On 8 December 2021, the Labour Tribunal of Brussels ruled that Deliveroo riders should not be qualified as employees, but rather as self-employed workers.
It is the first ruling on the labour relationship qualification of workers in the platform economy by a labour tribunal or court in Belgium.
On 13 December 2021, the British Columbia Supreme Court has certified a class action lawsuit brought by former employees against the owners of the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.
This is one of the first certified class actions in Canada which deals with terminations arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
On 1 December 2021, the Supreme Court of Ireland ruled over the nature of protected disclosure for the purposes of the Protected Disclosures Act, marking a clear line between an employee’s grievance and a protected disclosure.
Due to COVID-19, the existing agreements on the tax regime of employees working at home, instead of in the country where they should normally work, was further extend until 31 March 2022.
The measure aims to prevent that the employment income of cross-border employees working from home becomes fully taxable in their State of residence.
Publicis unveiled a new program called "Work Your World", giving its employees the opportunity to work for six weeks each year from any region or country in which the group is present.
The programme starting on January 2022, aims to attract talent and offer more flexibility to employees.
On 10 December 2021, the National Minimum Wage Commission (NMWC) presented its report and recommendations on the annual review of the national minimum wage for 2022.
The majority of Commissioners, after considering the current economic state of the country and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both employers and employees, recommends that the national minimum wage should be increased by 1,0% above inflation.
The recently published Eurofund report analyses how social partners are increasingly adopting technological solutions to improve the services that they provide to their members and facilitate collective bargaining processes.
It shows that the way social partners use digital technologies varies greatly across the EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom (UK).
On 6 December 2021, the former Mayor of New York City (NYC), Bill de Blasio, announced a vaccine mandate, covering all private-sector workers effective 27 December 2021.
On 15 December 2021, NYC released guidance on mandatory vaccine requirement for private employers.
Law No. 21,327 (Labour Directorate Modernization Act), published in the Official Gazette on 30 April 2021, came into force on 1 October 2021.
It aims to modernise the Labour Department, also through the incorporation of new technologies and the digitalisation of procedures.
On 28 October 2021, the law was published in the Official Gazette the Supreme Decree No. 37 of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which approves the Regulation of Law No. 21,327.
In Spain, on 24 December 2021, trade unions, employers’ associations and the Government reached a triangular agreement on labour reform.
After approval in the Council of Ministers, the agreement was translated into Royal Decree-Law No. 32/2021 of 28 December 2021 on urgent measures for labour reform, guarantee for stable employment and transformation of the job market.
On 16 December 2021, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU announced that they had reached a provisional agreement on the revised texts of the European social security coordination regulations.
The agreement facilitates labour mobility within the EU and, at the same time, safeguards workers’ social rights in cross-border situations.
The tool guides ILO constituents and their partners through a detailed self-assessment of their institution and devise an action plan to enhance its inclusiveness and effectiveness.
How might the climate emergency shape future employment law and practice? There are close connections between the world of work and the duty to fight climate change, that will drive change across the world, seeking for a more sustainable approach to business.
In a recent decision on 28 October 2021, the CJUE stated that the period during which an employee attends vocational training required by the employer represents working time.
A decisive factor is the fact that the worker is required to be physically present at the place determined by the employer and to remain available to the employer in order to be able, if necessary, to provide his or her services immediately.
The Randstad Workmonitor is a global survey launched in 2003. Published twice a year, it covers now 34 markets around the world and highlights local and global trends in the job market.
The latest research shows that workers around the world are finding themselves part of the 'Great Enlightenment' as they have gained more clarity about their work and personal lives.
On 29 October 2021, the National Wages Council (NWC), a tripartite body made up by employer, employee and government representatives, developed its annual Guidelines on wages and employment-related issues for the period 1 December 2021 - 30 November 2022.
The NWC therefore also calls on all employers who have not done it yet to implement the Flexible Wage System (“FWS”).
What will the new normal look like? Where will we be working in the future? How can employers manage teams working remotely? To answer all these questions, , Deutsche Bank released in September 2021.its report “The Future of Work – Learning from Sport”.
It mentions how the work-from-home trend started and what impact it is having today during the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the benefits of working from home but also some of the more negative impacts that working in isolation could have on employees.
The government proposed a package aims to overcome the economic crisis brought about by the pandemic, including beefing up support for companies actively raising employee wages.
It is working on plans to raise the maximum tax deduction rate to 40 per cent for small businesses and 30% for large corporates that increase employee wages.
A new workplace after the Covid-19 pandemic: what issues do new ways of working raise and how can employers address them?
