Issue 112
Welcome to the latest edition of our international employment news update.
In this edition we look at:
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Work-life balance trumps pay: a global shift in employee priorities
Randstad's 2025 Workmonitor survey reports a significant shift in employee priorities worldwide. For the first time in the survey's 22-year history, work-life balance has surpassed pay as the top motivator for workers. The survey, which included 26,000 employees across 35 countries, found that 83% of respondents ranked work-life balance as their highest priority, slightly ahead of pay at 82%. This trend is particularly pronounced among younger workers, with 74% of Gen Z prioritising work-life balance over pay. The shift reflects the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work culture, with flexible working becoming more normalised. Employees are also increasingly valuing a sense of community at work, with 83% wanting their workplace to provide this. The survey highlights that workers are willing to take action if their expectations are not met, with 45% reporting they have campaigned for better working conditions.
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Navigating Trump's anti-DEI landscape
At the 2025 Davos World Economic Forum, business leaders stood firm despite presidential directives targeting DEI programs and gender recognition, executives from companies like Uber, Ralph Lauren, and Hindustan Zinc reaffirmed their commitment to inclusive workplace practices, recognising both societal and economic benefits. In the UK, 57% of businesses now consider DEI a strategic priority in recruitment, with potential to add billions to the economy. Some corporations have scaled back diversity efforts, while other leaders argue that such initiatives make sound financial sense. The UK is moving towards data-driven DEI strategies with increased regulatory involvement, including mandatory diversity metric disclosures and pay gap reporting. Organisations failing to meet these standards may face reputational risks and potential fines.
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CJEU ruling on time recording for domestic employees
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has determined that domestic employers must establish a system to document the daily working hours of their employees. This ruling ensures that domestic workers can exercise their rights effectively in cases of dismissal. The decision arose from a case in Spain where a domestic employee contested her unfair dismissal. The Spanish court had dismissed the claim due to insufficient evidence, as there were no time records, and Spanish law exempted domestic employers from maintaining such records. The CJEU referenced its 2019 judgment, which deemed the exemption for domestic employers unlawful. Additionally, it highlighted the challenges faced by workers in this sector in substantiating their working hours.
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Discriminatory harassment: no need to show discriminatory practices to imply the existence of discrimination
In November 2024, the French Supreme Court ruled that discriminatory harassment can justify an employee's termination of their employment contract, even in the absence of other discriminatory practices. If the facts presented by the employee suggest discrimination and the employer cannot demonstrate that these facts are unrelated to any discrimination, then discrimination is implied.
The High Court found that an employer’s failure to address issues raised by an employee - such as repeated racist remarks, criticism of their private life, or being excluded from morning greetings - constitutes discrimination. These reported incidents imply the existence of discrimination without requiring a demonstrable act of moral harassment towards the employee. This decision bolsters existing case law favouring employees regarding the burden of proof in discrimination cases and is consistent with approaches in the UK.
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Dutch temps worked 8% less in 2024
According to a report from the temporary workers organisation ABU, temporary workers in the Netherlands worked 8% fewer hours in 2024. This marks the third consecutive year of declining working hours within the sector. Though the reduction was less pronounced than in 2023, the decrease affected all sectors, with the administrative sector experiencing the most significant drop of 17%. Working hours fell by 3% in the industrial sector and by 11% in the technological sector.
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Algorithm as managers: demands for transparency
Major food delivery apps in the UK are under scrutiny as a coalition of organisations call for transparency regarding the algorithms that govern courier work. UberEats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat, which collectively receive nearly £9 billion in annual revenue, are being urged to disclose how their algorithms affect pay, job access, and account terminations for over 100,000 UK couriers. The coalition, including the TUC, Amnesty International, and various workers' unions, argues that the current "black-box" algorithms are leading to exploitation and creating stress for workers. This push for transparency aligns with growing concerns about AI in the workplace and recent legislative efforts, such as the EU's Platform Work Directive, which aims to protect gig workers from opaque algorithmic decision-making.
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