Japan: government pushes for greater pay transparency to combat gender inequality
Since Friday 20 May, the upcoming requirement for large companies to disclose their pay gaps has become the centrepiece of the "new capitalism" agenda advocated by Japanese prime minister Fumio...
U.S.: Starbucks excluding unionized employees from its wage hike plan
On 03 May, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced wage increases for all U.S. employees, except those who have joined, or are in the process of joining a trade union. During a Wall Street analyst...
United Kingdom: Aviva hands company shares to staff as a thank you
UK insurance group Aviva announced in its full-year results statement for 2021, published on 2 March, that it will give shares worth £1,000 (€1,210) to each of its employees across the...
Great Britain: free health check screening and salary increases at Marks and Spencer
On 16 February, the UK retail chain announced its intention to enhance its employees’ health and wellbeing benefits by offering a Virtual GP service, free health check screening, and advice...
17 February 2022
Ikea Retail (Ingka Group) to pay out €110 million in Covid bonuses to its employees
In view of their ‘exceptional adaptability and entrepreneurial spirit’ shown since the beginning of the pandemic, the furniture and home furnishing retailer will pay staff a total of...
France: salaries are a central concern for HRDirectors
In an environment of pressure on purchasing power and manpower shortages across certain professions, the question of salaries is becoming a major concern for companies. According to a survey...
20 October 2021
United Kingdom: PwC reports its socio-economic background pay gap
As part of its annual report, published on 15 September, the professional services group PwC for the first time revealed the “socio-economic background” pay gap for its UK employees. The move...
20 September 2021
Europe : the growth of bonuses exacerbates wage inequalities
Bonuses are becoming more and more widespread in Europe and augmenting already existing inequalities. This is what a study carried out by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) has highlighted...
10 September 2021
Ireland: companies will soon be required to report their Gender Pay Gap data
With both legislative houses of Ireland’s Oireachtas having given their approval on 07 July, and the President’s signature all that remains outstanding, the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019...
20 July 2021
United Kingdom: Sodexo publishes its ethnicity pay gap for the first time
On 1 June, the UK business of French food services group Sodexo published – for the very first time and despite the pandemic – its ethnicity pay gap for the year 2020. According to the firm’s pay...
14 June 2021
Great Britain: have big companies set aside the gender pay gap issue?
While the U.K. has given companies with at least 250 staff an extra six months to publish their gender pay gap data (c.f. article No. 12377), only one out of four met the initial 04 April...
8 April 2021
Volvo Cars announces 24-week parental leave for all employees worldwide
On 30 March car manufacturer Volvo Cars announced it is opting-in its more than 40,000 employees globally, in all plants and offices, into a new all-gender, paid parental leave policy. From 01...
UniCredit implements global parental leave policy of 16 weeks for mothers and 4 for fathers
On 22 March the Italian bank announced its implementation of a group-wide minimum standard maternity leave of 16 weeks (paid) and 4 weeks for fathers (voluntary), which will apply globally from...
EU: EU Commission proposes a directive to end the gender pay gap
On 04 March, the European Commission presented the text of a draft Directive imposing transparency obligations on public and private sector companies in order to ensure their compliance with the...
4 March 2021
United States: $100 bonus payment for retailer Kroger’s workers who get vaccinated
US mass retailer Kroger, which employs almost 370,000, has joined a list of US companies and announced a lump sum bonus for employees who get inoculated. “As we move into a new phase of the...
10 February 2021
Great Britain: Just Eat shakes up the gig economy by offering its drivers an hourly wage
After recently adopting a similar approach in other European countries, the mobile app-based home food delivery giant Just Eat is starting to end its practice of paying per completed job. This gig...
10 December 2020
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 launches consultation with social partners on quality jobs
On 4 December, the European Commission launched the first phase of consultation with social partners with a view to a European directive on jobs, which is scheduled for the end of 2026. It could...
4 December 2025
2
EDF bans alcohol on all its sites
From 1 January 2026, French energy giant EDF (180,000 employees) will prohibit alcohol consumption at all internal and external corporate events, from social gatherings to seminars. The policy...
26 November 2025
3
United Kingdom: government scraps plan to introduce ‘day one’ protection against unfair dismissal
The UK government announced on 27 November, in a statement, that it would not be introducing the right to challenge unfair dismissal (without cause) from the first day of employment in its...
3 December 2025
4
Poland: bill adopted to amend definition of psychological harassment
On 27 November, the Polish cabinet adopted a draft amendment to the labour code aimed at simplifying the definition of psychological harassment at work, or “mobbing” (Article 94 3)...
4 December 2025
5
EU: MEPs demand directive on algorithmic management
Members of the European Parliament have called for a directive on algorithmic management. Such legislation would introduce obligations for companies to inform employees, assess health and safety...
17 December 2025
6
Austria: European rules on wage transparency expected to cause a cultural shock
With the gender pay gap in Austria being the second largest in the European Union (18.3%), the Austrian government has promised to introduce a bill next spring to transpose the European directive...
27 November 2025