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Daily briefing paused from 22 July to 26 August inclusive
mind RH team is taking time off to enjoy the summer break in Europe. Our news feed will recommence on the morning of 27 August. You can of course access all our previous articles, features and...
Italy: use of a facial recognition system to check employee attendance declared illegal
The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, GPDP) has condemned a car dealership for violating the personal data of its employees. The company used a...
19 July 2024
United Kingdom: union fails in bid for recognition at Amazon
The GMB union failed to secure a sufficient number of votes to officially represent staff at Amazon’s Coventry warehouses, which would have forced the American online retail giant to...
EU: re-elected, Ursula von der Leyen unveils agenda for new term in office
On 18 July, the European Parliament approved Ursula von der Leyen’s candidacy for re-election as president of the European Commission until 2029, by 401 votes to 284. In her speech to MEPs...
Germany: new definition of salaries for works council members
Following votes in the Bundestag (28 June) and Bundesrat (5 July), the draft 'second law amending the law on the organisation of companies' (BetrVG) has been definitively adopted, marking the...
United Kingdom: workers’ rights at the heart of the King’s speech
At the opening ceremony of the UK parliament this morning, King Charles III outlined in his speech the legislative programme of the new Labour government led by Keir Starmer. Several measures...
Germany: 11% of companies offer a four-day week
According to a survey carried out jointly by Randstad’s German subsidiary and the IfO Institute for Economic Research in Munich among a panel of 1,000 human resources managers, one German...
Asian countries still a long way from gender equality in the workplace
The World Economic Forum says that, on a worldwide scale, progress on gender equality is slowing. While parity has been re-established in labour force participation since the end of the pandemic...
16 July 2024
Malta: new law on health and safety at work imposes tougher penalties for violations
On 15 July, Malta’s parliament unanimously adopted a bill on health and safety at work. Described as “revolutionary” by Prime Minister Robert Abela (Labour Party), the bill aims...
Luxembourg: €500 bonus for banking sector employees in 2025
After six months of difficult negotiations, the Luxembourg Bankers’ Association (ABBL) and the Aleba, LCGB and OGBL trade unions announced on 11 July that they had reached an agreement on...
France: Engie Energie Services trials four-day week
On 24 June, the management of the French energy group's services subsidiary and the CFE-CGC, CGT and FO trade unions signed an agreement governing a four-day working week trial for operational...
15 July 2024
Italy: new collective agreement for tourism industry includes progress on gender equality and quality of life at work
On 5 July, the social partners in Italy's tourism industry renewed the national collective agreement. The agreement, which covers some 290,000 hotel workers (rising to more than 400,000 during the...
How industrial group Lacroix is harnessing a digital solution to pre-empt pay transparency requirements
The European directive on pay transparency – to be transposed by 2026 at the latest – will generate administrative constraints for companies. That said, it can also become a strategic tool in the...
mind RH study – Annual minimum wage rises hold steady in the EU despite falling inflation
Even as inflation rates slowly declined compared to 2023 in most European Union countries, the average level of minimum wage increases has remained more or less the same over the past year. Five...
Norway: adoption of the law on transparent working conditions
The law on transparent and predictable working conditions has been adopted in Norway on 1 July. This legislation imposes new requirements for written employment contracts. It lists the information...
10 July 2024
Spain: stumbling blocks in negotiations over 37.5-hour week
The government is offering greater flexibility in the distribution of working hours in a bid to convince employers to accept the transition to a 37.5-hour week, instead of the current 40 hours...
10 July 2024
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
EU: Commission proposes loosening of AI regulations
On 19 November, the European Commission published a proposal for an omnibus regulation aimed at simplifying the AI Act in order to ‘ensure the swift, smooth and proportionate implementation’ of...
24 November 2025
2
EU: list of new CSRD reporting standards finalised
On 4 December, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) presented the revised list of reporting indicators under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which...
5 December 2025
3
EU: co-legislators strike agreement on Omnibus Directive
The European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached an agreement on the night of 8 December on the weakening of the directives on corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and corporate...
9 December 2025
4
EU: Parliament formally adopts omnibus, diluting due diligence rules
On 16 December, the European Parliament formally approved the omnibus package amending the EU corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence directives. Their application has been pushed...
16 December 2025
5
Italy: three executives from luxury goods group Tod’s investigated over worker exploitation
Italian authorities are once again turning their attention to working conditions in the luxury goods supply chain. On 20 November, the Milan public prosecutor charged three senior executives of...
28 November 2025
6
Fashion brands accused of violating trade union freedoms in Asia
On 27 November, Amnesty International released a report denouncing widespread violations of trade union freedoms in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka by both governments and suppliers to...
28 November 2025