News brief

Ireland: Government announces new public holidays
On 07 February 2022, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar announced the signing of a decree introducing two new public holidays. The first, which is a...
9 February 2022
Great Britain: Amazon creates 1,500 apprenticeship position contracts
On 02 February 2022, the American online retail giant announced the creation of 40 apprenticeship schemes in its UK subsidiary, which currently employs 70,000. Delivered across all of...
Spain: labour market reform adopted by parliament
Spanish members of parliament voted on 3 February to approve the labour market reform presented by the government. The bill passed in highly controversial circumstances, ranging from last-minute...
7 February 2022
United Kingdom: supermarket chain Co-op acknowledges that shop floor and warehouse roles are “comparable”
UK supermarket chain Co-op has voluntarily acknowledged that roles on the shop floor and in its warehouses are comparable, following in the footsteps of local competitor Sainsbury’s, which...
4 February 2022
Portugal: businesses entitled to claim compensation of €112 per employee for minimum wage increase
As of 1 February, companies in Portugal can register on a platform to claim compensation for the increase in the guaranteed national minimum wage, regardless of their legal status. The minimum...
4 February 2022
Great Britain: towards a single ‘worker’ status?
A Status of Workers Bill aimed at simplifying the status of workers is currently being examined by the House of Commons, after passing through the House of Lords at the end of January. Sponsored...
3 February 2022
Great Britain: the government maintains the increase in social insurance contributions scheduled for April
In a Sunday Times article from 30 January, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his finance minister Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed their intention to raise national insurance payments in April...
2 February 2022
EU: a pact to develop skills in the tourism sector
Launched by the European Commission on 31 January 2022, the call for’ reskilling and upskilling the European tourism workforce’ forms the backbone of the new variant of the Pact for...
Germany: number of pensioners in work on the rise
Germany’s Federal Employment Agency has calculated that the number of pensioners in work has increased by 30% since 2017. Looking more closely at the details, 300,000 people over the legal...
31 January 2022
United Kingdom: Deloitte introduces flexible public holidays
On 26 January, consulting giant Deloitte announced a flexible public holiday policy for its 22,000 UK employees, meaning they can opt to work on public holidays such as Christmas Day or Good...
28 January 2022
Germany: draft law for €12 minimum wage tabled
An increase in Germany’s minimum wage to €12 per hour – a central campaign pledge of the new chancellor Olaf Scholz – appears to be in the offing, as it is the first draft...
28 January 2022
South Korea: tougher sanctions for workplace accidents
South Korea’s Severe Accident Punishment Act entered into force on 27 January 2022, one year after it was passed by the country’s national assembly. Under the new provisions...
28 January 2022
France: at Kantar, the weekend starts on Friday at 3pm
Since July 2021, employees at the market research and consulting company Kantar Insights France have been able to stop work at 3pm every Friday. This measure, which was originally run on a trial...
26 January 2022
China: publication of the first five-year national plan for vocational skills training
Among the goals of the ‘special five-year plan for vocational skills training’ recently presented by the Chinese authorities, is the indication that State subsidised training courses...
Ireland: employers can only decline remote working requests on business grounds
On 25 January, the Irish government unveiled draft legislation giving employees with at least six months’ employment history the opportunity to request permission for remote working from...
26 January 2022
Netherlands: Achmea to allocate every employee a one-time €2,500 ‘climate budget’
Dutch insurer Achmea is introducing a new innovative company collective labour agreement, which was approved on 14 January 2022 by the two of the three trade unions, namely FNV Finance and CNV...
19 January 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
Import bans on forced labor products are multiplying
Under pressure from new US tariffs, many countries have presented texts in recent weeks to ban the import of products made with forced labor. A real breakthrough for workers' rights or a mere...
9 September 2026
2
Germany: a “simplification” proposal for the Corporate Governance Code
In early August, the Government Commission presented proposals to reform the Deutscher Corporate Governance Kodex (DCGK), Germany’s Corporate Governance Code. The proposals are primarily aimed at...
31 August 2026
3
France: EDF served formal notice for failure to comply with its sustainability due diligence obligations
The news. On 23 September, Greenpeace France announced that it had served EDF with a formal notice for failure to comply with its sustainability due diligence obligations due to the risks of harm...
24 September 2026
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Slovakia: a bill to “clarify” personal data protection measures
The news. The Slovak government approved a bill on personal data protection on August 26, 2026. This text aims to clarify existing regulations regarding employees’ rights and...
7 September 2026