News brief

Romania: parents of children with disabilities granted up to eight days of remote work per month
On 9 October, the Romanian parliament adopted a bill aiming to bolster support for parents of children with disabilities up to the age of 18. The legislation, which came into force on 12 October...
4 November 2025
Carrefour and UNI Global Union renew global agreement on promoting social dialogue and diversity
On 17 October, Carrefour, one of the world’s largest retailers, with nearly 500,000 employees worldwide, and global union federation UNI Global Union renewed their global agreement on...
3 November 2025
Germany: minimum wage to rise sharply in 2026
On 29 October, the German cabinet adopted the minimum wage hike proposed by the country’s independent minimum wage commission. The minimum wage will rise from €12.82 to €13.90...
30 October 2025
Switzerland: duration of short-time work benefits to be extended from 1 November
On 8 October 2025, the Swiss cabinet approved a temporary extension of the maximum duration of short-time work benefits for companies, increasing it from 18 to 24 months starting 1 November 2025...
29 October 2025
Germany: legal battle at Tesla ahead of works council election
The Frankfurt/Oder labour court has postponed a mid-November hearing in the case between the IG Metall union and Michaela Schmitz, employee representative and head of the works council at the...
28 October 2025
United Kingdom: living wage set at £13.45 per hour from 1 May 2026
On 22 October, the Living Wage Foundation announced the UK living wage level for 2026. It will rise from £12.60 to £13.45 gross per hour (€15.47), marking an increase of 6.7%. In...
27 October 2025
France: cabinet adopts suspension of pension reform
On 23 October, the French Council of Ministers approved an amendment to the social security financing bill (PLFSS), confirming the suspension of the 2023 pension reform until 2028. This measure...
24 October 2025
EU: omnibus bill stalls in parliament
On 22 October, members of the European Parliament narrowly voted against a negotiating mandate that would have opened trilogue talks on the omnibus directive, which seeks to dilute the corporate...
23 October 2025
Belgium: social partners sign agreement on end-of-career schemes
Brought together in the National Labour Council (CNT), the Belgian social partners reached an agreement on 21 October on the end-of-career scheme, putting an end to several months of negotiations...
23 October 2025
Denmark: three employment-related bills on the agenda for 2025-2026 parliamentary session
At the opening of the new parliamentary session on 7 October, the Danish government unveiled its legislative programme for 2025–26. Three of the proposed bills would amend labour laws or...
22 October 2025
Germany: study shows sharp rise in absenteeism, partly due to more systematic reporting
Germany’s largest public health insurer, AOK, has reported a new record for workplace absenteeism in its 2025 report. The fund, which covers 27 million members, recorded 228 cases of illness...
22 October 2025
Argentina: Milei outlines main points of planned labour reform
Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei, unveiled his labour reform plans on 10 October during a visit to a metal processing plant in San Nicolás, around 230 kilometres from...
21 October 2025
Germany: ‘active retirement’ law adopted to encourage seniors to remain in the workforce
On 15 October, Germany’s cabinet approved draft legislation on ‘active retirement‘, which is expected to pass swiftly through Parliament. The bill would allow people who continue...
Italy: EU’s first law on artificial intelligence adopted in application of AI Act
The Italian delegation law on artificial intelligence, in force since 10 October, is the first legislative framework in the EU on the development, adoption and governance of AI systems in...
17 October 2025
EU: social partners once again divided on telework initiative
Europe’s main social partners have published their contribution to the second phase of consultation on teleworking and the right to disconnect. In its response, the European Trade Union...
16 October 2025
Austria: Social Affairs Committee green-lights improved redundancy conditions for self-employed workers
On 8 October 2025, the Social Affairs Committee of the Austrian National Council, the country’s lower house of parliament, approved new redundancy rules for self-employed workers, paving the...
14 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
Italy: Enel signs agreement to manage the effects of AI on work
An agreement signed at the end of July by the electricity company Enel (31,000 employees) and the unions Filctem-Cgil, Flaei-Cisl, and Uiltec is pioneering in the Italian energy sector. It aims to...
7 September 2026
2
Italy: artificial Intelligence on the menu of Barilla’s new company agreement
Prior consultation with trade unions on innovations related to artificial intelligence, strengthened training, and progress on parenthood: these are the main new features of the agreement signed...
2 September 2026
3
France: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy
In a new agreement on gender equality highlighted by mind RH, Bayer commits to strengthening its parenthood policy. Furthermore, the company is anticipating pay transparency and introducing...
25 September 2026
4
France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
5
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
6
Germany: major day of union action in the automotive industry ahead of collective bargaining
A few weeks before the start of collective bargaining in the German metalworking sector, the IG Metall trade union mobilised nearly 175,000 workers across more than 200 industrial sites on 21...
22 September 2026