News brief

Italy: insurance arm of Intesa Sanpaolo pens agreement with unions on four-day working week
Staff at the insurance business of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo will be able to work a four-day week, structured as nine hours per day and at the same level of pay, under an agreement...
3 March 2023
Mexico: government bans import of goods produced with forced labour
Mexico has transcribed into domestic legislation the provisions of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) of 1 July 2020 that ban the import of goods made with forced labour, particularly...
3 March 2023
Italy: smart working arrangements extended again for certain categories of workers
The ‘right to smart working’ instituted during the Covid-19 pandemic for certain categories of workers has once again been extended. According to law 14/2023 published in the Official...
2 March 2023
Sodexo creates a global social protection base for its employees
On 21 February, Sodexo, the French food services and facilities management company announced the creation of its Vita benefits programme that will provide all of the group’s 422,000...
1 March 2023
U.S.: employers may no longer impose confidentiality clauses in employment severance agreements
In a decision issued on 23 February 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that “employers may not offer employees severance agreements that require employees to...
Turkey: employment layoffs banned in earthquake zone
Companies in areas affected by the deadly earthquake that took place on 06 February 2023 and are officially under a state of emergency will not be able to lay off employees or cancel service...
23 February 2023
Netherlands: statutory minimum wage to become hourly from 2024
The Dutch Senate has passed a law that will introduce an hourly statutory minimum wage from 1 January 2024. The bill was passed by the upper house on 14 February, having been approved by the Dutch...
20 February 2023
Bulgaria: whistleblower protection law finally passed
Bulgaria’s national assembly has passed a law to protect whistleblowers, after more than a year of delays and various amendments. Passed on 2 February 2023 and set to come into force on 4...
20 February 2023
United Kingdom: Zurich Insurance offers tax-free loans to staff so they can make their homes more energy efficient
The UK business of Swiss insurance group Zurich is to offer its 5,000 employees the opportunity to take out interest and tax-free loans of up to £10,000 (€11,206), which they can use to...
17 February 2023
Spain: law creating menstrual leave definitively passed
Members of the Spanish parliament have passed a law that will allow women suffering from painful periods to take “menstrual leave” from work. The measure (article 5ter) is part of a...
17 February 2023
Germany: whistleblower protection law hit by new delay
A bill passed in December by the German Bundestag, for law to protect whistleblowers (Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz), was blocked on Friday 10 February by the Bundesrat, the chamber where the...
17 February 2023
US: salary comparison calculator shows the material benefits of trade unionism
Although trade union membership in the US is at an historical low (10.1% in 2022, vs. 10.3% in 2021), public opinion is more supportive of unionism than ever, with 71% of Americans...
15 February 2023
Australia: gender pay gap in companies with over 100 employees to be made public
On 08 February 2023, the government presented a text to the Senate proposing the mandatory publication of gender equality data by businesses with more than 100 staff. Thus, from 2024 onwards, the...
15 February 2023
Poland: employers allowed to carry out sobriety checks (drugs and alcohol)
The new regulation allowing employers to carry out ‘preventive, one-off sobriety tests’ on employees comes into force on 21 February 2023. Tests will be able to verify the presence of...
15 February 2023
Belgium: bicycle allowance extended to all private companies
All Belgian private sector companies can now grant a mileage allowance to their employees who cycle to work and apply for it by 01 May 2023, at the latest. While the allowance amount is not fixed...
14 February 2023
China: the four-and-a-half-day week at Leshi, a model for the future?
Since 1 January 2023, the 400 employees of Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp, a video streaming platform founded in 2011, have been able to work a four-and-a-half-day week without...
13 February 2023
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
Catherine Chavanier (CDC Habitat): “Social dialogue on AI facilitates its deployment”
In February, CDC Habitat (10,500 employees) signed a two-year framework agreement governing social dialogue on AI. Catherine Chavanier, HR Director of the subsidiary of CDC (Caisse des dépôts et...
2
Greece: hospitality sector signs first collective agreement aligned with National Social Pact
The hospitality sector (125,000 employees), one of Greece’s largest industries after retail, signed a new two-year collective agreement on 17 March. The text, effective from 1 April 2026...
3
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...
4
France: Club Med includes “multiculturalism” in its professional equality agreement
In December 2025, Club Med and the CFTC, Unsa, and FO trade unions signed an agreement on professional equality and working conditions. It introduces measures addressing AI, pay transparency, and...
23 March 2026
5
Germany: crisis and transformation wage agreement in the chemical sector
Following a two-day marathon negotiation in Bad Breisig (Western Germany), the social partners of the German chemical and pharmaceutical industries—the IG BCE trade union and the BAVC employers'...
27 March 2026
6
France: bioMérieux’s new disability agreement pivots towards mental health
The news. On 6 January 2026, bioMérieux—an in vitro diagnostics specialist employing 4,400 people in France—signed a new four-year agreement “relating to the employment...