News brief

EU: active employment policies promote integration and job retention
The European Commission’s 2024 report on Employment and Social Developments in Europe, published on 19 September, highlights the positive impact of social investment and policies to support...
United Kingdom: health checks in the workplace begin
On 30 August, the UK government launched a programme of free health checks in the workplace. The aim of the initiative is to increase the number of NHS health checks in order to improve the...
20 September 2024
Sweden: 2025 budget focuses on improving purchasing power and employment
On 19 September, finance minister Elisabeth Svantesson presented a draft budget focused on improving purchasing power. In particular, new measures to boost employment will be adopted “so...
Amazon announces end of remote work for administrative staff
In a message sent to Amazon staff on 16 September, chief executive of the US e-commerce giant Andy Jassy announced the outright end of remote work, which has been in place at the company since the...
19 September 2024
United States: seven companies fined for violating a whistleblower protection rule
On 9 September, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged seven companies for having made their employees sign clauses obliging them to waive their right to financial rewards for...
18 September 2024
EU: Jobs and Social rights absent from the composition of the Commission
On 17 September, Ursula von der Leyen, the conservative President of the European Commission, unveiled the responsibilities of the 27 proposed Commissioners. Nicolas Schmit, who ran against her...
Lego links employee bonuses to carbon emission reductions
In a bid to reduce the environmental impact of its factories, offices, shops and supply chain, Danish toy giant Lego has decided to link part of its employees’ 2024 bonuses to the...
17 September 2024
China: retirement age to start rising from 1 January 2025
On Friday, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s highest legislative body, revealed that the retirement age is to be pushed back over the next 15 years in a...
16 September 2024
Greece: new measures to stimulate employment from 1 January
At an interministerial press conference held on 12 September, Greek labour and social security minister Niki Kerameos announced a number of measures to stimulate employment. These include a 1%...
Germany: collective bargaining kicks off in metalworking industry
Collective bargaining in the metalworking industry between the IG Metall union and the employers’ federation Gesamtmetall began on Wednesday 11 September in the districts of...
12 September 2024
United Kingdom: government urges unions and employers to unite
The UK’s Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the annual meeting of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Brighton, south-east England, on 10 September. He was the first British head of...
11 September 2024
Netherlands: unions plan week of strikes in push to maintain the early retirement scheme
On 7 September, the Dutch trade unions FNV, CNV and VCP launched a week of strike action to reach an agreement with the government and employers on maintaining the Early Retirement Scheme (RVU)...
9 September 2024
Fashion retailer New Look commits to human rights due diligence measures
New Look and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) announced on August 27 that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to introduce due diligence measures for...
6 September 2024
Shein reveals two cases of child labour at its suppliers
Chinese ultra-low-cost fashion company Shein announced in its sustainability report, published on 22 August, that two cases of forced labour were detected at its suppliers in early 2023. It states...
4 September 2024
China: step taken towards a gradual increase in the retirement age
First mooted in 2013, the idea of raising the retirement age has taken a decisive step forward with the final decision of the Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist...
3 September 2024
Czech Republic: minimum wage to rise by 10% in 2025
On 1 September, Czech labour and social affairs minister Marian Jurečka (Christian Democrats) announced a 10% increase in the country’s gross monthly minimum wage for next year. It will...
2 September 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: Cabinet adopts pay transparency bill
After several months of delay beyond the European deadline of 7 June 2026, French Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou finally presented the bill transposing the Pay Transparency Directive to the...
10 September 2026
2
Germany: IG Metall demands 5% pay rise amid severe pressure
Despite the crisis hitting the automotive industry, the leadership of the German trade union IG Metall announced on Wednesday 23 September that it would be asking for a 5% pay increase as well as...
23 September 2026
3
Italy: Crédit Agricole introduces a handbook on managerial behaviour
The document adopted in mid-July by Crédit Agricole Italia and the main banking trade unions goes beyond the proper use of meetings and emails. This six-point handbook aims to foster constructive...
3 September 2026
4
Slovakia: 6% increase in the minimum wage from 1 January 2027
The news. As Slovakia’s social partners failed to reach an agreement during tripartite negotiations, Labour Minister Erik Tomas has decided to increase the minimum wage by 6% from 1 January...
1 September 2026
5
Spain: government revisits its draft decree on salary transparency
The Spanish Ministry of Labour has opened a consultation on the transposition of the European directive on salary transparency and the reduction of the gender pay gap. This decision follows a...
8 September 2026
6
EU: Commission proposes a list of worker-related criteria for public procurement
The news. On 9 September, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation aimed at unifying European public procurement law, which accounts for 15% of European GDP. It is notably set...
17 September 2026