27 July 2023
Work/Life – 27 of 107 Insights
Welcome to the latest edition of our international employment news update.
(you may require a subscription to view some of these articles)
The UK government have confirmed a 15% increase in the cost of work and visit visas and a 20% increase in the cost of student visas and sponsorship documents. It is hoped that the increased fee revenue will help fund public sector pay awards which the government have made in an attempt to settle union disputes and prevent strikes. The financial impact could be significant for businesses who want to attract the best talent in the future and for smaller companies who may not be able to afford higher sponsorship costs. There is no effective date for the increases but it is likely that they will take effect in late summer or autumn 2023.
Hundreds of UK employees have alleged a culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism and homophobia according to a recent BBC investigation into working conditions at the fast-food chain. This comes a few months after the company pledged to improve its culture with the Equality and Human Rights Commission and after a similar wave of allegations against them in the US. The company has set up a specialist unit to handle employee complaints and will refer the most serious cases to a third-party legal team. They are also hiring external experts to evaluate internal safeguarding protocols.
US employees demand more diversity at work
Current and former staff at US video-game giant Roblox have complained of a culture of marginalisation of minorities and a lack of willingness to address gender and racial diversity by executives. Claims include vice presidents using discriminatory and racially charged language to describe female managers. Internal quotas shared by the company show that senior staff members are primarily male and that it has no diversity targets when hiring or promoting staff, unlike other technology companies such as Meta.
Sarah Longman was made redundant from HML Holdings Ltd after 13 years and sued for sex discrimination and unfair dismissal citing a "laddish" and sexist workplace culture in the team she managed. This included regular immature pranks such as Nerf gun wars and throwing rubber chickens at each other, which she claimed created an overall culture that favoured male employees. She was unsuccessful in her claim after a female colleague said that she was not offended by the behaviour and that it was just workplace pranks.
New laws will be introduced in January 2024 in France with the aim to protect ferry operator workers against so called "social dumping", which is where staff are replaced with overseas workers for worse pay and conditions. This comes after P&O cruises in the UK were accused of social dumping in 2022 after laying off almost 800 workers to be replaced by agency workers, allegedly earning just £1.80 per hour. Once in force, ships may not be able to dock at French ports if operators have breached the new rules. French MPs are pushing the European Union to adopt similar laws across all member states.
Anti-strikes Bill becomes UK law
The controversial Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act was granted Royal Assent this week, after much opposition from trade unions and claims that it will damage workers' rights. The new law allows minimum levels of service to be required by firefighters, ambulance staff, railway workers and other workers in essential sectors during industrial action. Labour has pledged to repeal the law should it get into government.
Jaguar Land Rover owner to open UK electric car factory
The owner of Jaguar Land Rover, Tata, will build a flagship £4 billion electric car battery factory in Somerset, UK, to be completed in 2026. The new factory is expected to create 4,000 direct jobs and thousands in the supply chain and has been described as the most important UK automotive investment since Nissan in the 1980s. The government will provide Tata with subsidies worth hundreds of millions of pounds in a bid to incentivise investment in the UK.
31 October 2024
by Multiple authors
17 October 2024
by Multiple authors
5 September 2024
by Multiple authors
22 August 2024
by Multiple authors
25 July 2024
by Multiple authors
11 July 2024
by Multiple authors
27 June 2024
by Multiple authors
13 June 2024
by Multiple authors
16 May 2024
by Multiple authors
2 May 2024
by Multiple authors
18 April 2024
by Multiple authors
26 March 2024
by Multiple authors
7 March 2024
by Multiple authors
22 February 2024
by Multiple authors
8 February 2024
by Multiple authors
25 January 2024
by Multiple authors
11 January 2024
by Multiple authors
14 December 2023
by Multiple authors
30 November 2023
by Multiple authors
16 November 2023
by Multiple authors
2 November 2023
by Multiple authors
20 October 2023
by Multiple authors
5 October 2023
by Multiple authors
21 September 2023
by Multiple authors
7 September 2023
by Multiple authors
27 July 2023
by Multiple authors
11 July 2023
by Multiple authors
29 June 2023
by Multiple authors
15 June 2023
by Multiple authors
1 June 2023
by Multiple authors
18 May 2023
by Multiple authors
3 May 2023
by Multiple authors
19 April 2023
by Multiple authors
6 April 2023
by Multiple authors
23 March 2023
by Multiple authors
23 February 2023
by Multiple authors
9 February 2023
by Multiple authors
26 January 2023
by Multiple authors
12 January 2023
by Multiple authors
8 December 2022
by Multiple authors
17 November 2022
by Multiple authors
3 November 2022
by Multiple authors
21 October 2022
by Multiple authors
Issue 39
24 September 2021
Issue 34
1 July 2021
Issue 33
17 June 2021
Issue 32
3 June 2021
Issue 31
20 May 2021
Issue 29
22 April 2021
Issue 28
8 April 2021
Issue 27
25 March 2021
Issue 26
10 March 2021
Issue 25
24 February 2021
Issue 24
11 February 2021
Issue 23
27 January 2021
Issue 22
14 January 2021
Issue 21
17 December 2020
Issue 20
3 December 2020
Issue 19
19 November 2020
Issue 18
4 November 2020
Issue 17
23 October 2020
Issue 16
8 October 2020
Issue 15
24 September 2020
Issue 14
10 September 2020
Issue 13
6 August 2020
Issue 12
16 July 2020
Issue 11
25 June 2020
Issue 10
11 June 2020
Issue 7
30 April 2020
Issue 5
25 March 2020
Issue 3
27 January 2020
Issue 2
13 February 2020
Issue 1
27 February 2020
by multiple authors
by multiple authors
by Sean Nesbitt and Marc André Gimmy