For most, a contract of employment (or similar written terms of employment) and job description will set out the terms and conditions of the working relationship with their employer. Among other things, it will include the individual’s contractual hours of work and may include the scope of their duties. So what is the issue if … Continue reading
The German Federal Labor Court (BAG) has surprisingly ruled (BAG, 13.09.2022 – 1 ABR 22/21) that employers are legally required to record not only overtime and Sunday work, but all of their employees’ working hours.… Continue reading
The UK Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed the appeal in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel which considered the holiday entitlement of those workers who are on permanent contracts but only work for part of the year (part year workers). The claimant was a part-time music teacher who worked variable number of hours during … Continue reading
The “Act on Proof of the Existence of an Employment Relationship” (Nachweisgesetz – NachwG) requires employers to set out the essential contractual terms of the employment in writing to their employees. The German legislature has now passed an amendment to the Nachweisgesetz, which comes into force on August 1, 2022, and has the effect of … Continue reading
During the pandemic, employees rethought their relationship with work. Employees now seek roles that offer competitive remuneration with other benefits including flexibility, health, well-being and work-life balance. Read more on this in our next article in the Transforming Workplace series. What do your employees want and need? This article is part of our Transforming Workplace … Continue reading
In the next in the Transforming Workplace global series we examine why and owe employees have rethought their relationship with work. The “Great Enlightenment”: Why and how employees have rethought their relationship with work This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, challenges and risk of the transforming workplace … Continue reading
Legal innovations Amended regulations apply to this year’s works council elections taking place from March 1 to May 31, 2022. Pursuant to Section 24 (2) of the Election Regulations of October 8, 2021 (BGBl. I 4640/2021), HR departments are required to provide, in addition to the typical employee data used to draw up the electoral … Continue reading
The correct handling of personal data requires special care by employers. The German Federal Labour Court (BAG, 26.08.2021 – 8 AZR 253/20 (A)) has referred essential questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for clarification. The BAG’s decision, which, if confirmed by the ECJ, could now tighten the standard of due diligence and increase … Continue reading
A recent decision by the German Federal Labour Court (BAG, 30.11.2021 – 9 AZR 225/11) will have significance for employers who have made use of short-time work. Individual working days which are lost due to short-time work, have to be taken into account when calculating annual leave. As a result, employees might have to adjust … Continue reading
The UK Court of Appeal has delivered its judgement in another case looking at the issue of employment status regarding those working in the gig economy. In the UK there are three levels of employment status: Self-employed, worker and employee. Determining employment status is important for understanding the employment rights to which an individual is … Continue reading
On the 24th September the government published a response on its consultation on how to ensure the protection of tips received by workers and employees in the hospitality, leisure and service sectors. Currently, there are no rules for what proportion of a tip earned by a worker should actually be paid to the worker. Instead … Continue reading
On 23 September 2021, the UK Government launched a consultation on flexible working arrangements. The consultation considers reforms to the existing flexible working regulations and is seeking views on proposals to ensure that the framework supports flexible working in all its forms. The consultation considers five areas for review: Making the right to request flexible … Continue reading
Regularly agreed in employment contracts, exclusion clauses shorten the statutory limitation period for claims arising in the employment relationship and ensure certainty between employer and employee especially with regards to claims that are years old. In a remarkable decision the German Federal Labour Court (BAG, 26.11.2020 – ref. 8 AZR 58/20) has fundamentally changed the … Continue reading
In the case of Price v Powys County Council, the Employment Appeal Tribunal have upheld the tribunal’s decision that there is no sex discrimination where an employer pays a man on shared parental leave less than a woman on adoption leave. In the UK, Shared Parental Leave (SPL) provides flexibility for parents to take leave … Continue reading
The Supreme Court handed down its decision in the joined cases of Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad and another (T/A Clifton House Residential Home) which concern an employee’s right to the national minimum wage for periods of time when they are required to remain at home on their shift and/or residential … Continue reading
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has handed down its judgement looking at a workers right to claim holiday pay. The claimant, Mr. Smith, worked for the respondent, Pimlico Plumbers between 2005 and 2011, and was considered throughout the six year period to be self-employed independent contractor. As such, he had no entitlement to paid annual … Continue reading
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) and … 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
On 4 December 2020, the UK Government launched a consultation on reforming post-termination non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The consultation seeks views on proposals to require employers to pay employees for the period of the restriction; requiring employers to provide additional transparency by providing in writing the exact terms of the non-compete clause before their … 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
In a recent case, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has considered what happens to the employment contract of a transferring worker where there is a transfer of an undertaking to multiple transferees. The ECJ held that the contract should be split in proportion to the tasks performed by the worker of the time devoted … Continue reading
The EAT has held that an employment tribunal was entitled to conclude that a professional cyclist was not an employee or a worker of the British Cycling Federation. In Varnish v British Cycling Federation (t/a British Cycling) the claimant had commenced proceedings before an employment tribunal claiming, amongst others, unfair dismissal and discrimination. The preliminary … Continue reading
The ECJ has ruled on the definition of worker status under the EU Working Time Directive in the case of B v Yodel Delivery Network Ltd – is this good news for businesses? Time will tell. Background The Working Time Regulations (1998) (WTR) transposes the EU Working Time Directive (WTD). Regulation 2 of the WTR, … Continue reading
The rapid spread of COVID-19 within Europe and the beginning of the pandemic have led many of our clients to consider how employees and, if necessary, customers can be protected against any further spread of the infection and which employment law related measures should they be taking. We have summarised and answered the main questions … Continue reading