Issue 115
Welcome to the latest edition of our international employment news update.
In this edition we look at:
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Ben & Jerry's CEO: ousted for political activism?
A legal case filed by Ben & Jerry's in a US court alleges that its chief executive, David Stever, was removed from his position by the parent company, Unilever, due to the ice cream company's political activism. The legal case argues that Unilever has breached their merger agreement by trying to silence Ben & Jerry's 'social mission'. The relationship between Unilever and Ben & Jerry's has reportedly been tense for some time with the ice cream company claiming that Unilever demanded that they stop publicly criticising President Trump and stop expressing support for Palestinian refugees. Ben & Jerry's are renowned for being vocal on social issues. It will be interesting to see whether this continues under a different CEO.
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US executive orders influence European DEI initiatives
The latest companies to change their DEI practices in response to President Trump's executive orders are the Swiss pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novartis. Roche has announced the scrapping of global diverse workforce targets and Novartis has stopped the use of diverse panels for US hiring. Roche's Chief Diversity Offices in the US and its Swiss headquarters are to now focus on inclusion and belonging, with references to diversity being removed. Another Swiss organisation, UBS, has also made changes including removing references to establishing women in leadership roles and hiring from ethnic minority backgrounds in its annual report. Roche justified the changes applying outside of the US 'because our global programmes and goals can have an impact on our U.S. organisations if we are not compliant under the new law'.
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Google settle racial bias class action
Google has settled a lawsuit of racial bias with it being alleged that white and Asian employees received better pay and career progression than workers from other ethnic backgrounds. The case was filed in 2021 by a former employee who claimed that workers from Hispanic, Latino and other backgrounds started on lower salaries than their white and Asian colleagues. The class action lawsuit was filed for at least 6,632 people who worked at Google between February 2018 and December 2024. Despite agreeing to pay USD28 million in settlement, Google has denied the allegations and 'remain committed to paying, hiring, and levelling all employees fairly'.
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The 'husband tax' costs German women 20% of their wages
A new study found that German women see a 20% drop in their earnings after they marry, regardless of whether they have children. Researchers at Munich's IFO Institute and the University of Oslo found that the decrease in pay is mainly due to either complete withdrawal from work or reduced work hours, as a result of increased responsibilities at home. 10% of female employees stop working after getting married and the rest work around 20% fewer hours. The survey found that this decrease is gradual, with the housework done by women increasing following marriage. Interestingly, the wages of men and their working patterns were not found to be impacted by marriage. It seems that Germany's tax policies may contribute to these changes in working habits because Germany's ehegattensplitting provides greater tax advantages when there is a material income disparity between spouses. This helps to reinforce traditional gender roles.
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McDonald's UK warned about protecting employees from sexual abuse
Every McDonald's branch in Britain has been warned that they could face legal action if they do not take steps to protect their staff from sexual abuse. The Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to the branches saying they must comply with their legal duties or may face enforcement action. This followed a BBC investigation which showed a toxic culture of sexual assault and harassment inside the popular fast-food chain.
In February 2023, the Commission made an agreement with McDonald's to prevent sexual harassment in the organisation, but franchises were not covered by the agreement, despite many of the restaurants being run by franchises.
The chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee questioned why the Commission was only now contacting McDonald's about their new duty to prevent sexual harassment from taking place, when the law has been in place for nearly six months. He commented that it was 'especially concerning because the regulator has known about hundreds of allegations of harassment for several years'.
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Dutch bank faces fine over bonuses
ABN Amro risks a fine from the Dutch Central Bank due to a potential breach of the national bonus cap. The bank disclosed in its annual report that discussions with the regulator were underway, with no formal decision having been reached yet.
The Netherlands have stricter bonus rules for banks than in most European countries. Since 2015, the Dutch cap has been at 20%, in comparison to general European guidelines, which allow bonuses of up to 100% of fixed salaries. Banks that are still partly state-owned, such as ABN Amro, are forbidden from issuing bonuses.
The bank's remuneration committee commented last year that ABN Amro risks losing talent because of the limits that the bonus prohibition imposes.
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Free childcare for UK Uber drivers
Uber has announced an allowance of 20 hours of free childcare for its drivers for the rest of 2025, in a bid to increase the number of female Uber drivers. The childcare will be available through Bubble, a babysitting and nannying app, that matches parents with childminders. The drivers will be able to make use of the free childcare at any time, not just when they are working for Uber. The announcement has been met with a mixed response with the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain calling it a "cynical PR stunt", arguing that "[i]f Uber really wanted to support families, they would pay drivers enough money so that they could afford time off to be with their children".
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French delivery workers denounce 'modern slavery'
Delivery workers of companies like Deliveroo and Uber Eats gathered in major cities across France on 18 March 2025 to protest against the reduction in their pay. They were particularly protesting the lack of transparency as to the calculation of their pay, which is set by an algorithm. Trade union representatives stated that delivery workers' pay had decreased by 25% from last year, whilst they continue to have expenses, such as gas and insurance to pay. A spokesperson for the delivery workers called the conditions 'modern slavery' with drivers having no choice but to work for the delivery platforms in precarious conditions. The drivers are calling for new measures around their rights including the implementation of a minimum income based on the time and distance of deliveries.
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