News

More than eighteen months after its initial drafting, the coronavirus pandemic alongside the outlook for a serious nationwide economic and social crisis have provided the necessary impetus for the...

31 March 2020

France: temporary extension of short-time working measures

An ordinance to enact “emergency measures” related to short-time working, which was published in France’s official journal on 28 March (here), temporarily modifies the rules on how certain...

30 March 2020

Spain: government halts all non-essential activities and bans redundancies resulting from consequences of the pandemic

On 29 March the Spanish government put the country into “hibernation” through a decree that only allows essential activities to continue, so as to limit the movement of people and therefore the...

30 March 2020

EU: European Trade Union Confederation calls for efforts to protect jobs amid coronavirus pandemic

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected over half a million people and led to around 30,000 deaths across the globe, 18 European Union countries as well as Norway and the UK...

30 March 2020

Germany: chemical industry social partners strike crisis agreement

Social partners in Germany’s chemical industry, the IG BCE union and the employer confederation BAVC, this week unveiled a ‘crisis agreement’ that will apply until the end of the year. This...

27 March 2020

France: agreement reached at Thales to manage the continuation of business, as well as its decline, amid the ongoing health crisis

Signed on 26 March by all the representative trade union organisations within at Thales (the CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC and CGT), the purpose of the agreement at the aerospace group is “to govern the...

27 March 2020

United Kingdom: government to pay self-employed people impacted by coronavirus outbreak 80% of their profits

In the face of pressure from trade unions, the UK’s Conservative government extended its scheme to support jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, with the announcement on 26 March that it will also...

27 March 2020

Estonia: government implements range of measures to help firms and workers cope with Covid-19 epidemic

To cope with the economic and social crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic, the Estonian government has presented a set of measures to support companies and their employees, including the...

27 March 2020

France: new partial unemployment regulations published

France’s Official Journal of 26 March published a decree that modifies arrangements for calculating State compensation allowances to be paid to employers operating under partial unemployment...

26 March 2020

France: trade union call for shareholder solidarity support during the Covid-19 pandemic

On 25 March the CFDT trade union called for companies to abstain from paying dividends this a year that is beset by the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘While the Covid-19 health...

26 March 2020

Italy: pressure from the trade unions sees the government further narrow the definition of the ‘essential productive activities’ that are authorized to operate

After marathon talks on 24 and 25 March with the Economy and Economic Development Ministries, the central trade unions CGIL, CISL, and UIL secured a revision to the definition of ‘essential...

26 March 2020

United States: Washington puts a $2 trillion stimulus package in place to cope with the economic consequences of Covid-19

Following intense negotiations (24 and 25 March) Washington’s Democrat and Republican Senators eventually came to agreement over a $2 trillion economic stimulus package, in what is the biggest...

26 March 2020

Norway: government adopts a plan to help companies and employees cope with the coronavirus

On top of the economic crisis, Norway is facing a major jobs problem because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the past few weeks unemployment has risen from 2.3% to 10.9%, echoing levels unheard of...

26 March 2020

France: adoption of three ordinances modifying the Labor Code to cope with the consequences of Covid-19

On 25 March 2020, France’s Council of Ministers adopted three ordinances under the Emergency Bill of 23 March 2020 to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic (c.f. article No. 11749). One of the three...

25 March 2020

Germany: lack of legal validity for decisions made via videoconference poses a serious issue for works councils

The German laws on codetermination are definitive. Works council decisions made via videoconference have no legal value. However, amid the economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, works...

25 March 2020

Italy: new agreement to protect banking sector employees with branch offices only open for scheduled customer appointments

On 24 March Italy’s banking sector employers and trade union bodies together signed a new agreement that includes the anti-coronavirus protocol from the preceding week (c.f. article No. 11732)...

25 March 2020

1…96 979899 100…720

Our mind news

See all

France: La Poste to launch negotiations for an AI agreement

Following the lead of firms such as Axa, Syensqo globally, and more recently CDC Habitat, La Poste group management will open negotiations on an AI regulation agreement during the first half of...

5 March 2026

France: Crédit Agricole to tighten remote work rules

Crédit Agricole is to adopt stricter rules on remote work from mid-March onwards. The rules will be tightened for employees, but the maximum number of days working remotely will remain unchanged.

29 January 2026

France: Orange submits gender equality agreement – including AI provisions – for union approval

The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...

8 December 2025

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

Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR

What readers clicked on the most last month.

In the category

What readers clicked on the most last month.

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

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

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