February 2021

Vacation may not be top of mind for employees in Ontario right now: March Break is postponed, public health officials continue to advise against non-essential travel, and the Government of Canada imposed greater international travel restrictions. But even though employees may want to save their time off for warmer weather and, hopefully, an improved public

A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Allay (UK) Limited v Mr S Gehlen provides useful guidance to employers seeking to rely on the “reasonable steps” defence to a claim of discrimination, harassment or victimisation.

An employer can be liable for acts of discrimination, harassment and victimisation carried out by its employees

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

The Supreme Court has today handed down its decision in Uber BV and others v Aslam and others, upholding the Employment Tribunal decision that the drivers are ‘workers’ within the meaning of S.230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) and the equivalent definitions in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (NMWA 1998)

On February 5, 2021, federal OSHA issued a proposed rule to update the US Department of Labor’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS or HazCom) to align with the seventh revision of the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).  In support of its proposed rule, OSHA asserts the update will increase

The current national lockdown in the UK has imposed school and childcare closures for all but those children of essential key workers. Even prior to lockdown measures, many children were being sent home regularly to isolate, due to a positive case of Covid-19 in their class or school bubble. This has inevitably left many working

At a time when the world is suffering from the COVID pandemic, hope rests in the advent of Covid-19 vaccines. In addition, employers are trying to anticipate the ever-changing situation in the workplace. In doing so, they must adhere to existing laws and regulations, which were not written with a situation like this in mind.

In Germany, employers are obliged to take all necessary measures, including those to protect against infection (such as offering working from home, increased hygiene protections, social distancing and behavior) and offering voluntary company vaccination programs, in order to protect the health and safety of the workers in the company and to fulfil their obligations under occupational health and safety law. The newly developed vaccines are offering some hope in turning the tide in the fight against COVID-19. The Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) had already provided guidance to employers on their obligations and liability in connection with employer-initiated vaccinations prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (BAG, 21.12.2017 – 8 AZR 853/16). These principles will take on considerable significance in the current situation should the new COVID-19 vaccines be available to company doctors.