Topic: General

Ontario Increases Claim Limits for Small Claims Court and Simplified Procedure

By Samuel Keen on January 29, 2020 Posted in Canada, General

On January 1^st, 2020, a number of important changes to Ontario’s civil courts system came into place. Chief among these changes are increases to the claim limits for Small Claims Court and the Simplified Procedure process under the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Changes to Small Claims Court Limits

As of January 1^st, 2020, individuals can bring claims of up to $35,000 in Small Claims Court, which is a substantial increase over the previous limit of $25,000.

While it is still too early to tell how this increase in claim limit will impact civil litigation in Ontario, … Continue Reading

UK set to introduce ‘world first’ right to two weeks’ parental bereavement leave

By Joanna MacKenzie on January 28, 2020 Posted in Contracts, General, UK, Uncategorized

The UK Government has announced that a new right to two weeks’ parental bereavement will come into force from 6 April 2020.

The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations (which have been laid before Parliament and are awaiting final approval) implement a statutory right to a minimum of two weeks unpaid leave for all employed parents following the loss of a child under the age of 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, irrespective of their length of service.

Parents will be able to take bereavement leave at any time within a period of 56 weeks after the … Continue Reading

Skilled Worker Immigration Act

By Cornelia Marquardt on January 21, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Europe, General

On 1 March 2020, the Skilled Worker Immigration Act will come into force. The law completely opens up the German labour market to skilled workers from countries outside the European Union. In addition to the measures set out in our blog the German legislator has included further measures including an accelerated administrative procedure and more efficient recognition procedures.

Accelerated procedures: The employer is able to reduce the official processing time by initiating the procedure himself following an agreement with the competent immigration authority. As soon as all necessary documents are available and the authority consents to entry, the skilled worker

Upcoming Employment Law Changes in 2020

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on January 7, 2020 Posted in Contracts, General, UK, Uncategorized

As we start the new year with a new Government in the UK, we consider the important employment law changes that will, or may, come into effect in 2020.

New right to a written statement of terms

Currently, employees who have been continuously employed for more than one month must be provided with a written statement of terms within two months of employment commencing. From 6 April 2020, this right is being extended to include workers as well as employees. In addition, the right to the written statement will be a day one right, meaning that workers will be entitled … Continue Reading

De nouvelles obligations pour les plateformes de mise en relation

By Elodie Grangier on December 26, 2019 Posted in Contracts, Europe, France, General

Les plateformes de mise en relation (comme Uber ou Deliveroo), qui sont de plus en plus utilisées en France, font pourtant l’objet de nombreuses critiques, principalement fondées sur les conditions de travail des travailleurs indépendants qu’elles utilisent dans le cadre de leur activité.

Le Gouvernement français s’est donné pour mission d’encadrer l’activité de ces plateformes, en particulier en ce qui concerne leur responsabilité vis-à-vis de ces travailleurs indépendants.

La loi Travail du 8 août 2016 a créé, au sein du Code du travail, une partie dédiée aux travailleurs utilisant ces plateformes, et a mis à la charge des plateformes une … Continue Reading

Crowd workers do not qualify as employees

By Cornelia Marquardt on December 20, 2019 Posted in Europe, General, Germany

As the end of the year approaches, the German courts have published a decision providing employers with further clarity on the issue of crowd working.

What is crowd working?

Crowd working is a highly flexible form of working. According to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), around 4.8 percent of the German electorate earn their money through “mini-jobs” or tasks sourced through the internet. These crowd workers take on work from companies that is offered to all, for example via apps or on general or specialised network platforms. These tasks generally have to be completed within a … Continue Reading

Update on electronic medical certificates

By Cornelia Marquardt on December 18, 2019 Posted in Europe, General, Germany

Medical certificates may not be ordered online

A recent decision of the Hamburg Regional Court (LG Hamburg 3.9.2019 – 406 HK O 56/19) has ruled that issuing medical certificates of incapacity by remote diagnosis is a violation of medical diligence. This means that employees will not be able to apply online for a medical certificate confirming their inability to work (as previously discussed in our blog article, “Facilitating HR Management: Electronic medical certificates” on 23rd September 2019).

According to the Professional Code of Conduct for Physicians, doctors must proceed with the necessary care when issuing medical reports and … Continue Reading

Gender pay gap: a new measuring tool

By Laure Joncour on December 17, 2019 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France, General

Since 1972, there have been numerous laws on professional equality between men and women but the gender pay gap remains a crucial issue which has not been resolved yet.

The parliament voted a new law on 5th September 2018 creating an index to be used to measure the gender pay gap in companies.

