In three decisions handed down on 13 September 2023, the French Supreme Court took an unprecedented position reversing the previous case law concerning accrual of paid leave for employees absent from work due to sickness. In these decisions, the French Supreme Court ruled that all employees on sick leave, regardless of whether the illness is … Continue reading
This article was co-authored with Jessica Kamleh, Phina Conroy and Michael Wilson. In late 2022, new provisions were included in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SD Act) to impose a positive duty on employers and persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, certain unlawful conduct under the SD … Continue reading
The status of silica regulation across Australia This article was co-authored by Hattie Wilson In recent years, Australia has seen a significant increase in the number of cases of silicosis and other crystalline silica (silica) related diseases in the workplace. Silica is a naturally occurring mineral which is used in many products such as asphalt, … Continue reading
In February 2023 the Labour Court delivered judgment in a review of an arbitration award of the CCMA. The employees concerned were charged and dismissed for gross insubordination when they refused to obey the instruction of their manager to work overtime. The CCMA found the dismissals to be substantively fair. During evidence at the arbitration, … Continue reading
Dans une décision rendue en avril 2023, le Tribunal administratif du travail (le TAT)[1], par l’entremise du juge Guy Blanchet, a déclaré que l’employeur avait contrevenu aux articles 12 et 53 du Code du travail[2] (ci-après le C.t.), car il avait entravé les activités du syndicat et manqué à son obligation de négocier de bonne foi. … Continue reading
The prevalence of remote working arrangements has led to an increase in new and nuanced legal questions for employers to consider. One of these questions is how employers should count their remote workers when seeking to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). Read the entire legal update, “WARN Act counting for … Continue reading
En matière sociale, l’un des points clés à prendre en considération dans les transactions commerciales, en particulier dans les transactions internationales, est l’implication éventuelle du comité social et économique (“CSE”). C’est en effet un sujet à ne pas négliger compte tenu des pouvoirs importants attribués au CSE et de l’impact qu’une procédure d’information et de … Continue reading
One of the main employment aspects to be taken into consideration in corporate transactions, in particular in multijurisdictional ones, is the potential role of the works councils. This is a particularly hot topic when it comes to France where the social and economic committee (known as the CSE) has important powers and its involvement can … Continue reading
In the final days of the particularly tense campaign leading up to the parliamentary election in Italy, politicians from all sides of the political spectrum made bold proclamations on a variety of topics; for the most part, this was predictable and inevitable. Nevertheless, it was surprising to read the statements made by two former labour … Continue reading
By way of background, before the entry into force of the “Macron scale”, in the case of unfair dismissal, it was for the judge in each case to set the amount of compensation for the loss suffered by the employee and the law did not set any maximum amount. This meant that judges were able to … Continue reading
Pour mémoire, avant l’entrée en vigueur du « barème Macron », en cas de licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse, il appartenait au juge de fixer l’indemnisation visant à réparer le préjudice du salarié et la loi n’avait fixé aucun maximum. Ainsi le juge fixait le montant des dommages-intérêts avec une grande latitude et sans … Continue reading
Dans une décision récente – Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, section locale 1108 et CHU de Québec – Université Laval (grief syndical), 2021 QCTA 187 – l’arbitre Me Nathalie Faucher a rejeté la demande d’ordonnance de sauvegarde du Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (le Syndicat) visant à forcer le CHU de Québec (l’Employeur) … Continue reading
Dans une décision récente, un arbitre de griefs a précisé les droits et obligations des employeurs québécois en matière de télétravail. Cette décision fait suite à celle qu’il a rendue l’automne dernier dans laquelle il a rejeté la demande d’ordonnance de sauvegarde du Syndicat des fonctionnaires municipaux de Québec (le Syndicat) visant à forcer la … Continue reading
Dans une décision rendue le 21 décembre 2020, l’une des premières en la matière au Québec, un arbitre confirme le congédiement d’une salariée pour avoir fait défaut de répondre honnêtement au questionnaire des symptômes de la COVID‑19 imposé par l’employeur au début de chaque journée de travail. Les faits de cette affaire L’employeur, une entreprise … Continue reading
Le télétravail s’est largement développé en France au fil des années, et naturellement, ce mode de travail a été particulièrement utilisé, bon gré mal gré, par les entreprises au cours de l’année 2020, à la faveur de la crise sanitaire, et des recommandations (plus ou moins liantes) du Gouvernement. Les bases du télétravail ont été … Continue reading
Further to the approval by EU authorities of the vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, and further to the recommendations of the French Health authorities on the vaccination programme, the French vaccine campaign against Covid-19 was launched yesterday, at the same time as in all EU countries. In France, the Government established a specific strategy … Continue reading
In France, the rules governing post-termination, non-compete and/or non-solicitation clauses in employment contracts have been established through case law. Restrictive covenants in an employment contract are only considered enforceable by French courts if they meet the following criteria (which are cumulative) : – They do not extend beyond what is reasonably necessary to protect the … Continue reading
This year has created innumerable challenges for employers— including the challenge of how to effectively conduct a workplace investigation when health and safety protocols demand a certain degree of separation. Fortunately, the same Do’s and Don’ts still apply to employers, whether they are conducting an investigation two meters apart or virtually through Zoom. Don’t (inexcusably) … Continue reading
By Global Workplace Insider Team on Posted in Canada,Québec
Dans une décision[1] rendue en juillet dernier, le Tribunal administratif du travail (le TAT) s’est penché sur l’équilibre qui, à l’occasion d’une ronde de négociations pour le renouvellement d’une convention collective, doit exister entre, d’une part, le devoir de non-ingérence de l’employeur et, d’autre part, son droit à la libre expression. Quels sont les faits dans … Continue reading
On 7 May, the French Prime Minister announced the date chosen for the start of the “de-confinement” phase for France, namely 11 May 2020. The lockdown, which started on 17 March, lasted almost 2 months during which some shops and businesses were closed, and the vast majority of companies operated on the basis of remote … Continue reading
Le 7 mai dernier, le Premier Ministre a annoncé la date retenue pour le début de la phase de déconfinement des Français dans le cadre du plan de lutte contre le Covid-19, à savoir le 11 mai 2020. Le confinement, qui a commencé le 17 mars dernier, aura duré près de 2 mois durant lesquels … Continue reading
The first COVID-19 cases appeared in France a few weeks ago and French people have been in lockdown since March 17. The repercussions of this pandemic are significant, and the Government has been authorized, by Emergency Act No. 2020-290 of 23 March 2020, to take measures through ordinances (which means that no debate is required … Continue reading
Le COVID-19 a fait son apparition en France il y a quelques semaines déjà et les Français sont confinés depuis le 17 mars dernier. Les répercussions de cette pandémie sont importantes, et le Gouvernement a été autorisé, par la loi n° 2020-290 du 23 mars 2020 d’urgence pour faire face à l’épidémie de covid-19, à … Continue reading
Since January 2020, Coronavirus COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world, causing massive disruption to business and everyday life as well as thousands of deaths. The French Government has reacted in several stages. After issuing recommendations for barrier measures, it decided to close schools and more recently, it ordered the general confinement of French people … Continue reading