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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 list (surname, first name, date of birth, etc.), details of those employees who are expected to be absent from the workplace after  the election committee letter has been issued and prior to  the election for non-work related reasons (“in particular due to suspension or incapacity for work”). This refers in particular to employees on long-term sick leave and employees on care or parental leave. Furthermore, meetings of the election committee may in future also be held by video or telephone conference subject to are solution by the election committee agreeing to this. However, certain tasks, such as checking lists of candidates or processing absentee ballots must be carried out in person.

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 financial risks for companies in the event of breaches of employee data protection.

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 the amount of annual leave that they believe is due to them.

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…

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

…

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 case law with regard to the drafting of these clauses. A large number of the exclusion clauses used in practice are now likely to be ineffective.

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…