News brief

France : adoption of purchasing power measures for employees
Meeting in extraordinary session, a majority of the elected/re-elected members of the country’s National Assembly following President Macron recent loss of his absolute parliamentary power...
26 July 2022
United Kingdom: Virgin Money to pay out £1,000 bonus to help staff cope with inflation
On 19 August, UK bank Virgin Money is to pay 78% of its staff a £1,000 (€1,175.31) bonus help them deal with the soaring cost of living. The 6,000 or so employees of the company set to...
25 July 2022
EU: unions call for directive on maximum working temperatures
After two workers died of heatstroke in Spain last week, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has today – on Monday 25 July – called on the European Commission to impose a...
25 July 2022
EU: pact for skills signed in digital sector
An eleventh sectoral pact has been signed as part of the European Skills Agenda launched by the Commission (see articles n°12903 and n°12881), this time in the digital space. Despite the...
20 July 2022
Luxembourg: government postpones indexation of wages to price rises planned for July
As it looks to tackle rampant inflation, the government of Luxembourg has decided to pause the automatic mechanism to index wages against the cost of living. While Statec, the Grand Duchy’s...
20 July 2022
Italy: gender equality certification for companies created
One of the priorities of Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza – PNRR) is to reward the companies that perform best in terms of gender...
20 July 2022
Malta: paid paternity and parental leave officially established
On 12 July 2022 the EU Directive of 20 June 2019 on the work-life balance of parents and carers (c.f. article No. 11231) was transposed into Maltese law by way of Legal Notice 201 entitled...
19 July 2022
Ireland: Parliament passes paid Sick Leave legislation
Approved by the Irish government in April (c.f. article No.12991), the Sick Leave Bill 2022 was officially passed on 13 July by the Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament). All that remains for this...
18 July 2022
France: 37% of employees consulted on Covid-19 safety measures
According to survey results from the Direction de l’animation de la recherche, des études et des statistiques (Dares- the research, studies and statistics division operating under the...
13 July 2022
Ukraine: international trade unions express concern over unravelling of labour law
Following the provisions adopted with the introduction of martial law in Ukraine (see articles n°12971 and 13075), the weakening of labour law could this time be permanent. Deputies in the...
12 July 2022
Romania: bill tabled to create leave allowances for caregivers and family emergencies
The Romanian government has tabled a bill that will introduce various amendments to the country’s labour code, with a view to transposing, by the start of August, the European directive on...
12 July 2022
Italy: government adopts definitive versions of decree-laws on work-life balance and transparent working conditions
The two texts adopted by Italy’s Council of Ministers on 22 June confirm the provisions of the draft versions approved at the end of March (see articles n°12999 and n°13002). The...
8 July 2022
The Netherlands: recognition of telework as a legal right
On 05 July, the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) approved an initiative bill geared towards making home working a legal right. This text, supported by the social liberal Democrats 66...
7 July 2022
Great Britain: the government seeks to lower childcare costs in order to encourage parents to return to work
In its plan unveiled on 04 July, the UK executive announced the launch of a consultation aimed at reducing the childcare ratio in nurseries (early year settings for 2 year olds). According to its...
7 July 2022
Italy: new Covid-19 protocol in the workplace
On 30 June, as the seventh wave of Covid-19 sweeps through the country, Italy’s government and social partners signed a new Covid-19 workplace protocol, which simplifies the previous...
7 July 2022
EU: MEPs call for measures to prevent ‘technostress’* and ‘over-connection’
On 05 July, a majority of the EU parliament adopted a resolution ‘urging’ measures from the EU Commission to tackle the issue of mental health in the digital workplace. The MEPs once...
6 July 2022
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
Germany: government seeks to facilitate immigration of skilled Indian workers
During a visit to India earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the strategic importance of attracting Indian workers to Germany, signing a series of cooperation agreements...
2
France: Medef publishes guide to support career transitions and retraining
France's largest employer federation Medef has provided its regional representatives with a practical guide designed to support career transitions and retraining. Structured around three key tools...
6 February 2026
3
France: 2026 budget expected to maintain employer contribution relief
On 19 January 2026, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu decided to invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass France's 2026 budget without a vote in the National Assembly. Three days...
4
EU: Cyprus unveils its six-month presidency programme
Cyprus has set out its priorities for its six-month presidency of the Council of the EU. On the social front, the centre-right government will focus on the Union of Skills, which aims to boost...
5
Informal economy and slow wage growth hamper decent work, ILO says
The International Labour Organisation published its Employment ans Social Trends 2026 on 14 January. It anticipates unemployment stabilising in 2026 and employment growth of 1%, driven by...
6
EU: Commission wants to facilitate entry of international ‘talent’
In a recommendation published on 29 January, the European Commission calls on member states to take a series of measures to attract and retain international talent. It targets holders of skilled...