Tag archives: Employee

Singapore: “Watershed” Amendments to Employment Legislation

Photo of Mathias GohBy Mathias Goh on Posted in Asia Pacific, Singapore
Singapore’s employment laws are set to undergo watershed changes come April 2019. In summary, a greater number of employees – in particular, professionals, managers and executives (“PMEs”) – will soon be able to avail themselves of the statutory protections contained in Singapore’s Employment Act, the key employment legislation in Singapore. The single most significant legislative … Continue reading

Decision of the French Supreme Court of 28th November 2018 : Does it spell the doom of the gig economy?

Photo of Laure JoncourBy Laure Joncour on Posted in Europe, France
The term « gig economy » has come into use to describe segmented jobs governed by “apps”. Drivers, riders, cleaners rely on a “digital platform” to be put in contact with clients and their jobs do not seem to fall precisely within the parameters of laws designed to deal with the traditional subordination relationship of employee to … Continue reading

Dismissal for misconduct cannot be based (solely) on anonymous reports

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France, Whistleblowing
Anonymous reports have been mistrusted for a number of years in France, for historical reasons. While anonymity enables individuals to raise their voice more openly, without being the targets of retaliation measures, it can also drift into slander. This explains a specificity of French law under which whistleblowers using ethicals lines are strongly encouraged to … Continue reading

Le temps de trajet des salariés itinérants n’est (définitivement) pas du temps de travail effectif

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
La détermination du temps de travail effectif des salariés est un sujet complexe, et l’enjeu est considérable pour les salariés dans la mesure où ce temps de travail effectif a un impact direct sur leur rémunération. C’est encore plus vrai pour les salariés itinérants, dont les fonctions impliquent des temps de trajet importants (notamment entre … Continue reading

Will employers soon be under an obligation to require their employees to take holiday?

Photo of Cornelia MarquardtBy Cornelia Marquardt on Posted in Europe, Germany
Although pursuant to Sec. 7 para. 1 of the German Federal Leave Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz) it is the employer‘s obligation to grant holidays, in practice this usually occurs only after the individual employee’s formal request for holiday leave. In the near future, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) must decide whether or not employers can – … Continue reading

Issues of employment status: pseudo self-employment and hidden personnel leasing in Germany

Global Workplace InsiderBy Pia Popp on Posted in Europe, Germany
German labour law follows the “all or nothing” principle: Labour law regulations presume an existing employment relationship between employer and employee. If no such relationship exists, protective labour law regulations cannot be applied (with a few exceptions e.g. in the case of managing directors of a “GmbH” (limited company)). Assessing whether an employment relationship exists … Continue reading

Issues of employment status in France

Photo of Marie-Thérèse EugénioBy Marie-Thérèse Eugénio on Posted in Europe, France
France makes a distinction between those individuals with an employment status and independent workers. Under French employment law, an employee is defined as an individual who works pursuant to an employment contract (and under the subordination of the employing entity) and receives a salary in return for his or her services. Unlike an employee, a consultant remains … Continue reading

Employees’ freedom of speech on the Internet is not without boundaries

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Europe, France
Books, hotels, restaurants, products: you can find reviews and rating websites for just about everything on the internet – even employers. However, employees posting internet reviews of their employer should be careful and measured in what they say, or risk being subjected to disciplinary measures  – or even dismissal – if they abuse their freedom … Continue reading

Lack of probity may provide grounds for dismissal for serious misconduct

Global Workplace InsiderPhoto of François GuillonBy Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on Posted in Europe, France
French employment courts generally subject alleged reasons for employee dismissal to close scrutiny, particularly where dismissals are based on a breach of the duty of loyalty or of probity. Such breaches only constitute valid grounds for dismissal if they are genuine and rely on objective facts and behaviour which are attributable to the employee concerned. … Continue reading

Information collected via Facebook cannot – always – be used as evidence against an employee

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Europe, France
Technology is ever-changing, and while in the past evidence of an employee’s misconduct was based mainly on “physical” witnesses and observations, employers might now be tempted to use data obtained through social media as evidence against their employees. At the present time the French Supreme Court has not had many occasions to clarify the manner … Continue reading

The #MeToo Movement: When Employees Take Their Complaints to Social Media

Photo of Matt Heller (US)By Matt Heller (US) on Posted in North America, United States
As we are all aware, the news has been populated with stories concerning allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, particularly in the entertainment and media industries as well as government institutions. These stories have contributed to the “#MeToo” movement, which originated on Twitter and other social media websites in late 2017 and has since become … Continue reading

Un salarié protégé peut-il contester la rupture conventionnelle homologuée dont il a fait l’objet devant le juge judiciaire ?

