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2024年2月22日
Work/Life – 21 / 113 观点
Work/Life: international employment news update
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Issue 93
Welcome to the latest edition of our international employment news update.
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United Kingdom
Regulator tells UK financial firms to disclose discrimination and sexual harassment cases
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is investigating how financial services firms deal with non-financial misconduct. Firms with notice will be compelled to share the number of discrimination and sexual harassment cases since 2021, how they managed them, and the outcomes, including NDAs and employment tribunal proceedings.
The regulator has sent notice to more than 1,000 financial firms, including 184 investment banks, 217 commercial insurers, 349 insurance intermediaries and 288 wholesale brokers. The move comes amid reports of inadequate handling of sensitive misconduct cases, with victims met with taciturn responses or even forced resignation. Firms who do not comply may be met with censure, fines or premise searches.
UK government urged to double maternity pay
Trade union Unison and maternity rights charity Maternity Action have put pressure on the UK government to increase statutory maternity pay, after a survey revealed 58% of new mothers return to work before they are ready in order to ease financial burdens. The organisations are seeking pay for new mothers of at least the national minimum wage (GBP10.42 an hour) – more than double the current GBP172.48 statutory weekly payment.
The research revealed hardships suffered by new mothers: of the 1,400 surveyed, 48% reported buying less-healthy food to save money, and 35% skipped meals or downsized portions to ease financial strain. Unison's secretary general Chrisina McAnea said: "The government is effectively forcing many women to choose between work and family. They must raise maternity pay to ensure no one is penalised for having a baby."
UK cracks down on sale of companies to employee-owned trusts
The UK government is expected to further regulate the practice of selling companies to employee-owned trusts in the Spring 2024 Budget. The current regime, brought in in 2014, provides for an unlimited tax break on the sale of businesses to their employees. It is anticipated that the changes will include more regulation of offshore trusts and compelling former owners to give up control. In the ten years the regime has been active, disposals to employee trusts have increased tenfold. The Spring Budget will be delivered on 6 March 2024.
Germany
New proposed German law on transparency
On 16 February 2024, the Proposed Law was published. The Law modifies the Workers' Statute to improve labour rights in line with the EU Transparency Directive.
Firstly, the Law requires the fundamental elements of the employment contract to be formalised in writing. The worker must be informed in writing, with prior notice, of their work schedule and possible changes to this schedule.
For part-time employees, the contract must identify the number of hours to be worked per day, week, month or year. In addition, the distribution of how these hours will be worked must be set out. Employees will be entitled to a copy of their working time register.
Another important change is that the company will no longer be able to reduce or increase the hours of part-time employees. If the company wants to reduce the hours, the employee can reject the proposal and cannot be dismissed or punished due to their rejection.
Finally, the Law also introduces the possibility for part-time employees with at least six months' seniority to apply for vacant positions that are full-time.
France
French leave reconciliation: employers could bear huge financial cost
In October 2023, the French Supreme Court reversed its position on accrual of paid leave for employees on sick leave and aligned with European case law after many years of divergence: French employees on sick leave or absent due to an accident will now continue to acquire paid leave.
Since this reverse, the Constitutional Court has been asked to assess whether or not the provisions of the French Labour Code (according to which employees cannot accrue paid leave during sick leave) are contrary to the French Constitution. On 9 February 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled these provisions were not in breach of the French Constitution.
While the Constitutional Court's decision does not invalidate the decision of the French Supreme Court, it does mean that French rules regarding accrual of paid leave during sick leave conflict with European law. The dilemma of how lawmakers will adapt French law to European law persists. A resolution is eagerly awaited by many employers concerned about the financial impact of the French Supreme Court's decision: under French law, courts’ decisions have a retroactive effect and back payment of paid leave can be requested up to three years in arrears.
Netherlands
Dutch wage gap also exists among freelancers, self-employed
The gender wage gap also exists among freelancers, according to a study among 10,000 self-employed people by the online bank Knab. On average, female freelancers’ hourly rate is lower than that of their male colleagues with the same education and experience. The hourly rate of women with a college or university education is, on average, 13% lower than that of their male colleagues doing the same work with similar education and experience. Despite the wage gap, women and men are equally satisfied with the hourly rate they earn, the researchers found. “In both groups, 65% are happy with their hourly rate. That may mean self-employed women are unaware of this gap,” Zwart said.
Dutch employers still struggling to find staff
Employers are still struggling to find staff. Although the number of vacancies is steadily declining, there are also fewer unemployed people to fill the vacancies. For every hundred unemployed people, there were 114 open vacancies in the last quarter of 2023, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports. This means that the shortage in the labour market is the same as in the third quarter of 2023. The shortage has not lessened because the number of jobs has kept growing (last quarter, 45,000 jobs were added, bringing the total to 11.6 million jobs). Jobs grew especially in the catering, transport, construction, and care sectors. In the temporary employment sector, jobs fell by 4,000.
Poland
Polish Business Harbour programme suspended
The Polish Business Harbour ("PBH") programme, which was designed to attract IT and new tech talents to relocate to Poland, was partially suspended at the end of 2023. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now also halted the authorisation of visa recommendation applications processed through the Polish Investment and Trade Agency. This suspension remains in place until solutions are adopted to ensure proper verification of companies and foreigners benefiting from the programme. Concerns have been raised about the misuse of PBH visas, complicating the implementation of IT companies' strategies in Poland that heavily relied on foreign talents, particularly from Eastern Europe.
Slovakia
Self-employed individuals subject to a significant rise in Slovakia
Over the past three decades, the proportion of self-employed persons in Slovakia has grown the fastest in the European Union. This surge is particularly prominent in the sectors of industry, construction and low-skilled services. The number of sole traders which currently accounts for 82% of Slovakia's self-employed has increased at a fast pace in recent years. Simultaneously, the total number of employees has dropped significantly. This trend raises concerns over the spread of bogus self-employment practices.
EU
ECJ judgement: pay in lieu of holiday upon early retirement
On 18 January 2024, the European Court of Justice ruled that employees are entitled to compensation for untaken holiday if they have not been able to use all of their holiday before they leave. This applies even in cases of early retirement. This decision was made following a case brought by an Italian municipal worker who took early retirement and sought compensation for unused leave.
The Court emphasised that employers must actively ensure employees can take their annual leave and that failure to do so could result in compensation claims. These principles underline the importance of employees' holiday rights and the employer's responsibility to inform them about their holiday entitlements.
