News brief

France: Accor grants two days of paid leave to victims of gender-based and sexual violence
The Accor hotel group and representative trade unions signed an agreement on professional equality on 18 December 2025, valid for four years and applicable in France, where the company has 5,000...
22 January 2026
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
France: 2026 budget expected to maintain employer contribution relief
On 19 January 2026, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu decided to invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass France's 2026 budget without a vote in the National Assembly. Three days...
EU: European Parliament calls for a directive on just transition
On 20 January, MEPs approved, with 420 votes in favour, an own-initiative report calling for a just transition directive. The text calls for the protection of workers to be guaranteed in the...
20 January 2026
France: Decathlon steps up support for carers in new disability agreement
Like Crédit Agricole, Decathlon signed a new disability agreement on 3 December 2025, covering a three-year period from 1 January, and for the first time without requiring formal approval...
19 January 2026
Poland: government unveils plans to transpose EU Pay Transparency Directive
On 12 December, the Polish government published a draft bill to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive into its labour code. While the minimum threshold of 100 employees retained in the EU...
19 January 2026
Informal economy and slow wage growth hamper decent work, ILO says
The International Labour Organisation published its Employment ans Social Trends 2026 on 14 January. It anticipates unemployment stabilising in 2026 and employment growth of 1%, driven by...
EU: banking sector social partners commit to combating violence and harassment
On 15 January, the trade union federation UNI Europa Finance and three employers’ associations in the banking sector signed a joint statement on preventing violence and harassment in the...
16 January 2026
Germany: government seeks to facilitate immigration of skilled Indian workers
During a visit to India earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the strategic importance of attracting Indian workers to Germany, signing a series of cooperation agreements...
Italy: new generational renewal agreement penned at UniCredit
The agreement signed on 30 December by UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest banking group, with the Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin trade unions aims to continue generational...
15 January 2026
Italy: banking group Intesa Sanpaolo sharpens focus on quality of life at work
Over the Christmas period Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest bank, penned with trade unions a deal to renew the first part of the company agreement, covering work-life balance, inclusion, parenthood...
14 January 2026
United Kingdom: government urged to legislate against forced labour
After consulting victims, businesses and NGOs, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) has published a report showing that the UK is lagging behind in the fight against forced labour. The...
13 January 2026
Poland: reform introduces possibility of working for another employer while on sick leave
On 7 January, the President of Poland promulgated an amendment to the country’s social insurance act. The reform aims to clarify the activities permitted during sick leave, so that...
12 January 2026
France: social partner talks extend far beyond contractual terminations
After a false start on 3 December, French social partners resumed talks on 7 January 2026 on potential changes to the unemployment insurance agreement, including the rules governing compensation...
12 January 2026
France: Crédit Agricole signs first independent agreement on disability
On 8 December, French banking group Crédit Agricole and three of the four representative trade unions (CFE-CGC, CFDT and FO) in France signed a disability agreement for the period...
9 January 2026
Norway: role of labour inspectorate strengthened to prevent sick leave
On 8 January, the Norwegian government issued a 2026 letter of assignment to the labour inspectorate, signalling an intention to strengthen its enforcement activity. The main objective of the...
9 January 2026
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
United Kingdom: government urged to legislate against forced labour
After consulting victims, businesses and NGOs, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) has published a report showing that the UK is lagging behind in the fight against forced labour. The...
13 January 2026
2
EU: European Parliament calls for a directive on just transition
On 20 January, MEPs approved, with 420 votes in favour, an own-initiative report calling for a just transition directive. The text calls for the protection of workers to be guaranteed in the...
20 January 2026