Work/Life: international employment news update

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Issue 77

Welcome to the latest edition of our international employment news update.

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Federal procurement to be linked to working conditions in Germany

A new draft law of the German Ministry of Labour proposes to require companies, and their subcontractors, to comply with collective agreements applicable to their industry in order to secure government contracts with a value of over €10,000. The collective agreements would be prepared with input from trade unions and set out the minimum working conditions required for compliance, with an aim to combat unfair working conditions and pay in the low-wage sector. UK and other procurement authorities also take account of supply chain compliance in awarding contracts.

"Tesco chairman to step down despite being 'innocent until proven guilty'"

Tesco insist that John Allan steps down as chair after four women made allegations about his personal conduct, three of which were anonymous and unsubstantiated. He admits making one 'misjudged' comment about a female colleague's appearance at a conference in 2019 but denies all other allegations. Housebuilder Barratt quickly followed in announcing Mr Allan's departure as their chair, claiming that his alleged behaviour at Tesco could be disruptive to them. This follows the recent firing of Tony Danker as the CBI's director-general for conduct which he believed had been distorted.

CMA tells staff to spend half a day each week on diversity and inclusion

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has urged staff to spend one tenth of their working time away from their core work and instead taking part in internal equality, diversity and inclusivity activities in order to promote an inclusive culture where everyone can bring their whole selves to work. This comes amidst criticism from ministers that the CMA is failing to do its job properly.

NHS pays millions to sexual harassment victims

The UK National Health Service has paid out over £4 million in compensation and legal costs in relation to sexual misconduct cases over the past five years. A freedom of information request shows reports of over 1,500 incidents of sexual harassment and assault made during that period, by both staff and patients. NHS trusts are being urged to prioritise addressing issues of sexism, misogyny and sexual misconduct and to provide support for victims of these behaviours.

Surge in French union membership

Following President Emmanuel Macron's push to raise the retirement age in France, unions are seeing a surge in membership, with interest growing among young workers and private sector workers where unions were historically less well represented. Union membership in France has stagnated over the last decade, especially following the overhaul of the labour code in 2017 which gave companies more freedom to set working conditions, a point which would have previously been negotiated by unions.

Crackdown on student visas in the UK

From January 2024, international students, except those studying for PhDs or other research-led postgraduate courses, will not be allowed to bring family members to the UK. This is in response to evidence that international students may be using study visas to join masters' programmes as a "back door" way of securing a job in the UK and bringing family over, following a spike in the number of dependents of sponsored students. The UK's inbound immigration is at a record high, despite provisions to reduce it after Brexit.

China's youth unemployment crisis

China's economic growth has rebounded following the Covid-19 pandemic, but unemployment levels amongst young people have risen, reaching a new high of almost four times the national level in April. With a flurry of almost 12 million new graduates set to join the labour market over summer, there are worries that the problem will only get worse. The government is drawing up plans to expand recruitment and encourage businesses to hire graduates while urging graduates to take up manual labour roles in the meantime.

Dutch delivery workers found to be underage, underpaid and without permits

During recent inspections into more than 350 delivery workers and companies across 13 cities, workers were found to be under the legal working age of 16, lacking the correct papers to work in the Netherlands and not being paid the legal minimum wage or being paid cash in hand. This follows recent criticism from the labour inspectorate that meal delivery companies regularly break laws meant to protect their workers and is amidst growing concern that self-employed delivery workers may be avoiding tax on a large scale.