Spain: new metal sector collective agreement covers gender equality on pay and regulation of remote work
The CCOO de Industria and UGT FICA trade unions and the employer federation Confemetal have ratified the fourth national collective agreement for industry, new technologies and services in the...
15 November 2021
Portugal: a new law to better regulate telework
On 05 November 2021 the text amending the 2003 law on telework was approved and included a number of significant changes, including employer coverage of telework expenses, and the right to respect...
9 November 2021
Germany: companies looking to set up separate canteen areas for Covid vaccinated and recovered employees
In contrast with Italy and Austria, Germany has so far chosen not to make the health pass at work a mandatory requirement. However, several German employers have nonetheless decided to take the...
9 November 2021
India: IT giants planning their moves toward hybrid work
As IT companies start calling staff to return to on-site working, as the remote working measures that had been necessitated by  the coronavirus pandemic taper off, their thoughts are also turning...
3 November 2021
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...
3 November 2021
Italy: Atlantia offers extra leave to employees who engage in voluntary work
Atlantia employees who engage in voluntary activities will be able to benefit from 10 additional days of paid leave per year. The landmark ‘Cittadinanza Attiva’ (Active Citizenship) agreement is...
28 October 2021
United Kingdom: Amazon offers £3,000 sign-on bonus ahead of Christmas period
At a time when labour shortages – linked to the pandemic as well as Brexit – threaten many UK companies, e-commerce giant Amazon is offering sign-up bonuses of up to £3,000...
United States: large firms introduce vaccine requirements for staff
In September, US President Joe Biden demanded that companies employing more than 100 people introduce coronavirus vaccine requirements for their staff. Though details of the plan are yet to be...
22 October 2021
German CIB Group introduces four-day working week
Since 06 September, the digital solutions company CIB has switched over to a four-day working week with shortened weekly hours (36 instead of 40 previously), Thursday nights off, and the digital...
21 October 2021
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
Amazon allowing mid-level managers to choose how they organise their team’s mix between remote and office working
In a message addressing Amazon’s one million employees worldwide and released by the company, CEO Andy Jassy announced a return to the office for all employees by January 2022, nearly two...
19 October 2021
Germany: Vodafone employees can now work wherever they want
Since 01 October 2021, all Vodafone Germany  employees are free to decide where they want to work, be it at the office, at home, or in a café. They can even work for up to 20 days a year in...
14 October 2021
Great Britain: Arup employees allowed to split their working time over all 7 days in the week
Since 20 May, London-based professional services group Arup, which employs 6,000 people in the United Kingdom, has been implementing a flexible work organization model that supplants the...
13 October 2021
Spain: Desigual employees approve shift to four-day week
On 7 October, employees of Spanish fashion company Desigual voted in favour of working only four days per week. The firm’s staff will transition from 39.5 hours per week to 34 and will either have...
11 October 2021
Ireland: 4-day working week to be tested by companies
Starting in February 2022, Irish employers will introduce a four-day working week on a trial basis for a period of six months. The pilot programme was devised by the lobby group Four Day Week...
8 October 2021
US: PwC offers full-time remote work to almost all of its US workforce
On 01 October the UK consulting giant announced it would be allowing all its 40,000 US client-facing staff to work 100% remotely, and from anywhere within continental USA. Prior to this launch the...
6 October 2021
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