On 31 July 2021, a decree was enacted to amend and extend the terms provided for the implementation and compliance of the tax, labor, and social security obligations imposed to employers under the Outsourcing Amendment adopted last April.
The decree extends the deadline by which employers must implement the provisions of the reform to 1 September 2021.
Law No. 2021-1040 of 5 August 2021 on health crisis management covers two main measures: the extension of the health pass (‘passe sanitaire’) and the compulsory vaccination for certain categories of people working in the health sector.
Failure by the employer to comply with the obligation to monitor compliance with the vaccination requirement is punishable by a fine of 1500 EUR.
On 7 July 2021, the Minister of Labour, Filomena Tassi, announced that the Government will bring the Pay Equity Act into force on 31 August 2021, and that the final Pay Equity Regulations are available in Part II of the Canada Gazette.
Federally-regulated employers with 10 or more employees will have three years to develop and implement their proactive pay equity plans.
The governments of Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut and Indigenous governing bodies are currently exempt from the application of the Act.
On 19 June 2021, Government Gazette A’ 101 publish the Law 4808/2021 (), which introduces crucial reforms on individual employment relationships in compliance with ILO Conventions 190 and 187, and transposes Directive (EU) 2019/1158.
On 4 August 2021, the Australian High Court unanimously allowed an appeal from a judgment of the Full Court of the Federal Court concerning the nature of casual employment, the so-called “Rossato case”.
Although the meaning of a ‘casual employee’ is now defined in legislation (the Fair Work Act) due to an amendment which came into effect in March this year, this decision still has legal and policy implications.
The High Court held that a "casual employee" is an employee who has no firm advanced commitment from the employer as to the duration of the employee's employment or the days (or hours) the employee will work, and provides no reciprocal commitment to the employer.
In determining whether a “firm advance commitment” exists, the focus must be on contractual obligations between the parties, because where there are express terms of the contract of employment (as varied from time to time), they must be given effect unless they are contrary to legislation.
Reliance on non-contractual aspects of the employment relationship (e.g. working in accordance with a roster) to assert there was a “firm advance commitment” was not accepted, as there were not express or implied terms of Mr Rossato’s contract. The Court unanimously determined that Mr Rossato was a casual employee, considering that his employment was expressly on an "assignment-by-assignment basis", he was entitled to accept or reject any offer of an assignment, and at the completion of each assignment the company was under no obligation to offer further assignments.
UK Supreme Court judgment in the Uber v Aslam case has affected the common law relating to employment relationship. This could have ramifications in other jurisdictions, such as South Asia, which follow the principles of English Common Law in determining the existence of an employment relationship.
Following Spanish Supreme Court decision on Deliveroo’s workers, Deliveroo announced it will leave the Spanish market by the end of October 2021, but only for economic reasons, aiming to focus investment and resources on other markets.
International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) partnered with ECOP to launch their new eCampus platform,
ECOP will offer online courses on topics such as industrial relations, human resource management, occupational safety and health, entrepreneurship, management development and employee development.
According to some Italian Court, the employer can suspend an employee from work and pay, based on the judgment, by the competent doctor, of her temporary unfitness due to refusal to undergo the vaccine Covid, or if the vaccinations she refused are an essential requirement for exercising the profession.
According to the Trento Labour Court, it is lawful to dismissal of an employee, who repeatedly refuses to wear a face mask in the workplace.
The study underlined that the relevance of employee’s mental health for organisations has increased by 23% in 2020. It is now a matter of priority for 83% of companies.
The Latvian Employers’ Confederation (LDDK) managed the Balance for All (B4A) project, co-financed by the European Union, to put into practice and implement measures in Latvia that will create and improve preconditions for more equal access to the labour market and work-life balance.
As part of this project, it conducted a study on the legislative framework, best practices and various aspects of work-life balance in Latvia.
A recently published White Paper from the Adecco Group entitled “How to make remote work, work for everyone”, provides a comparative overview of the legislation on remote work in 16 countries and outlines a set of recommendations for employers and governments to successfully accompany a transition towards a hybrid work model.
The International Labour Office (ILO Office) released a new tool allowing country’s stakeholders and evaluation services at the national level to review their systems of apprenticeships and manage improvements.
In the case ‘Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and Norwegian Transport Workers’ Union (NTF) v. Norway - 45487/17’ (Judgment 10.6.2021 [Section V]), the European Court of Human Rights determined that Norway did not violate article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights on freedom of assembly and association.
The renewed declaration outlines the importance of avoiding the risk of losing the next generation of industrial workers by relaunching high-quality and effective apprenticeships.
It contains also a call for Member States to put apprenticeships in their recovery agendas and to allocate adequate funding.
The Resolution contains an agreement on concrete guidance to support the sustainability of social protection systems as an underlying condition to realise universal social protection.
The Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) discussed, among other topics, the Committee of Experts on the application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) 2020 General Survey and its Addendum.
Based on this discussion, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Constituents adopted an outcome that shed light, among other points, on the private sector as the principal source of economic growth and job creation, the need to promote an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and sustainable enterprises, and the role of sustainable enterprises as generators of employment and promoters of innovation and decent work.
Egyptian companies have contributed to fight the social and economic consequences of Covid-19.
Activities ranged from direct donations and gifting of medical supplies to skilling initiative, solidarity programmes for workers affected by the pandemic, youth empowerment.
In light of the social and economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the IOE Policy Working Group on Migration has restated the priorities for migration and recruitment practices.
The Government of Uzbekistan started reporting on compliance with workers’ rights, in line with international labour standards ratified in the country.
It provided data on the last cotton harvest and the sharp decrease in forced labour.
The 2021 ILC will first discuss topics such as the impact of Covid-19 on the world of work and the ILO’s response, social protection and the application of international Labour Standards.
A second part of the Conference to be held in November 2021 will discuss the topics of inequalities and skills.
The case Lamont v Ritchies Transport Holdings Limited highlights the possible negative consequences of multiple negotiations of different collective agreements.
WEC published a report on partnerships between public and private employment services
The report shows that much collaboration is present in countries with a mature and professional private employment industry
The key opportunities identified to level up these partnerships are increased functioning of labour markets and increased access to talent for employers
The urgency of these collaborations is underscored by the increased need to support people in making more labour market transition over the course of their lives.
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