Italy: collective negotiations are starting to introduce the right to disconnect from work
In Italy there is a longstanding tradition of overlooking the right to disconnect from work and the right does not feature in overall labor regulation. It does however feature in the law that...
Germany: at SAP job sharing is possible at all hierarchical levels from basic employee right up to senior executive
Since the start of 2018 all senior managerial positions at Germany’s multinational software corporation SAP have in principle been available for job sharing and flexible working opportunities...
Great Britain: Is business paving the way for better mental health?
In the past few years the issue of workplace mental health has come to the fore in the UK. Mental health first aid training, manager awareness packs, even the Mental Health at Work website...
6 December 2018
Great Britain: Aviva’s parental leave for second parents program proves successful
Introduced just a year ago (c.f. article No. 10475) Aviva’s second parent parental leave program that allows all employees who become parents regardless of gender to take a fixed period of paid...
21 November 2018
Italy: ‘smart working’ is on the rise
According to the annual report published on 30 October by the Politecnico di Milano School of Management Observatory, over a year after the approval of Law 81 2017 that regulated ‘agile working’...
7 November 2018
Germany: status report on the ZEITREICH (Time-Rich) project that aims to support SMEs achieve working time solutions, which benefit both their and their employees’ interests
While Germany’s working-time debate continues apace and the country’s trade unions seek working time arrangements that include employees’ needs alongside company profits, the ZEITREICH (Time-Rich)...
17 October 2018
SAP: the 22,000 German-based employees at this software company can now work wherever they wish, in the office, at home or elsewhere
SAP Germany has a longstanding tradition of teleworking and ‘confidence-based working time’. Nonetheless the German enterprise-software giant has decided to go further and make its working...
14 March 2018
Italy: smart working gaining ground in company agreements
Italy’s major companies haven’t waited for the law of 22 May 2017 in order to try out several ‘agile working’ formulae, whereby they provide staff the option to work one or two days per week away...
20 September 2017
Germany: Microsoft Deutschland’s new ‘Smart Workspace’ head office showcases its vision for the future
Since its inauguration in October 2016, employees at the US IT giant’s subsidiary, Microsoft Deutschland’s new head office in Schwabing, north of Munich, can now get to work when they want and...
20 July 2017
Germany: SAP introduces the right to work on a part-time basis for a fixed period time
While Germany’s Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Andrea Nahles (SPD) is doing her utmost, albeit currently with little success, to introduce legislation giving workers working on a...
25 April 2017
Kering puts a global parental policy in place
On 14 December French luxury goods brand announced that as of 01 January 2017 minimum standards would be in place for maternity and adoption leave that will be fourteen weeks at 100% of basic pay...
14 December 2016
HR practices: Vincit, a company with just two managers, the CEO and the head of HR
Mikko Kuitunen and Pekka Virtanen set up Vincit (software development and IT outsourcing) in 2007 in the Finnish  town of Tampere. They dreamt of a ‘business where people were happy to go to work...
27 October 2016
Daimler: the automaker introduces ‘the right to mobile working’ for 100,000 German workers
In line with Bosch, BMW, and Audi, automaker Daimler has also embarked upon an ambitious company agreement catering for mobile working that will come into force on 01 December 2016. Going forward...
25 October 2016
Italy: almost one third of big business uses ‘Smart Working’
30% of large companies have put ‘smart working’ structures in place, up from 17% in 2015 and the country now boasts some 250,000 ‘smart workers’ (flexible working times and places of work), which...
13 October 2016
Continental offers mobile working to 90% of its global workforce (interview)
German auto parts manufacturer Continental has just launched mobile working within the company for 90% of its 200,000 employees from all hierarchy levels working across twenty-one countries. This...
29 September 2016
Russia: Vimpelcom developing teleworking on a large scale
Only 4% of employees in Russia telework, compared with 34% in the U.S. However, according to a study carried out by J’son & Partners Consulting and which appeared in 2015, by 2020 that number...
12 July 2016
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
Ireland: minimum wage increase of 5,6% from 1 January 2027
The info. The Irish government has included a minimum wage increase of 79 cents in its Budget 2027, in line with recommendations from the Low Pay Commission. The rate will rise from €14.15...
2
Denmark: government prepares implementation of pay transparency in March 2027
The news. On 8 October, the Danish executive submitted the bill transposing the European Pay Transparency Directive to the national Parliament. The text stems from an agreement between trade...
3
China: draft bill to strengthen platform workers’ rights
On 8 October, the Chinese government published a draft bill open for consultation aimed at providing minimum guarantees to non-employee platform workers in terms of pay and working conditions. The...
23 October 2026
4
Is a global wage freeze at Volkswagen possible?
The existence of an option to implement a global wage freeze until 2030 has been confirmed by the management of the German group Volkswagen, which nevertheless provides no details and refers to...
20 October 2026
5
France: paid leave for victims of sexual and domestic violence finally adopted
The news. On 13 October, the French National Assembly unanimously approved, among voting members, the “comprehensive bill” aimed at protecting victims of sexual and gender-based...
6
Spain: metal industry employers cut sick pay top-ups
To curb absenteeism, Spanish social partners in the metal sector are introducing new clauses into regional collective agreements to reduce the top-up payments made by employers during sick leave...
2 November 2026