Topic: Europe

UK Pensions: The road to compliance is paved with good intentions… and practical problems

By Lesley Browning on January 13, 2022 Posted in UK

I read with interest the blog post by Nicola Parish, TPR’s Executive Director of Frontline Regulation, on December 8, 2021, where she warned trustees of DB schemes to be vigilant in the current economic climate. Nicola emphasised the need for strong, open relationships with employers and I think she is spot on with that comment. … Continue reading

Practical Tips for Managing Immigration Matters in the Cycle of a Corporate Transaction

By Aida Geragusian on January 10, 2022 Posted in General, UK, Uncategorized

Corporate transactions can uncover a number of immigration considerations, particularly if the buyer, seller, or target company, or any entity involved in the transaction, has a sponsor licence. Even without the complexities of a sponsor licence and the duties of the company, immigration issues can arise relating to the prevention of illegal working. Quite often … Continue reading

Temporary changes to self-certification for statutory sick pay

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on December 21, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

On 17 December 2021, The Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 2021 came into force. The regulations temporarily extend the period that employees can self-certify to 28 days. Generally employees who are absent from work due to a period of sickness absence can self-certify for the absence for any period of up to seven days. … Continue reading

Stricter rules on compensation for data protection violations?

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on December 16, 2021 Posted in Contracts, Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, Germany

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

Temporary law to broaden the use of coronavirus entry passes

By Annette van Beers on December 16, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, The Netherlands

The use of the coronavirus entry pass in the workplace Pursuant to a temporary law the Dutch government wants to enable the use of the coronavirus entry pass (coronatoegangsbewijs, or ctb) at the workplace in certain sectors. The bill will be debated by the House of Representatives on January 5, 2022. The first version of … Continue reading

Administrator can be liable for failure to notify of collective redundancies

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on December 9, 2021 Posted in General, UK

In a recent case, the Court held that a prosecution can be brought against an administrator if they are held to be conniving in the failure of the employer to notify the Secretary of State of collective redundancies. The Court also held that the English Court had jurisdiction to hear the claim notwithstanding that the … Continue reading

Short-time work: Proportionate vacation reduction permissible

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on December 7, 2021 Posted in Contracts, Europe, Germany

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

UK Pensions: Should the Pensions Regulator provide clearer guidance on when it might use its new enforcement powers?

By Graeme Tricker on November 26, 2021 Posted in UK

It was great to attend “in person” the Association of Pension Lawyers annual conference in Brighton last week. A speaker suggested it would be helpful if the Pensions Regulator were to provide clearer guidance on when it might use its new enforcement powers, in particular by giving more specific examples and thresholds. I can see … Continue reading

Stricter COVID-19 rules at German workplaces

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on November 24, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, Germany

In Germany the “Epidemic Situation of National Significance” ends on November 25, 2021. As a result, the German legislature has amended several COVID-19 related laws, such as the German Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz – IfSG), in order to continue certain protective measures. The amended regulations (BT-Drs. 20/15 and BT-Drs. 20/78) aim to provide for a … Continue reading

UK Pensions: Transfer processes – urgent action required before November 30, 2021, deadline

By Julia Chirnside on November 12, 2021 Posted in UK

The DWP has now finalised its new rules about statutory pensions transfers. The new rules place statutory obligations on trustees to examine most transfers in greater detail and give trustees significantly greater scope to say no to a member request to transfer their pension to another pension scheme. This is if they decide that certain … Continue reading

The right of substitution in worker status cases.

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on November 11, 2021 Posted in Contracts, General, UK

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

Disciplinary procedure: a preliminary meeting may be necessary before issuing an official written warning to an employee

By Laure Joncour on November 8, 2021 Posted in Europe, France, General

Disciplinary procedures are strictly regulated under French employment law. However, when an employer issues an official written warning to an employee because he has committed an act of misconduct, the employer can, in principle, be less formal. Unless the Collective Bargaining Agreement applicable to the company sets out any specific obligation, it is sufficient for … Continue reading

Procédure disciplinaire : avertissement et entretien préalable

By Laure Joncour on November 8, 2021 Posted in Europe, France, General

Attention : un entretien préalable peut s’avérer nécessaire avant de notifier un avertissement ! La procédure disciplinaire en France est strictement encadrée. Néanmoins, la notification d’un simple avertissement n’implique en principe pas l’obligation d’organiser un entretien préalable avec le salarié. Il s’agit simplement d’indiquer au salarié par écrit qu’il a commis une faute et, que si son … Continue reading

UK Pensions: Minimum pension ages: a lost opportunity to encourage small DC pension arrangements into consolidation?

