News brief

France: leave of absence for vaccination appointments and new grounds for dismissal in health bill
The French government has set in motion the legislative process that will extend the so-called health pass (pass sanitaire) and make vaccination mandatory for health workers. Under the text, which...
15 July 2021
Belgium: government launches consultation to inform bill regulating platform work
On Wednesday 7 July, the Belgian government announced that it is to launch a forum for consultation on how platform work should be regulated. So far the country’s government has taken a back...
12 July 2021
Credit Suisse to allow its employees decide on how they structure their teleworking arrangements
From the end of the year, The Way We Work initiative that Credit Suisse launched globally will in principle allow employees to work permanently away from the office. The initiative should enable...
7 July 2021
Italy: government and social partners reach deal to manage the end of the redundancy freeze
With the freeze on redundancies (see articles n° 12558 and 12536) coming to an end on 30 June in Italy’s industry and agriculture sectors, an agreement was signed on 29 June –...
5 July 2021
Portugal: Altice announces collective redundancy of between 250 and 300 employees
Altice Portugal, the country’s largest telecommunications service provider, commenced a restructuring process in 2020, as part of efforts to prepare for 5G technology. The Portuguese...
2 July 2021
France: paternity leave extended from 11 to 25 calendar days
From 01 July 2021, fresh extensions to paternity and new children leave come into effect, rising from the current 11 to 25 calendar days for a single child, and from 18 to 32 calendar days for...
30 June 2021
Ireland: government promises tax cuts to promote remote work
On 28 June, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment launched a major campaign called #MakingRemoteWork. Broadcast across the media and social networks, the aim is to encourage Irish...
29 June 2021
Colombia: working week lowered from 48 to 42 hours
On 17 June, Colombia’s House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favour (117 for and 8 against) of a bill ratifying a reduction in working hours. Tabled in October 2019 in the Senate...
23 June 2021
Russia: unvaccinated workers may be facing mandatory unpaid leave
As Russia registers a new peak in Covid-19 cases and as the inoculation campaign struggles to make progress, official authorities have made an unexpected announcement. Russian media is reporting...
22 June 2021
Belgium: bereavement leave extended from three to ten days
The bill tabled by Nahima Lanjri, member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and of the CD&V (Christian Democratic and Flemish) party, which will extend bereavement leave, was...
21 June 2021
United Kingdom: online tool launched to ease access to shared parental leave
On 17 June the UK government launched an online tool to provide information to employees as regards their right to “shared parental leave” (SPL). Since its introduction in 2015, the...
21 June 2021
Colombia: congress approves extension of paternity leave and establishes parental leave allowance
Paternity leave is to be extended and a portion of maternity leave is to be converted into a shared 6-week parental leave allowance, under a bill tabled by José Daniel López, a...
21 June 2021
Germany: remote working requirement to be lifted from 1 July
In April the German government created a new measure – a so-called emergency brake (Bundesnotbremse) – that obliged all the Länder to adopt a certain number of protective measures...
18 June 2021
Portugal: Constitutional Court rejects 180-day trial period
In a ruling passed on 17 June, Portugal’s Constitutional Court rejected a 2019 rule change that extended initial trial periods for employees in their first job and those previously long-term...
18 June 2021
Great Britain: John Lewis Partnership introduces equal parental leave for all its employees
Six months of parental leave for all staff at the John Lewis Partnership group, regardless of the gender of the parent or the conditions of the child’s arrival. On 10 June the employee-owned...
17 June 2021
Britain: employment vacancies are being advertised for the first time only to those with Covid-19 vaccinations
“Had your vaccine and looking for an exciting new role? We are looking to add to our in-house maintenance team.” This is Pimlico Plumbers’ Twitter post from 09 June that is...
15 June 2021
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
EU: Omnibus Directive clears key milestone in European Parliament
On 13 October, the European Parliament’s position on the Omnibus Directive was approved by its Committee on Legal Affairs by 17 votes to six. Regarding due diligence rules, the report...
13 October 2025
2
mind RH analysis – Initial findings from CSRD social indicators
In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...
3
Netherlands: ING cites AI as it plans to cut around 950 jobs
Dutch bank ING has informed the employment agency UWV that it may cut around 950 jobs by 31 December 2026. In its notification on 20 October, the lender said the planned reductions stem partly...
30 October 2025
4
Italy: European pay transparency directive, a major step forward for businesses
Italy’s labour market continues to suffer from limited pay transparency and a persistent gender pay gap. The forthcoming implementation of the EU pay transparency directive — still awaiting...
5
Germany: EU pay transparency directive to force companies to ‘get tough’
Germany introduced a pay transparency law in 2017, meaning companies are already somewhat familiar with the issue. However, the broader scope and stricter requirements of the EU directive, the...
24 October 2025
6
France: government proposes suspending pension reform
French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu, reappointed on 10 October after resigning four days earlier, delivered his general policy speech to the National Assembly on 14 October. He announced the...
15 October 2025