Ius Laboris employment lawyers from all around the world prepared 40 questions and answers on eight main topics: Vaccination, Health & Safety, Working time, Expenses, Labour relations, Remote investigations, Working abroad and Ethical investments.
It includes a Communication, setting out the EU approach and measures on platform work, a proposal for a Directive and a Draft Guidelines on how EU competition applies to attempts by self-employed gig economy actors to bargain collectively.
From 8 to 11 November 2021 at the Namibia University of Science and Technology Hotel School was held the first National Apprenticeship Week, aiming to promote apprenticeship in Namibia and highlighting the significance that it can have for economy, society and business.
On 28 September 2021, a web-based Covid-19 risk assessment service has been launched by Minister of Manpower, Ida Fauziyah, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Japan, Masami Tamura, and Michiko Miyamoto, Country Director for International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Indonesia.
President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued the Federal Decree - Law No.33 of 2021 - on the regulation of labour relations in the private sector.
It repeals Federal Labour Law No. 8 of 1980 and will take effect from 2 February 2022.
On 10 December 2021, the Parliament passed the “Law to strengthen vaccination prevention against Covid-19".
By 15 March 2022, employees in clinics, nursing homes, outpatient care services and similar facilities must present proof of being vaccinated or convalescent.
Law no. 83/2021, published on 6 December 2021, introduces some changes to the remote work regime and sets a general duty on employers to refrain from contacting employees outside working hours.
The second segment of the 109th Session of the ILO International Labour Conference took place from 25 November to 11 December 2021 (the first segment was held from 3 to 19 June, as we reported in our article). Two General Discussions, on inequalities and skills, were on the agenda.
ILO Constituents reiterated the need to develop new strategies to reduce inequalities and boost skills and life-long learning.
It imposes specific cybersecurity requirements to large European-based companies, relating to incident response, supply chain security, encryption and vulnerability disclosure obligations, aiming to establish better cooperation and information sharing between EU Member States, and create a common European vulnerability database.
The well-regulated agency work model facilitates the flexibility of and access to a diverse jobs market, enabling individuals to enjoy genuine independent or self-employed status without compromising their social rights and employment protections
For these reasons, agency work can be a leading model for the platform work economy.
Africa is growing exponentially in the online gig economy.
The 2021 Fairwork Foundation report on gig work in South Africa confirms that digital labour platforms hold the potential to reduce the extremely high unemployment and inequality levels.
Uber has announced that it will start rolling out the first ever pension scheme for flexible workers in the Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) and ride-hailing industry in the United Kingdom
Eligible drivers will be auto-enrolled in a pension scheme provided by NOW: Pensions, and managed by leading workplace solutions provider Adecco.
On 15 September 2021, Amazon Italia Logistics and the workers' unions signed an agreement, undertaking to comply with the rules of the Logistics, Freight and Forwarding national collective agreement (CCNL) as a regulatory instrument for employment and labour relations.
It is the first agreement on the system of industrial relations with the e-commerce giant.
Flexicurity is an integrated strategy for enhancing, at the same time, flexibility and security in the labour market. It attempts to reconcile employers' need for a flexible workforce with workers' need for security.
The “Hilfr agreement”, signed by the cleaning platform Hilfr and the United Federation of Danish Workers, is one of the first examples for collective bargaining and of attempt in flexicurity terms in the platform economy.
Governmental Order No. 2021-484 of 21 April 2021 on the modalities of representation of self-employed workers using platforms is currently under the revision of the Parliament.
The Portuguese Government approved a broad-ranging labour reform draft bill that also aims to implement a rebuttable presumption of employment specific for platform workers to to ease worker reclassification as employees instead of independent contractors.
Such a proposal will still need to get the final approval from Parliament, depending on the results of the 30 January 2022 snap general elections. If passed by the Parliament, drivers for ride-hailing, delivery and other apps, would be treated as presumed employees rather than self-employed.
On 31 August 2021, the First Instance Argentine Labour Court ruled on the legal nature of the work relationship between a vehicle driver and a platform company.
It stated that a driver of the platform was misclassified as contactor and therefore, was under an unregistered employment relationship with the company.
On 13 September 2021, the Amsterdam District Court, in alignment with a previous judgment in a Deliveroo’s case, ruledin first instance that Uber drivers are employees and that the sectoral collective labour agreement (CAO Taxivervoer) would apply to Uber drivers, including pay requirements and some benefits.
The Court stated that three elements must be considered to decide if there is an employment agreement: personal performance of work, in exchange for payment of wages and in the service of the employer (a relationship of authority).
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