EU: legislative deal struck to ease international recruitment in shortage occupations
On 18 November, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the regulation creating the so-called 'Talent Pool', a digital platform designed to ease recruitment in...
EU: social partners in chemicals industry commit to improving working conditions for migrant workers
On 30 June, the European social partners in the chemical industry, the European Chemical Employers Group and the trade union IndustriAll Europe, signed a joint declaration to combat bad practices...
Denmark: recruitment of foreign workers now subject to signing a collective agreement
On 30 June, the Danish government announced the introduction of a new measure for the recruitment of certain foreign employees. Companies will now have to have a collective agreement between the...
United Kingdom: youth employment plan seeks to reduce reliance on foreign workers
Addressing skills shortages and reducing skilled immigration are the objectives of the plan announced on 27 May by UK education secretary Bridget Phillipson. The plan is backed by a £3...
Germany: government programme of upcoming coalition gives prominence to labour matters
On 9 April, at the end of four weeks of negotiations, Germany's conservative (CDU and CSU) and social democratic (SPD) parties presented a government programme that sets out the guidelines for...
Norway: new measures to facilitate immigrants’ access to employment
On 8 April, the Norwegian minister of employment and inclusion Tonje Brenna announced several amendments to the law on the integration of immigrants in order to facilitate their access to...
Poland: law passed to limit employment of foreign workers
The Polish parliament passed a bill on the employment of foreigners on 20 March. The text has two objectives: on the one hand, it aims to combat the fraudulent obtaining of work permits and, on...
United Kingdom: new rules on skilled immigration from 9 April 2025
On 12 March, the UK Home Office issued a statement on changes to immigration rules applicable from 9 April. It concerns skilled workers and in particular the recruitment of foreign employees in...
Austria: new government plans labour market adjustments
Austria's new coalition government took office on 3 March, after five months of negotiations. The coalition is made up of the country's conservative (ÖVP), social democratic (SPÖ) and liberal...
Cyprus: government relaxes regulations on employment of foreign workers
On 19 February 2025, Cyprus’ Council of Ministers approved a framework for the employment of foreign workers, the aim of which is to “create the conditions for full employment and meet...
United States: new regulations to facilitate recruitment of highly skilled foreign workers come into force
The new regulations on visas for highly skilled foreign workers (H-1B), announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on 17 December, came into force on 17 January. The aim is to enable...
A look back at 2024: addressing the skills shortage in every way possible
A whole range of levers were activated in 2024 to tackle the skills shortage currently affecting a large number of countries, from strengthening vocational training to keeping older people in work...
Canada: labour migration to be curbed in 2025
The measures announced by the government on 18 September to reduce labour immigration are coming into force. As of 1 January 2025, the spouses of foreign workers can only obtain a work permit if...
Finland: bill seeks to withdraw work permits from foreigners after three months’ unemployment
On 17 September, the new right-wing coalition government submitted draft amendments to the Aliens Act to Parliament. It proposes withdrawing work permits from foreigners after three months of...
United Kingdom: government sets out to reduce labour immigration
On 24 September, the government announced measures aimed at reducing the number of migrant workers. The aim is to “tackle the root causes behind the UK’s long-term reliance on...
Germany: Berlin grapples with diverging pressures on migration policy
Under pressure from the electoral success of the far right, Germany is continuing to roll out an increasingly restrictive migration policy, to the point of reintroducing controls at all its land...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
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What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Spain: new terms and conditions for in-company training contracts
On 25 November, Spain's Council of Ministers approved a regulation on training contracts. This text defines the terms and conditions for hosting work-study students and interns doing professional...
2
EU: Commission issues first recommendation on human capital as part of European Semester
In parallel with the European Semester adopted on 25 November, which proposes guidelines to member states on economic policies for the coming year, the European Commission has adopted an...
3
France: sectors feel economic slowdown to differing degrees
The latest data on France’s occupational sectors (branches professionnelles), covering the year 2023, show how employment trends are shaping workplace dynamics. After a more favourable period for...
4
Germany: apprenticeship openings fall sharply in manufacturing and chemicals
From 1 January 2026, Dutch collective agreements for temporary employment agencies will alter the employment conditions of temp workers. Agencies will be required to pay these workers at least the...