered from 1.5% to 1%. This concession will remain until April 30th 2018. In Shenzhen, a total of 19812 enterprises have also applied for stability subsidies so far this year