News brief
Trending topics
- EWC agreements and recast directive
- Wages
- Corporate sustainability due diligence
- Older workers
- hybrid work
- Collective agreement
- Global Framework Agreements
- CSRD
- European Framework Agreement
- Remote work regulations
- Gender equality
- Skills
- Gig workers and the regulation of platforms
- Artificial intelligence
- Managing the fallout of Covid-19
Germany: a negotiation timetable and the prospect of industrial action at Volkswagen
The news. On 23 October, the German carmaker Volkswagen and the trade union IG Metall announced the opening of negotiations on wages, the new cost-cutting programme and job cuts. They will take...
27 October 2026
EU: Council seeks to strengthen social safeguards of the 28th regime
The news. On 23 October, the Council of the EU agreed on its negotiating mandate concerning the draft regulation creating a new corporate legal regime, EU Inc (the 28th regime). Member States...
26 October 2026
Belgium: government seeks to curb abuse of flexi-jobs
The news. Following the extension of flexi-jobs across all sectors last July, Employment Minister David Clarinval announced on 22 October that he is preparing legislation to tackle the...
26 October 2026
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
Portugal: parental leave of up to six months paid at 100% from 2027
The news. On 19 October, the Portuguese Parliament adopted a bill extending the duration of parental leave and the period for which benefits are paid. From 1 January 2027, leave will increase from...
23 October 2026
Spain: strengthening protection for workers exposed to asbestos and lead
On 20 October, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved two Royal Decrees to strengthen prevention and protection measures for workers exposed to asbestos, lead, and diisocyanates. They update...
22 October 2026
France: Iliad structures its skills management around AI
The news. On 9 April, Iliad (11,600 employees in France), the parent company of telecoms operator Free, concluded an agreement on jobs and career path management with its representative trade...
21 October 2026
Greece: Government prepares measures to facilitate access to parental leave
The news. On 16 October, Greek Labour Minister Niki Kerameus announced that a bill is currently being drafted to bring “greater flexibility” to the use of parental leave. The text...
21 October 2026
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
United Kingdom: launch of a consultation on whistleblower protection
The news. The British Labour government has launched a consultation, running from 12 October 2026 to 8 January 2027, to gather views on how the whistleblower protection framework is operating and...
20 October 2026
EU: Commission to launch a business coalition against modern slavery
The news. On 16 October, the European Commission presented a new strategy to combat human trafficking. While labour exploitation reported by the authorities rose by 17% between 2021-2022 and...
- HR
- CSR
19 October 2026
Denmark: leave for parents who have lost their spouse as of 1 January 2027
The news. On 8 October, the Danish government introduced a bill in Parliament granting bereavement leave to parents in the event of the death of their spouse or cohabiting partner with whom they...
19 October 2026
Germany: sharp rise in contributions on “minijobs” as of 1 January 2027
The news. Friedrich Merz’s German Conservative-Social Democrat coalition has, for now, ruled out the outright abolition of “minijobs”—those part-time jobs paying less than...
16 October 2026
Brazil: reduction of the working week from 44 to 40 hours adopted by Parliament
The news. On 14 October, the Brazilian Senate passed the bill reducing the maximum weekly working hours from 44 to 40 by 75 votes to one, following its approval by the Chamber of Deputies in May...
16 October 2026
Germany: Will the unexpected change of Labour Minister slow down reforms?
The news. Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas (SPD) resigned on Monday 12 October with immediate effect. The reason given was the loss of a close relative. Alexander...
15 October 2026
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...
14 October 2026
Our mind news
France: La Poste to launch negotiations for an AI agreement
Following the lead of firms such as Axa, Syensqo globally, and more recently CDC Habitat, La Poste group management will open negotiations on an AI regulation agreement during the first half of...
5 March 2026
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.
29 January 2026
The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...
8 December 2025
In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...
31 October 2025
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: following the post-Covid boom, large companies scale back on remote working
In the post-pandemic context, large French groups multiplied generous remote working agreements before reversing the trend from 2024 onwards. What is the extent of this phenomenon? mind RH...
29 October 2026
2
France: Iliad structures its skills management around AI
The news. On 9 April, Iliad (11,600 employees in France), the parent company of telecoms operator Free, concluded an agreement on jobs and career path management with its representative trade...
21 October 2026
3
France: how CDC Habitat aims to better promote the expertise of its employees
The housing division of the French public group Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, CDC Habitat (10,800 employees), established new measures on skills in July. They are set out in two agreements...
15 October 2026
4
France: La Poste strengthens regional management of jobs and skills
La Poste’s 2026-2028 agreement on the management of jobs, professional pathways and gender diversity in occupations puts the emphasis on supporting mobility and career changes, relying on a...
22 October 2026
5
Germany: a negotiation timetable and the prospect of industrial action at Volkswagen
The news. On 23 October, the German carmaker Volkswagen and the trade union IG Metall announced the opening of negotiations on wages, the new cost-cutting programme and job cuts. They will take...
27 October 2026
6
Germany: Schaeffler cuts 3,460 jobs and requests temporary wage “solidarity contribution”
The news. On 3 November 2026, German automotive supplier Schaeffler announced a new “earnings improvement programme”, entailing the net reduction of 3,460 jobs in Europe by 2028 (2,660...
6 November 2026