News brief

Poland: additional maternity leave for parents of babies in hospital
On 29 October, the Council of Ministers adopted a bill introducing additional maternity leave for parents of premature babies or babies born at full term but requiring hospitalisation. This leave...
30 October 2024
Ireland: bill passed allowing postponement of maternity leave in event of serious illness
On 23 October, the Irish parliament adopted a bill introducing the right for an employee to postpone her maternity leave in the event of serious illness (physical or mental), subject to medical...
29 October 2024
Italy: companies in Rome encouraged to adopt remote work during preparations for Jubilee
In the run-up to Jubilee 2025, which opens on 24 December 2024, the Mayor of Rome and the social partners signed a pact on 16 October encouraging private companies to make maximum use of hybrid or...
28 October 2024
Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz attacks application of due diligence law
At a meeting with German employers on 22 October, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democratic Party, announced his intention to water down the German law on the due diligence, which...
25 October 2024
France: minimum wage to rise from 1 November
Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, the French Minister for Labour and Employment, presented to the Council of Ministers on 23 October a decree raising the minimum wage (Smic) by 2% from 1 November 2024...
25 October 2024
Slovakia: minimum wage to reach 60% of average wage from 2026
On 23 October, parliament approved a bill to change the rules for setting the minimum wage. As a result, from 2026, the minimum wage may not be less than 60% of the average wage two years...
24 October 2024
Bulgaria: minimum wage to rise by more than 15% from January 2025
On 20 October, acting labour and social policy minister Ivaylo Ivanov announced on the national television channel bTV that the minimum wage would be increased by 15.4% from next year. It will...
23 October 2024
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...
Netherlands: employees in arduous jobs will still be able to take early retirement
After weeks of strikes, the Dutch government and social partners reached an agreement on early retirement (RVU) on 18 November. This transitional scheme, which was due to end in...
21 October 2024
Romania: minimum wage to rise by 9.5% from January 2025
At a meeting of the National Tripartite Council on 16 October, the Romanian government and social partners agreed to increase the gross monthly minimum wage by 9.5% from 1 January 2025. The...
18 October 2024
Spain: new collective agreement for chemical industry strengthens protection for LGBTI employees
After 10 months of negotiations, the Spanish chemical industry employers’ federation (Feique) and the CCOO trade union signed a preliminary deal for the 21st general agreement for the...
17 October 2024
Lidl and Kaufland unions unite in push for global agreement
The trade unions of the Lidl and Kaufland retail chains based in Europe and the United States are joining forces to push for a global agreement between the parent company, the German multinational...
16 October 2024
France: Cegid offers a four-day week to employees aged 61 and over
From 11 October, employees of the software company aged 61 and over can request that their 35-hour working week be spread over four days – eight hours and 45 minutes a day. To this is added...
16 October 2024
EU: platform work directive definitively adopted
On 14 October, the Council of the EU approved the platform work directive presented by the European Commission at the end of 2021. After several blocks on the directive, notably by France and...
15 October 2024
Romania: days off work to be granted for medical screening
On 14 October, the Romanian senate adopted a bill aimed at promoting the early detection of illnesses such as diabetes, certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. The bill proposes the...
15 October 2024
Luxembourg: government proposes increase in Sunday working hours in retail sector
On 11 October, Luxembourg labour minister Georges Mischo (Conservative) announced a bill to amend the regulations on Sunday working in retail businesses. The plan is to increase the maximum...
14 October 2024
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
France: Crédit Agricole to tighten remote work rules
Crédit Agricole is to adopt stricter rules on remote work from mid-March onwards. The rules will be tightened for employees, but the maximum number of days working remotely will remain unchanged.
2
2026 TRENDS – Pay transparency becomes a reality for European companies
mind RH is taking a look at the trends that will shape 2026. Many countries remain behind schedule in transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, leaving companies in a state of uncertainty as...
27 January 2026
3
TRENDS IN 2026 — Reducing workplace absence at all costs: a major challenge for Europe
Workplace absence is on the rise across Europe, particularly among women, older employees and, since the Covid-19 pandemic, young people under the age of 30. Faced with this growing problem, some...
14 January 2026
4
Vincent Lecerf (Orange): “Equality and diversity are competitive advantages for us”
Following the signing of a new agreement on professional equality and diversity in December, the chief HR officer of French multinational telecommunications corporation Orange Group, Vincent...
13 January 2026
5
2026 TRENDS — Social dialogue, a major challenge in the deployment of AI in companies
mind RH is analysing the trends that will shape 2026. Artificial intelligence is emerging as a force that goes far beyond efficiency gains and productivity improvements. It is reshaping tasks...
4 February 2026
6
France: transposition of the pay transparency directive takes shape
The transposition of the European directive on pay transparency into French law is entering a decisive phase. The Minister of Labour, Jean-Pierre Farandou, wants to present the bill to Parliament...
21 January 2026