Since 1st January 2019, there has been an obligation to assess the gender pay gap in each company with at least 50 employees through the use of the index. The methodology adopted is to allocate a certain number of points based on the following criteria:

Comparison of

Taking it a day at a time

By David Cross and Nazreen Ali on December 11, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General

Section 96 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) provides that “for each year of service with his or her employer, an employee [excluding casual employees] is entitled to 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave”. This entitlement accrues progressively during a year of service according to the employee’s ordinary hours of work and it accumulates from year to year.

What is a day?

In a recent case the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia had to consider the meaning of “day” in section 96 of the Act.

The case related to a group of employees … Continue Reading

Supreme Court awards employee compensation amounting to 5% of the revenue of outstandingly profitable patent in Shanks v Unilever

By Lauren Pullen-Stanley (UK) and Seiko Hidaka on December 2, 2019 Posted in General, UK, Uncategorized

The ownership of a company’s intellectual property is a sensitive subject for many companies. A recent case considered the compensation an employee may be entitled to under the Patents Act 1977 where the patents are held to be of outstanding benefit to the employer.

As it is often a company’s employees who create intellectual property, it is vital that the company’s interests are safeguarded in this respect. The general position in the UK is that intellectual property created by employees in the course of their normal duties of employment is automatically owned by their employer, and that this applies also … Continue Reading

Wrong interpretation of industrial agreement leads to successful underpayment claim for 150 workers

By Kathryn Hunter on November 27, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General

The Federal Court of Australia recently decided in favour of a representative proceeding (more commonly known as a ‘class action’) brought on behalf of approximately 150 workers, and backed by the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Maritime Employees Union against Thiess Pty Ltd, on the question of payment for travel time at the end of a worker’s shift.[1] The case is part of the growing trend of class actions in the employment sphere.… Continue Reading

New South Wales responds to Marie Boland Review recommendations

By Katherine Morris and Melissa Carnell on November 27, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General

New South Wales has introduced a WHS Amendment Bill (Bill) in response to the recommendations of the Marie Boland report issued in February 2019 (see our blog article here regarding the Marie Boland review). The changes, if passed, will commence on the day they receive royal assent.

The Bill proposes to:

increase maximum penalties (with the maximum penalty for category 1 offences to increase from $3 million to $3.46 million);
create a penalty unit system to ensure maximum penalties increase every year to reflect changes to the consumer price index;
prohibit insurance against safety fines for offences under

Workplace manslaughter legislation introduced in Victoria (Part 3)

By Nicki Milionis and Tanya Puri on November 24, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General

Bill update

As reported in earlier articles on this blog, the Victorian Legislative Assembly has heard the second reading speech of the Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019 (Vic) (the Bill) and passed the Bill on 14 November 2019.

The Bill was sent to the Legislative Council on 14 November 2019 at which time it received its first and second reading. The Legislative Council heard that the Bill seeks to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) to provide for offences for workplace manslaughter and will provide … Continue Reading

Workplace manslaughter legislation introduced in Victoria (Part 2)

By Nicki Milionis and Daniel Macpherson on October 31, 2019 Posted in Australia, General

Yesterday, 30 October 2019, the Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019 (Vic) (the Bill) received its second reading speech in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. The Bill, if passed, provides for the new offence of ‘workplace manslaughter’ to come into operation on a day to be proclaimed or on 1 July 2020 at the latest.

The Bill and explanatory memorandum are now also available. According to the explanatory memorandum, the purpose of introducing the offence of workplace manslaughter is to “…hold those with the power and resources to improve safety to account, such … Continue Reading

Industrial Manslaughter laws introduced to Victorian parliament today

By Nicki Milionis on October 29, 2019 Posted in Australia, General

As reported in our earlier article (found here), the Victorian government announced in 2018 that it would introduce an industrial manslaughter offence. The Minister for Workplace Safety, The Hon Jill Hennessy, today announced that new ‘workplace manslaughter’ laws were introduced in Parliament.

The Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and other matters) Bill 2019 has been introduced to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) although a copy of the Bill is not yet available.

The media release states that the proposed laws will apply to employers, self-employed persons and ‘officers’, who negligently cause a workplace … Continue Reading

First Industrial Manslaughter prosecution in Queensland

By Nicki Milionis and Daniel Macpherson on October 29, 2019 Posted in Australia, General

On Friday the Minister for Industrial Relations announced the first prosecution in Queensland for industrial manslaughter under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (the Act). The industrial manslaughter prosecution has been brought against Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd (Brisbane Auto) arising from the fatality of a worker killed by a reversing forklift on 17 May 2019. Two of Brisbane Auto’s directors have been charged for engaging in reckless conduct resulting in the death of a worker.

The industrial manslaughter provisions commenced on 23 October 2017 as a result of the Work Health and Safety … Continue Reading

Legal advice privilege in employment

By Amanda Sanders (UK) and Nick Howard on October 25, 2019 Posted in General, UK, Uncategorized

A recent decision in the UK Court of Appeal has provided guidance in the area of privilege in employment claims.

