Fighting sex discrimination: actions for employers

Australian employers should act now to ensure compliance with their positive duty to fight sex discrimination at work. Background On 10 August 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission (‘AHRC’) released its new Guidelines for Complying with the Positive Duty under the Sex Discrimination Act. While not legally binding, the Guidelines are an authoritative resource intended to support employers and others conducting a business or undertaking to…

Pay Transparency Directive FAQs

The Pay Transparency Directive will create new gender pay gap reporting obligations throughout the EU. In this article, we answer some frequently asked questions about this new legislation. What is the Pay Transparency Directive? The Pay Transparency Directive will require employers throughout the EU to either implement gender pay gap reporting for the first time or, in countries where it already exists, broaden the scope…

The right to disconnect around the world

Ius Laboris‘ interactive map shows the countries that have passed specific laws to guarantee employees the right to disconnect from work outside of work hours. For those with ‘teleworkable’ jobs, remote work increased significantly during the pandemic. While the number of employees working remotely decreased again as restrictions were lifted, the numbers have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. As part of its analysis of findings…

It’s finally here: adequacy decision on EU-US data transfers

Data transfers from the EU to the US will now be easier for many companies, following a long-awaited decision from the European Commission. More than a year after the first announcement of the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework, the European Commission adopted its adequacy decision on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) on 10 July 2023, which entered into force with immediate effect. Transfers to US companies signed up…

The four-day week trial results are in: what happened?

A final report into a multi-national four-day week trial has been published. It declares the trial ‘a resounding success on virtually every dimension’, with the vast majority of participating employers pledging to continue. Background In early 2022, 33 employers signed up to test out four-day working weeks for a six-month period. The trial, organised by the organisation 4 Day Week Global in collaboration with researchers at Cambridge…

Menschenrechte in der Lieferkette – was Personaler jetzt wissen müssen

Menschenrechts- und umweltbezogene Sorgfaltspflichten in Bezug auf Zulieferer nach dem Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) betreffen nicht nur internationale Großkonzerne, sondern Unternehmen jeder Größe innerhalb der Lieferkette. Die Mehrheit der geschützten Menschenrechtspositionen weist unmittelbaren Bezug zum Arbeitsleben auf. Personalabteilungen sollten sich daher mit den Regelungen vertraut machen. Am 1. Januar 2023 tritt das Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) in Kraft. Bei unzureichender Einhaltung von menschenrechtlichen und umweltbezogenen Standards nicht nur im…

Unreported sexual harassment: do employers have duties?

The Luxembourg Court of Appeal has ruled that an employer did not breach its obligations by failing to act on sexual harassment when an employee did not report alleged incidents until she resigned. At a time when victims of sexual violence are speaking out, and making significant waves in the media and beyond (the Weinstein affair, #Metoo, Balance ton porc, etc.), the Luxembourg Court of…

Making mental health a priority in the workplace

In Spain, both employers and public authorities are taking initiatives to improve workers’ mental health. In general, in Spain people have a positive perception of their state of health, both physically and psychologically. In 2020, 75.51% of the population aged 15 and over rated their state of health positively, and this positive perception among Spaniards has remained virtually unchanged over the last 33 years (see here)….

Vorsicht: Erweiterte Nachweispflichten bei Auslandsaufenthalten

Die Erstellung von Nachweisen aufgrund der zum 1. August 2022 in Kraft getretenen Änderungen des Nachweisgesetzes hat so mancher Personalabteilung den letzten Nerv geraubt. Sollten Arbeitgeber dem weitverbreiteten Mitarbeiterwunsch nach „Workation“ bzw. mobilem Arbeiten aus dem Ausland nachgeben, müssen sie nach den neuen Bestimmungen des Nachweisgesetzes mit weiterem Aufwand rechnen. Die Herausforderungen, welche die Erstellung der nach der Gesetzesänderung deutlich umfangreicheren Nachweise über die wesentlichen…

A negative attitude at work: grounds for termination?

Can an employee’s poor attitude and communication style be a reason to terminate their employment? A court in the Netherlands has ruled it can. Culpable behaviour by employees is clear if there is evidence of theft, fraud or (sexual) harassment, for example. Professional underperformance also constitutes grounds for dismissal if there is sufficient documentation. But what if the employee substantively performs well, but his or…