Russian Government Considers the Draft Federal Law Regarding ILO Paid Leaves Convention
The draft federal law "On ratification of the Convention N 132 "On paid leaves" of the International Labor Organization" is now under consideration of the Government of the Russian Federation.
The Convention was adopted on June 24, 1970 and stipulates the main rights of individuals on guaranteed annual paid leave. According to the provisions of the Convention, each member of the International Labor Organization upon its ratification is obliged to establish a minimal term of paid annual leave as well as the categories of employees it shall apply to. Therefore the draft federal law on ratification of the Convention envisages that the guaranteed annual paid leave in Russia comprises 28 calendar days and is applicable to the employees both of agricultural and non-agricultural economic sectors.
The currently effective legislation of the Russian Federation complies with the Convention. But the Government intends to ratify it in order to constitute Russian legislation basing on universally recognized norms of labor law which serve as the basis for all national labor laws.
The World Cup's Impact in the Workplace
On June 11, the world's largest sporting event - the World Cup - will begin its month-long series of games in South Africa. This football competition (soccer, to Americans), which takes place every four years, will no doubt dominate the attention and water cooler conversations of sports fans in every workplace. The games are scheduled to be broadcast in the United States between 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, which is the entire work day for most industries. As a result, U.S. employers will face certain challenges in maintaining productivity, limiting absenteeism, and preserving civility in the workplace.
For example, employers should be prepared for the possibility of more frequent requests for days/time off, as well as unscheduled absences. It would behoove employers to review their absence and vacation/paid leave policies in anticipation of the World Cup, and to determine in advance how strictly these policies will be enforced during the event. Also, employees may spend a great deal of time watching the games via their computers, which not only impacts productivity, but also network bandwidth. Employers that monitor personal Internet use should remind employees of this practice.
Continue Reading...Employment Newsnotes (Issue 48, Spring 2010)
LS Newsnotes Issue 48 Spring 2010
(PDF) is an occasional publication by
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The potential implications of a Conservative government for employment law
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Bullying and harassment in the workplace
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Tribunal and court decisions rewriting
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A successful age discrimination claim by a middle-aged employee
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Severe weather: employment law issues
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Serial litigants in employment tribunals
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Employment of children
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Scope of the right to claim discrimination on grounds of 'philosophical belief'
New Right for Employees to Request Time Off for Training
A new right to request time off to undertake study or training will be available to employees working in businesses in the UK employing 250 or more people, with effect from 6 April 2010. The law will be extended to all organisations, regardless of size, from April 2011.
Continue Reading...Regulations on Equal Treatment for Agency Workers Finalised
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010, implementing the EC Temporary Agency Workers Directive (2008/104/EC) have been put before the UK Parliament, although they will not come into force until October 2011. The Regulations provide all employment agency workers with a right to equal treatment in basic working and employment conditions with their directly employed counterparts after 12 weeks in a given job.
Continue Reading...Holiday Pay on Holiday Pay? The "Snowball" Effect Confirmed by the Supreme Court
On 29 June 2009, the Belgium Supreme Court issued an important
judgment (pdf) concerning holiday pay of employees whose remuneration is (partially) variable. The question was the following: Does the single holiday pay on the variable remuneration of the employee and which is paid during the year X, have to be taken into account in the basis of calculation of the holiday pay of the year X + 1?
Continue Reading...
UK Implementation of EU Temporary Agency Workers Directive Delayed
The Government has announced that regulations implementing the European Temporary Agency Workers Directive (2008/104/EC) will not come into force until October 2011.
Earlier this year, the Government carried out an initial consultation on how to implement the Directive, which requires that temporary agency workers be given equal treatment with permanent workers as regards basic working conditions such as pay, working hours and holidays. In the UK, the equal treatment rule will only apply after an agency worker has been in the same job for at least 12 weeks.
A second consultation document has now been published which sets out further details about the way in which the Government intends to proceed and contains a set of draft regulations on which comments are invited.
Continue Reading...European Court of Justice Rules on Conflict Between Annual Leave and Sick Leave
The European Court of Justice recently handed down its preliminary ruling in Pereda v. Madrid Movilidad SA (C-277/08), holding that a worker who is on sick leave during a period of previously scheduled annual leave has the right, on request, to take that leave during a period which does not coincide with the period of sick leave. Stated differently, if a worker has arranged a period of annual leave but in fact is sick during some or all of that period, he or she may ask the employer to reschedule the leave for a period when the employee is not sick.
Continue Reading...Proposed Legislation Would Require New York City Employers to Provide Paid Sick Leave
A proposal is now pending before the New York City Council to amend the Administrative Code of New York City to require all employers - no matter how small - to provide paid sick leave to employees working in the city. The definition of "employee" under this bill is expansive, and would include any person working in
Employment Newsnotes (Issue 47, Summer 2009)
Employment Newsnotes (PDF) is a quarterly publication by Lewis Silkin covering recent UK employment law developments in an accessible, succinct and entertaining way. The latest issue includes articles on:
- Employee expenses claims: how employers can devise a clear and effective policy
- Preparing for swine flu: employment law issues
- New Government proposals on medical sickness certificates
- Cost-saving alternatives to redundancy
- Forthcoming legislation prohibiting trade union blacklisting
- Recovering overpayments of wages
- Age discrimination: UK mandatory retirement regime to be reviewed in 2010
- 'Dual discrimination' measures included in Equality Bill