Great Britain: audit firms using sabbatical leave to deal with the coronavirus crisis
In order to lessen the financial impact of the health crisis, audit and consulting firms are looking into the idea of the sabbatical leave option. Thus, professional services firm Grant Thornton...
8 April 2020
Covid-19 spurs on digital transition at Taiwanese companies
Taiwan is one of the countries that has been least impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The island off the coast of China has recorded only 339 infections (as of 2 April), the vast majority of which...
6 April 2020
United Kingdom: what companies are doing for their staff amid the coronavirus crisis
UK companies are finding themselves having to improvise in the face of the unprecedented Covid-19 health emergency, with some handing bonuses to overburdened staff and others opting to cut...
3 April 2020
Sodexo: launches a global employee support program with financing from senior group executives
In a press statement released on 02 April, French food services and facilities management company Sodexo announced, ‘Despite all our efforts, we know that this once-in-a-lifetime crisis currently...
2 April 2020
Enel: implements insurance cover for all staff globally who need Covid-19 related hospitalization
On 26 March 2020, Italian energy company, Enel Group announced an agreement was signed with the professional services and financial risk-mitigation firm Aon SpA to provide a “Covid-19...
1 April 2020
Chile: promulgation of the ‘distance work and telework law’
More than eighteen months after its initial drafting, the coronavirus pandemic alongside the outlook for a serious nationwide economic and social crisis have provided the necessary impetus for the...
31 March 2020
United States: warehouses and supermarkets hiring massively to cope with demand
During this Covid-19 pandemic, two business sectors are bucking a general downtrend with extremely strong growth, namely the supermarket and distribution sectors. With demand levels already high...
Workday takes measures to help employees around the world better cope with the coronavirus crisis
The US HR software company Workday announced on its blog on 16 March that its some 10,000 workers would receive a one-off payment, equivalent to two weeks’ wages, to help them deal with the...
20 March 2020
Great Britain: Nissan commits to supporting female employees during menstruation
Since 09 March more than 500 staff at the Japanese carmaker Nissan’s plant in the UK’s north-east region of Sunderland will have access to free sanitary protection in the...
13 March 2020
Santander extends right to maternity and paternity leave to all staff across global operations
Santander is introducing a global minimum standard for parental leave in every market in which it operates, with mothers granted at least 14 weeks of paid leave and the father or secondary parent...
6 March 2020
Saint-Gobain introduces social protection program worldwide
On 13 February the French construction materials company launched its “CARE by Saint-Gobain” social protection program that will provide specific minimum cover for all the Group’s more than...
18 February 2020
Franco-German initiative for ‘in-house’ apprenticeships in industry, with greater focus on digital and language skills
The Franco-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CFACI) and the French branches of four large German chemicals groups (BAYER, BASF, Merck and Boehringer) have teamed up to create a joint...
France: Novartis establishes 16-weeks of paid parental leave, starting 01 January 2020
Employees at the pharmaceutical company’s French subsidiary are set to receive an extra two weeks of paid parental leave above and beyond the standard minimum duration as required in the...
France: 105 businesses commit to awarding a minimum of one month paid leave for second parents
An opinion piece published in the 05 February edition of the daily economics publication Les Echos (here) indicates that 105 companies (primarily in the tech, organic, and sustainable development...
Hungary: Diageo introduces 26 weeks paternity leave
Fathers in Hungary can avail of five-days of paid statutory leave following the birth of a child. This leave can be taken whole or in several parts but must be used before the child is two months...
5 February 2020
United Kingdom: companies allow staff to book ‘hangover days’
With the festive season fast approaching, a digital marketing start-up in the north-west of England has attracted attention for offering its employees “hangover days”. The idea behind...
16 December 2019
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