Flemish Government Eases System of Individual Professional Training
Very recently, the Flemish government modified the regulation on Individual Professional Training (IPT).
The IPT permits a company, in consultation with the "Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding (VDAB)" (the public employment service of Flanders, comparable with the FOREm in Wallonia and Actiris in Brussels), to train and employ a job seeker during a certain period of time under favourable conditions. As long as the IPT runs, the employer only pays approximately one third of the usual labour cost.
The employer is, however, obliged to enter into a permanent contract with the trainee immediately after the training.
Continue Reading...Guidelines Released on the Re-employment of Older Workers in Singapore
The Singapore government intends to introduce re-employment legislation to take effect on 1 January 2012. The Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers was charged with the task of working through the practical aspects of the re-employment legislation and producing guidelines for employers. The guidelines were finalised following a round of public consultation in late 2009.
The guidelines are not legally binding. Rather, they are intended to assist employers and employees to prepare for the implementation of the re-employment legislation in 2012. The guidelines identify good re-employment practices that employers are encouraged to adopt in advance of the legislation coming into effect.
To read more about this development, please click here.
Contributors: George Cooper, Partner, and Celia Yuen, Senior Associate
Training of Employees
On 20 May 2010, the Parliament passed an amendment to the Labor Code concerning the training of employees, which will enter into force on 16 July 2010. It contains a definition of trainings, it regulates benefits related to training, etc. There is a transition rule, which stipulates that the old rules apply to employees who started trainings before 11 April 2010.
A Criminal Conviction Does Not Necessarily Justify a Sanction for a Disciplinary Fault
French courts have ruled that a failing linked to an employee's private life cannot be grounds for a disciplinary sanction by their employer. For example, a court decided that the fact that an ambulance driver couldn't be reached on his professional mobile phone outside his working hours was not a fault, even when such failing took place in the context of an emergency.
Continue Reading...New Bribery Act - Implications for Employers
The Bribery Act 2010 ('the Act') was enacted in April and is due to come into force in October, replacing the UK's antiquated anti-bribery laws with a modern legal framework. The existing law had been widely recognised as unclear, difficult to enforce and inadequate in scope.
In addition to restating the basic criminal offences of giving and receiving bribes, the Act prohibits those with a close connection with the UK from bribing a foreign public official. It also creates criminal liability for commercial organisations that 'fail to prevent' a bribery.
Continue Reading...Religion in the Workplace
In France, a recent controversy about a bill banning the burqa in all public places, which is going to be examined by the Parliament between July and October 2010, raised some questions about the expression of religion at the workplace, in private companies.
What is permitted at work? What is banned?
Religion is not legally defined in France but the freedom of religion is guaranteed through the Constitution (Preamble of 27 October 1946) and through other concepts: the freedom of expression/thought (article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights, applicable to all employees) and the principle of nondiscrimination (sanctioned by the labour law code and by the penal code). Indeed, religious beliefs are considered as part of an individual's freedom of expression/thought and an employer is prohibited from taking religion into account in the way that it treats job applicants and employees regarding their working conditions.
Continue Reading...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...Indirect Damage Caused by an Employee
Many employers in Russia face a problem of indirect damages caused by employees. Such damages can be expressed in a voluntary act (carelessly or not) resulting not only in material and financial losses for the employer but also in damage to the reputation of the company. For example, an employee can spread distorted information about the activity of the company or disrupt the company's IT system. Such actions may cause no harm at the moment of their commitment, but can entail losses for the company in future. In this article we will focus on the ways and means available to employers in Russia in order to eliminate the possibility of such damages or to minimize negative consequences for its finances and reputation. Continue reading ALRUD's discussion of Indirect Damage Caused by an Employee (pdf).
ALRUD's discussion first appeared in Executive View's "Labour & Employment 2009 Digital Guide."
Employment Newsnotes (Issue 49, Summer 2010)
Employment Newsnotes (PDF) is an occasional publication by
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The forthcoming World Cup - issues for employers
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Prospects for employment law under the
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New
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Immigration - proposal for an annual limit on non-EU economic migrants
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Dangers for employers from professional networking websites (e.g. LinkedIn)
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Constructive dismissal - the Court of Appeal has ruled that an employer cannot 'cure' its breach of contract
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The current debate over reform of the
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Tougher sanctions for breach of data protection laws introduced last April
Canadian Employees Are Among Most Satisfied with their Employers
According to a recent survey (pdf), 35% of Canadian employees are "very satisfied" with their employer and 78% reported that they were not currently looking for a new job. Only Denmark and Norway