News

France: agreement on ‘arduous’ work at Securitas boosts end-of-career measures
On 14 October, the management of the French subsidiary of Swedish security firm Securitas (16,700 employees) and the CFDT, FO, CGT and CFE-CGC trade unions signed a three-year agreement on arduous...
20 November 2024
Germany: collapse of governing coalition sees several bills fall by the wayside
With Germany's coalition government losing its parliamentary majority, bills on areas including pension reform, regulation of the use of artificial intelligence in recruitment and the calculation...
19 November 2024
Portugal: potential extension of parental leave sparks debate
A bill proposing to extend paid parental leave from four months to six was approved by Parliament on 27 September. The government points to the high cost of the measure and the risk of further...
18 November 2024
France: social partners reach agreement on the employment of older workers
The social partners have reached a national cross-industry agreement (ANI) to promote the employment of 'experienced' employees. The text, which was endorsed by the employers' negotiators (Medef...
China: government seeks to improve working conditions for women as a priority
On 28 October, the government presented directives designed to halt the decline in the country's birth rate, as part of a wider plan to "rearm demographically". A number of measures are aimed at...
15 November 2024
BNP Paribas strengthens social floor with a new global agreement
On 4 November, BNP Paribas and the global union federation UNI Global Union signed a new agreement that strengthens the social floor common to all the French banking group's 182,656 employees. The...
14 November 2024
Germany: 5.1% pay rise over 25 months in metalworking industry
After two months of negotiations and several hundred walkouts across Germany, the social partners in the metalworking industry in two pilot regions (the coastal regions and Bavaria) have agreed on...
13 November 2024
Spain: aid for businesses and special leave for employees affected by the floods
On 11 November, the government adopted a series of emergency measures to support employees and businesses in the aftermath of the floods on 29 November. The floods caused extensive damage in 75...
Italy: ‘smart working’ on the rise at large companies
Hybrid working or 'smart working' as it is legally known in Italy, is becoming increasingly widespread at large companies in the country. The annual study by Milan's Politecnico University...
6 November 2024
Spain: government announces measures to support businesses affected by floods
Companies whose business has been impacted by the floods that killed more than 200 people between 29 and 30 October in Valencia will be able to take advantage of exceptional short-time working and...
Italy: UniCredit fosters staff retraining and generational renewal
A new plan to overhaul the Italian bank (32,381 employees), which has been approved by the unions, puts the emphasis on training: 600 employees will follow an innovative requalification programme...
Germany: crisis at Volkswagen and warning strikes in metalworking industry
Germany's metalworking and automotive sectors are going through a difficult time, with a series of major developments occuring concurrently. We learned on Monday that the management at Volkwagen...
Colombia: lower house approves major labour reform
The reform approved by the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia on 17 October is designed to give workers more rights, such as four weeks' paternity leave, days off for medical appointments and...
28 October 2024
Inditex global agreement extended to due diligence and digitalisation
On 10 October, Inditex renewed its global agreement with UNI Global Union, covering 165,000 employees in 215 countries, and extended it to cover the digitalisation of retail and vigilance over...
24 October 2024
Germany: bill presented to protect employees against AI and surveillance
On 16 October, Germany's labour and interior ministries set out the broad outline of a bill to protect employees' personal data in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) use in the workplace...
22 October 2024
Germany: four-day week experiment yields mixed results
On 18 October, the results of the study on the four-day week in Germany were presented by a team from the University of Münster. According to the data collected from the 41 companies involved...
21 October 2024
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
Italy: decree-law adopted to increase workplace safety
On 28 October, the Italian cabinet adopted a decree-law on health and safety at work, aimed at preventing and reducing accidents. The text addresses both the powers and actions of supervisory...
4 November 2025
2
Romania: parents of children with disabilities granted up to eight days of remote work per month
On 9 October, the Romanian parliament adopted a bill aiming to bolster support for parents of children with disabilities up to the age of 18. The legislation, which came into force on 12 October...
3
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...
31 October 2025
4
Spain: already well on the way to pay transparency?
Spain is preparing for the implementation of its national law transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which will take effect on 7 June 2026. The legislation marks another step forward in...
5 November 2025
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
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