In Curless v Shell International Ltd, the Court of Appeal had to consider whether legal advice privilege should be disapplied to an email on the basis that the advice fell within the “iniquity principle”.

Legal advice privilege applies to confidential communications between lawyers and their clients. However, legal advice privilege does not apply where the advice is iniquitous, i.e. where the communication or document came into being for the purpose of furthering a criminal or fraudulent design. In this case … Continue Reading

New single enforcement body for employment rights

By Claire Darbourne (UK) on October 1, 2019 Posted in Europe, General, UK

As part of the UK’s Government’s “Good Work Plan” to ensure fair and decent work for all, transparency and clarity of workers’ rights and effective enforcement of those rights, proposals for a single enforcement body were published for consultation in July this year.

Currently in the UK, the majority of employment rights are enforced by the individual through an employment tribunal. However, there are some exceptions where various enforcement bodies take a role to protect particularly vulnerable workers. Examples of this are enforcement of the right to the national minimum wage by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), enforcement of the … Continue Reading

Shining the spotlight on dust lung disease in Queensland: a regulatory response for the resources industry

By Katherine Morris, Peta Willoughby and Matt Wichlinski on September 30, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General

Since 2015, Queensland’s resources industry has been shaken by the re-emergence of dust lung diseases, largely among the State’s large coal mining workforce. So far, more than 130 workers have been diagnosed with incurable forms of lung disease across Australia, resulting in 6 Queensland deaths in the past 12 months.[1] The State Government has responded to the outbreak with a raft of reforms designed to identify the risk, support affected workers and enhance prevention, detection and reporting.

With a range of reforms implemented, Queensland has now turned to ongoing regulation of the industry with the introduction of the new … Continue Reading

Service Provider or Labour Broker? How to tell the difference

By Stephanie Vermaak on September 27, 2019 Posted in General, South Africa

In January 2019 the Labour Court decided a contractor,that was appointed in terms of a service level agreement, operated as an independent service provider not as a labour broker. The distinction is critical because the deeming provisions in section 198A of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA), applies to labour brokers but not to independent service providers. In circumstances where the service is rendered by a labour broker, the employees involved in rendering the service may be deemed to be in the client’s employ if the employees earn less than R205 433.30 a year and rendered services to … Continue Reading

The WHS Response to psychological health and a PCBU’s obligations

By Nicki Milionis and Tanya Puri on September 13, 2019 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General

Psychosocial hazards and work-related stresses are amongst the most challenging workplace health and safety issues. In recent times, there has been an increased focus by WHS regulators on ‘mentally healthy’ workplaces. Organisations are expected to have appropriate systems in place to eliminate or reduce psychosocial hazards, such as bullying and harassment, to effectively respond to issues and provide safe and healthy workplaces.… Continue Reading

Launch of the Federal Employment Guide for Employers: September 1 Amendments to Part III of the Canada Labour Code

By Natasha Hyppolite, Stéphane Erickson and Heather Cameron on August 29, 2019 Posted in Canada, General

A suite of changes to Part III of the Canada Labour Code (the Code) are coming into force on September 1, 2019, that will confer new rights to employees. For many federally regulated employers, these amendments, brought under Bills C-86 and C-63, will have a significant impact on their workplaces and businesses.

To assist employers prepare for and navigate these new legislative changes and additions, the employment and labour group at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP has created the “Federal Employment and Labour Guide”. The guide includes information and takeaways for employers on the following:

Overtime: Employees now have

The End of Free Movement in the UK?

By Aida Geragusian on August 29, 2019 Posted in Europe, General, UK

The UK Government’s announcement, that free movement will end the day after a no deal Brexit on 31 October 2019, has left many wondering how the rights of EU citizens will be impacted in the days that follow.

Whilst some have speculated that it is unlikely that this means anything different than the original ‘no deal’ plan that was published some months ago (under the previous Home Secretary), others, including the Home Office, indicate that there could be immediate practical implications with reference to a ‘new immigration system’ being ‘developed’ and that plans will be revealed in due course.

These … Continue Reading

Free Menstrual Products in Federally Regulated Workplaces Proposed

By Denyse Boulet on August 21, 2019 Posted in Canada, General

In May 2019, in the Canada Gazette, the Labour Program of the Department of Employment and Social Development (the “Labour Program”) announced a proposal to require all federally regulated employers to provide free menstrual products in the workplace for employees “due to the shame and stigma that often surrounds menstruation.” In addition, the Labour Program is looking to prevent the use of unhealthy alternatives to menstrual products, for example toilet paper, paper towels or expired products. If passed, this measure would apply to private-sector employers in the federal jurisdiction (e.g. banks, railways, airlines, marine ports, telecommunications, broadcasters … Continue Reading