News brief

United Kingdom: companies reluctant to hire over-50s (survey)
Research conducted by the Chartered Management Institute, which surveyed more than 1,000 managers in the UK, found that only 42% would be open to recruiting people aged between 50 and 64. For...
New Zealand: minimum wage increase from 1 April
On 08 February 2023 Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that the minimum wage would be increased by 7.08% (NZ$1.50) from 01 April 2023, saying that the impact on inflation would be...
9 February 2023
Great Britain: towards a right for a degree of control over working patterns
On 03 February 2023, the UK government announced its support for the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill. Championed by Conservative MP Scott Benton, the bill, currently being debated...
9 February 2023
Denmark: government plan to eliminate a public holiday sparks trade union ire
On 02 February 2023 the Danish Parliament discussed the government’s plan to abolish a public holiday in order to increase defence spending following the conflict in Ukraine. With this plan...
8 February 2023
Portugal: three-day sick leave can be self-declared
Portuguese workers will be able to take a three-day sick leave period without having to obtain a certificate from a doctor. All that is required is that the employee reports the illness online...
7 February 2023
United States: NLRB condemns Apple’s “culture of secrecy”
Apple is violating US labour laws by seeking to curtail the freedom of its staff to talk about certain topics, according to legal experts at the National Labor Relations Board. This was the...
6 February 2023
EU: European Parliament votes to strengthen role of European Works Councils
A report drafted by German MEP Dennis Radtke, which urges the European Commission to revise the 2009 directive on European Works Councils, was supported by the European Parliament in a vote on 2...
3 February 2023
The Netherlands: Senate adopts bill amending Whistleblowers Act
On 24 January 2023, after more than a year’s delay, the Dutch Senate finally adopted the bill protecting whistleblowers. The European Commission had launched an infringement procedure...
1 February 2023
France: digital and consulting sectors to give two days’ leave to women who suffer a miscarriage
The business organisation Syntec, which brings together French companies in the digital and consulting sectors, among others, has signed an agreement with all the relevant trade unions on the...
30 January 2023
Portugal: 20 days of bereavement leave for the death of a spouse
On 23 January 2023, Portugal’s parliamentarians approved an amendment to the country’s labour code that increases paid bereavement leave for the death of a spouse from an original 5...
26 January 2023
Great Britain: consultation launched to finalise the code of practice combatting the wave of ‘fire and rehire’
On 24 January 2023, the UK executive opened a 12-week consultation aimed at finalising its Draft Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement. The code, promised in 2022 following the P&O...
25 January 2023
Amazon: report by international trade union exposes impact of surveillance technology on workers’ health
UNI Global Union, the international union federation, has published a report based on a survey of 2,000 employees – from eight countries – at US e-commerce giant Amazon. Published on...
23 January 2023
France: an agreement to guarantee Uber drivers a minimum income amount per journey
On 18 January 2023, two trade unions, two associations for VTC drivers (passenger car with driver) and two organisations representing the online platforms signed a wage agreement guaranteeing a...
19 January 2023
Croatia: substantial changes to the Labour Law
On 01 January 2023, amendments to Croatia’s Labour Act came into force. The text adopted on 16 December 2022 limits to three the number of successive fixed-term employment contracts allowed...
19 January 2023
United States: new Federal protections for pregnant women
On 22 December 2022, the US Senate passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act as part of the 2023 budget vote. The text...
UK: executive seeks to make holiday pay calculations consistent for temporary workers
After the Supreme Court ruled in July 2022 that the calculation of holiday pay for a contract teacher should be similar to that used for permanent employees, the executive has decided to legislate...
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