January 2017

The landscape of Singapore’s employment law is set to see a number of changes in 2017. Several parliamentary bills were set in motion in the course of 2016, resulting in a number of amendments made to key employment legislation, some of which took effect as early as 1 January 2017.

2017 will also see the setting up of the Employment Claims Tribunal which will be the new institution handling salary-related disputes for all levels of employees regardless of their salary levels (with a few exceptions). The Employment Claims Tribunal will reside within the Singapore court system and will be the successor to the existing Labour Court. These key changes are outlined below.

Since 2012, two class action lawsuits have been filed against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).  The lawsuits allege that current and former female officers and employees were subject to systemic gender-based bullying, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace, causing the affected women to suffer physical and psychological damage, personal expense, and loss of income,…

Following the SCC’s decision in Bhasin, there was uncertainty regarding the application of the common law duty to perform contractual obligations in good faith to the employment law context. The Court of Appeal of Alberta’s decision in Styles provides clarity on the application of Bhasin in the context of both termination and entitlement to…

A number of developments in UK employment law are expected this year. This post takes a look at some of the key changes.

Mandatory gender pay gap reporting

In the UK, on average, women earn less than men. In order to address this issue, and following a lengthy consultation, draft regulations have been published which,…

Mit dem geplanten Entgelttransparenzgesetz will die Bundesregierung Lohnunterschiede zwischen Frauen und Männern abschaffen. Durchschnittlich ist die Vergütung von Frauen in gleichwertigen Positionen 7 Prozent niedriger als die von Männern. Dieser sogenannte „Gender Pay Gap“ soll mit dem am 11. Januar 2017 vom Bundeskabinett beschlossenen „Gesetz zur Förderung der Transparenz von Entgeltstrukturen“ bekämpft werden.

Mehr zum…

Over the last few years, large Ontario employers have been busy implementing changes to their practices in order to meet new accommodation requirements under the Accessibility of Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As of January 1, 2017, Ontario employers with fewer than 50 employees must now meet additional obligations with respect to employment standards and…

In France, employees who suffer from workplace discrimination are entitled to bring claims against their employer. Workplace discrimination is strictly prohibited and is characterized when a person is treated less favorably than another because of his or her origin, sex, marital status, pregnancy, physical appearance, health, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, political opinions, trade…

In a decision dated December 7, 2016, Italy’s Supreme Court – the Corte di Cassazione – confirmed that the dismissal of an individual employee for redundancy can be legally grounded solely on business-related reasons, such as improving the company’s competitiveness, reducing costs, or increasing profits. The decision was based on the constitutional principle of “freedom of private enterprise.”

Following a Ministry of Labour investigation, a mining company was fined $55,000 on October 26, 2016 after an employee was injured at a mine in Northern Ontario. The employee, an underground mechanic, was replacing an axel on a mining vehicle when an 878-pound tire fell and injured him. Fortunately, three other employees were nearby…