By Giannis Waymouth on November 5, 2021 Posted in UK

HM Treasury has just swept in with a change to the pension tax rules taking effect from midnight on November 3, 2021) which has closed down a little wheeze which was making some defined contribution master trusts even more attractive than usual. It’s disappointing even if it does put us back where we all originally … Continue reading

UK Government respond to consultation on tipping.

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on October 14, 2021 Posted in Contracts, General, UK

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

Temporary Visa route announced by UK Government

By Aida Geragusian on September 28, 2021 Posted in Europe, General, UK

The UK Home Office announced over the weekend that it will be introducing a visa route (amongst implementing other measures) to help ease the current shortage of HGV drivers. With full details yet to be confirmed, the announcement indicates that up to 5,000 HGV drivers (together with up to 5,500 poultry workers) will be able … Continue reading

UK Government Consultation on Flexible Working

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on September 27, 2021 Posted in Contracts, UK

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

Italy makes Green Pass mandatory for all workers

By Attilio Pavone on September 24, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Italy

On September 21 2021, Law Decree no. 127/2021 (Decree 127), providing “urgent measures to ensure the safe performance of public and private work,” was published in Italy’s Official Gazette. Decree 127 extends the scope of the mandatory Covid-19 Green Certification or “Green Pass” and strengthens the screening system. The Green Pass is a personal QR … Continue reading

The new German Works Council Modernization Act

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on September 21, 2021 Posted in Europe, General, Germany

The “Act to Promote Works Council Elections and Works Council Activities in a Digital Working World” (Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetz – Works Council Modernization Act) came into force on June 18, 2021. The Act is intended to facilitate the activities of works councils and to strengthen the co-determination rights of works councils with regard to the use of … Continue reading

UK Pensions: Pension scams and amber flags: is the future orange?

By Sabrina English on September 17, 2021 Posted in UK

In recent years, many defined benefit (DB) pension scheme members have taken advantage of the ability to transfer their DB pension pots out of their schemes, to be able to access their money in different and more flexible ways. In practice, this often means a transfer to a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). However, the industry … Continue reading

UK Pensions: SIPs for small schemes: law-making through the back door?

By Julia Chirnside on September 1, 2021 Posted in UK

Last week’s interim consultation response from the Pensions Regulator addressed a common concern about the “Funding and Investment” section of the draft single Code of Practice: it confirmed that it would drop its proposal for a 20% cap on unregulated investments. This is a point that we are aware had been troubling some larger pension … Continue reading

New Immigration Routes in New Innovation Strategy

By Charlotte Emmerson on August 4, 2021 Posted in General, UK

On 22 July, the UK Government published a UK Innovation Strategy which sets out the government’s vision to make the UK a global hub for innovation by 2035. As part of this strategy, the UK intends to make the UK the most exciting place for innovation and talent. This means introducing new visa routes and … Continue reading

Returning to the Workplace – Government Guidance for a Covid-safe working environment from July 19

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on July 15, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

The UK Government announced that it would be lifting many of the restrictions that applied from 19 July and entering into what it terms Step 4 of its roadmap. Part of Step 4 is that the government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can and so employers can start to … Continue reading

UK Pensions: What’s TPR’s policy on policies?

By Julia Chirnside on July 7, 2021 Posted in UK

One thing that jumps out at you the more you read the Pensions Regulator’s draft single Code of Practice is that trustees are expected to have a LOT of policies. We can see the logic: to have an effective system of governance, proper processes need to be in place and trustees will need to think … Continue reading