Work/Life: international employment news update

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Issue 80

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

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Claimant awarded GBP100,000 over trans-related tweets

An Employment Tribunal has awarded the head of the "Sex Matters" campaign group over GBP100,000 for losing out on a job after posting trans-related tweets. Maya Forstater tweeted that people could not change their biological sex and the Centre for Global Development subsequently did not renew her unpaid visiting fellowship nor did they offer her employment. Originally a Tribunal rejected Ms Forstater's philosophical belief discrimination claim in 2019, but on appeal a fresh Tribunal found that Ms Forstater had experienced direct discrimination related to her gender-critical beliefs.

Proposed UK law to tackle bullying at work

The Bullying and Respect at Work Bill is being presented to UK parliament to combat workplace bullying, if passed the law would follow in the footsteps of European countries such as France and Denmark. With an estimated 15% of the UK workforce reportedly having experienced bullying at work, the legislation would introduce processes for reporting, investigation and enforcement to give a direct route to restitution and promote positive actions from employers. There are hopes that this would reduce the amount of working days lost due to bullying related sickness. The proposed law is a private member's bill, which means it is not certain to get government backing or be passed, but 3 such bills made the UK statute book in May 2023.

China's biggest travel agent will pay employees to have children

From 1 July 2023, one of the world's largest online travel agencies Trip.com Group will pay employees 50,000 yuan (around GBP5,000) for each child they have. They will then pay 10,000 yuan (around GBP1,000) annually to employees for the first five years of their child's life. This is the first benefit of its kind offered by a large privately owned employer in China, as they attempt to deal with the country's ageing population and shrinking workforce after the one-child policy came to an end in 2015.

France must do more to reduce workplace sexism, say campaigners

The French gender equality group #StOpE "Stop ordinary sexism in the workplace", set up by EY, Accord and L'Oreal in 2018, published a new barometer on workplace sexism on 15 June 2023. It reports positive developments, however around 80% of women say they are regularly confronted at work with sexist attitudes and decisions. People surveyed consider the French government is not doing enough to reduce inequality and sexism in the workplace and should promote awareness of sexual harassment and sexist acts.

Dutch pension system overhaul

The Future of Pensions Act, effective as of 1 July 2023, marks the start of a complete overhaul of the pensions system in the Netherlands which is due to complete by 1 January 2028. The new law aims to better suit a flexible workforce who no longer work for one employer for their entire career, as the contribution that employees pay at each age will benefit their pension rather than most of the pension being accrued at the end of their career. It will also be easier for pension providers to use the proceeds of investments, in a bid to increase pension pots after a recent plateau in gains.

Compensation for weekend and night shifts in Slovakia

New legislation effective from June 2023 means that employees in Slovakia working non-standard hours will be paid additional hourly compensation, for example for evening and weekend work. The amount of the uplift will be calculated as a percentage of the minimum wage which rises each year, in response to rising inflation. The amount will vary for those who regularly work anti-social hours as part of their usual work schedule and will be higher if employees are working in a particularly demanding environment or if the work poses a danger to their health.

UK's first trade union for judges set up following whistleblowing success

The district judge who won a landmark case in the Supreme Court in 2019 is elected as president of the UK's first judges' branch of trade union. Claire Gilham was successful in a seven-year battle against the Ministry of Justice after she was ignored and bullied for raising concerns around judges' workloads, administrative failures and a lack of secure court rooms. In its decision, the Supreme Court ruled that excluding judges from whistleblowing protection was a breach of their human rights. This comes amid steady implementation of the EU Whistleblower Directive across EU member states.

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