Work/Life: international employment news update

Most Dutch people want to continue working from home

A large study presented by the Travel Differently Coalition has found that most Dutch people who currently work from home wish to continue doing so after the COVID-19 pandemic. The main reasons why employees like working from home is the time saved through not commuting, and the ability to be more flexible with working hours. More than a third of those surveyed also said they work more efficiently when at home.

Private equity firm Blackstone announces UK vaccination requirement

Blackstone has announced that employees based in their London office must be vaccinated against COVID-19 as of next week. They 'believe that this is the best way, for now, to help protect our employees and their families.' Similarly, Boeing has told its employees in the US that they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by 8 December 2021 and that 'compliance with these requirements is a condition of employment'.

Germany's workers enjoy a strong position

Germany's workers are enjoying their strongest position in three decades as they demand higher pay in the midst of an acute shortage of skilled staff, reports the Economist. The Economist notes that trade unions are eager to use their increased power. For example, IF Metall, Germany's biggest union, is demanding a 4.5% pay increase for wood and plastic workers immediately, whilst industry bosses are offering a 1.2% pay rise next year and a 1.3% rise the following year.

Employers in Slovakia indicate acute lack of workers

While the first and the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic saw a decrease in the number of job ads in Slovakia, vacancies are now on the rise again. However, employers across different industries, particularly the IT sector, report that they are struggling to find qualified candidates. The country's weak education system has been cited as the root cause of this labour shortage. Many employers also believe that greater flexibility in employment legislation would help them attract the brightest minds.

Number of job listings in Hungary climbs 70%

The number of job listings in Hungary has increased 70% since April compared to the same period a year earlier. The growing number of listings suggests that more people are looking for new opportunities according to Profession.hu. Their survey also indicated that companies are developing their recruitment efforts with 29% of companies spending more on recruitment.

UK job vacancies hit a record high

The Office for National Statistics' figures for September revealed that job vacancies that month hit a record high of almost 1.2 million. The data also showed that there are a total of 29.2 million people on payrolls which is 120,000 more than pre-pandemic levels and up 207,000 from August. Unemployment continued to fall in September, reaching 4.5%. The rate of decline may decrease this month due to the furlough scheme winding up at the end of September.

Can a part-time employee work full-time? Not in France

On 15 September, the French Court of Cassation ruled that it is not possible for a part-time worker to work full-time. They held that as soon as a part-time employee works as much as the full-time legal duration in France (35 hours) or the conventional minimum for full time, the contract can be requalified as a full-time contract. Working full-time for a single week justifies the requalification of the contract as full-time.

Poland issues more residence permits than any other EU country

Figures released by Eurostat show that no other EU country issued a higher number of residence permits for employment in 2020 than Poland. The newly released data shows that 40 percent of the permits issued by the EU’s members were related to work, 28 percent concerned residency and 11 percent were for educational reasons.

Polish Prime Minister announces sponsorship tax relief for entrepreneurs

A sponsor, by incurring costs for a sports club or supporting culture and science, can use these costs twice for tax purposes. Firstly, by calculating the tax base (income minus costs) and, secondly, by subtracting 50 percent of such costs from the already calculated tax base. In total, this reduces the tax base by 150 percent of the costs spent for sport/culture/higher education and science. The purpose of the relief is to build “a stronger connection of local companies with their surroundings,”.

Delivery drivers launch action against Amazon

Two delivery drivers have launched a claim against Amazon over their rights. They are claiming that drivers hired by third party delivery companies to work for Amazon should be given the rights that Amazon employees enjoy.