News brief

Daily briefing paused from 22 July to 26 August inclusive
mind RH team is taking time off to enjoy the summer break in Europe. Our news feed will recommence on the morning of 27 August. You can of course access all our previous articles, features and...
United Kingdom: union fails in bid for recognition at Amazon
The GMB union failed to secure a sufficient number of votes to officially represent staff at Amazon’s Coventry warehouses, which would have forced the American online retail giant to...
19 July 2024
EU: re-elected, Ursula von der Leyen unveils agenda for new term in office
On 18 July, the European Parliament approved Ursula von der Leyen’s candidacy for re-election as president of the European Commission until 2029, by 401 votes to 284. In her speech to MEPs...
United Kingdom: workers’ rights at the heart of the King’s speech
At the opening ceremony of the UK parliament this morning, King Charles III outlined in his speech the legislative programme of the new Labour government led by Keir Starmer. Several measures...
Germany: 11% of companies offer a four-day week
According to a survey carried out jointly by Randstad’s German subsidiary and the IfO Institute for Economic Research in Munich among a panel of 1,000 human resources managers, one German...
17 July 2024
Malta: new law on health and safety at work imposes tougher penalties for violations
On 15 July, Malta’s parliament unanimously adopted a bill on health and safety at work. Described as “revolutionary” by Prime Minister Robert Abela (Labour Party), the bill aims...
16 July 2024
Luxembourg: €500 bonus for banking sector employees in 2025
After six months of difficult negotiations, the Luxembourg Bankers’ Association (ABBL) and the Aleba, LCGB and OGBL trade unions announced on 11 July that they had reached an agreement on...
Norway: adoption of the law on transparent working conditions
The law on transparent and predictable working conditions has been adopted in Norway on 1 July. This legislation imposes new requirements for written employment contracts. It lists the information...
10 July 2024
France: Labor Code now includes heatwave as a reason for short-time working in the construction sector
A decree published on 29 June 2024 in the Official Journal specifies the climatic conditions that entitle workers to short-time working with re-imbursement by the Caisse d’indemnisation du...
9 July 2024
Luxembourg: transposition of the European directive on transparent and predictable working conditions
On 26 June 2024, the Chamber of Deputies first vote unanimously upheld the bill transposing the European directive on transparent and predictable working conditions. Among...
9 July 2024
United Kingdom: Court of Appeal paves the way for forced labour due diligence proceedings
In a decision handed down on 27June 2024, the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal overturned a decision by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which specialises in the fight against organised...
8 July 2024
Luxembourg: lower minimum wage for hiring highly qualified workers from a third country
The law of 04 June 2024, which transposes the European directive on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment, came into...
France: Monoprix signs an agreement on night work during the Olympic Games
On 17 June 2024, Monoprix along with two trade union bodies, CFDT and CFE-CGC reached an agreement on night work during the Olympic Games (the CGT union did not sign). The agreement will run for 9...
5 July 2024
Germany: ground-breaking collective agreement and 6.85% salary increase for the chemical sector
On 27 June 2024 Germany’s chemical sector social partners: the IG BCE trade union and the BAVC employers’ body, signed a new collective agreement spanning 20 months until February...
4 July 2024
Germany: mixed interim results for the four-day week pilot project
Since February 2024, 45 German companies have been testing the four-day working week as part of a project launched by the consultancy firm Intraprenör, which has just published an interim...
3 July 2024
Sweden: paid parental leave may now be transferred to a close relative
New rules designed to give parents greater flexibility in taking parental leave have come into force with effect from 1 July 2024, bringing two major changes. Firstly, parents will be able to take...
2 July 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: Yves Rocher convicted of breach of duty of vigilance for infringement of freedom of association
The specialised chamber of the Paris Judicial Court convicted Yves Rocher on 12 March for breaching its duty of vigilance. The group was sued by Turkish employees dismissed in 2018 by a subsidiary...
12 March 2026
2
Spain: business support package to tackle the economic impact of the Middle East conflict
The Spanish government approved a series of measures on 20 March to support companies facing rising energy prices. In return, these businesses are prohibited from making redundancies for economic...
23 March 2026
3
EU: Council adopts position on simplifying AI rules
The Council of the EU approved its position on 13 March regarding the “omnibus regulation” proposal, published last November by the Commission to simplify the AI Act. Confirming the...
20 March 2026
4
Germany: a corporate group supports local political engagement via its “Democracy Charter”
Large corporations in the Hesse region, surrounding Frankfurt, are defending local democracy by enabling employees to volunteer in local public life through an initiative dubbed the "Democracy...
11 March 2026
5
United States: Coca-Cola subsidiary sued by the administration over women-only event
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on 18 February that it is launching federal proceedings against Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast for “sex-based...
6 March 2026