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France
Les salariés protégés (représentants du personnel, délégués ou représentants syndicaux, salariés mandatés, etc.) bénéficient d’un statut particulier, eu égard à leur rôle dans l’entreprise. A ce titre, toute modification, et a fortiori, rupture de leur contrat de travail doit être autorisée par l’inspection du travail. La conclusion d’une rupture conventionnelle homologuée, quand bien même il … Continue reading

French employment code reform: Focus on the social and economic committee

Global Workplace InsiderPhoto of François GuillonBy Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on Posted in Europe, France
French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were immediately published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in labour-management relations. They were supplemented by a number of … Continue reading

Recent developments in French employment law regarding financial institutions: How the French Government wants to enhance Paris’ attractiveness as a global financial place

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
Apart from certain provisions which may be tailored to the relevant situations negotiated by companies or sectors of business through collective agreements (subject to compliance with a number of basic rules and principles), French employment law does not include any specificities in relation to certain sectors of business. In particular, financial institutions are subject to … Continue reading

Employment and Financial Services

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in Europe, UK
On 7 March 2016 the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) was introduced to improve accountability in the financial services sector.   The SM&CR applies to UK banks, building societies, credit unions, PRA designated investment firms and branches of foreign banks operating in the UK.  It consists of three elements: the Senior Managers Regime (SMR), the … Continue reading

La présomption d’innocence peut-elle s’opposer au licenciement d’un salarié fondé sur des faits visés par une procédure pénale ?

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Europe, France
La Cour de cassation a été saisie d’un dossier concernant un salarié de la société Euro Disney, qui avait été licencié à la suite de la découverte, par son employeur, et dans le cadre d’une enquête pénale, du fait que celui-ci avait acheté à l’un de ses collègues des stupéfiants. En effet, au printemps 2012, … Continue reading

What rights does an employer have to suspend an employee in France?

Global Workplace InsiderPhoto of François GuillonBy Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
Under French labour law, there are limited circumstances under which employers may suspend employees. One of the main obligations imposed on employers is to provide employees with work to be performed  (and obviously to pay them in consideration for their work). Breach of this requirement may be considered as a ground for breach of contract, … Continue reading

Working as a freelancer and as an employee for the same company

Photo of Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in Europe, Germany
In Germany, the distinction between employees and independent contractors (also referred to as freelancers) is particularly important. For example, the question of whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor determines whether they are protected against unfair dismissal and also affects how they are treated for statutory social security and income tax purposes. … Continue reading

French employment code reform: Focus on economic dismissals

Global Workplace InsiderPhoto of François GuillonBy Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were immediately published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in labour-management relations. Several provisions of this ambitious reform (the … Continue reading

French employment code reform: Focus on dismissal procedure and indemnity

Global Workplace InsiderPhoto of François GuillonBy Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in managing labour relations. Several provisions of this ambitious reform (the … Continue reading

French employment code reform: Focus on homeworking

Global Workplace InsiderPhoto of François GuillonBy Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were immediately published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in labour-management relations. Several provisions of this ambitious reform (the … Continue reading

Use of social media in France: Employee’s rights and obligations

Global Workplace InsiderPhoto of François GuillonBy Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on Posted in Contracts, Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, France
The impact of the use of social media in the workplace has regularly given rise to controversies and debates as how this subject is to be handled by a company’s management. The current state of employment law is still not entirely settled in this respect. It is however possible to provide some guidance on the … Continue reading

Significant changes to French employment code to enter into force no later than January 1st, 2018

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were immediately published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in labour-management relations. Several provisions of this ambitious reform – … Continue reading

What is the latest on employees’ rights in the event of redundancy in Germany?

Photo of Stefanie RadinaBy Stefanie Radina on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
In business, the restructuring of a company (such as by the closure of an individual business unit or a necessary reduction in the number of staff) may result in an employee’s redundancy. However, dismissing an employee by reason of redundancy has strict prerequisites under German law. The main requirements which must be observed under German … Continue reading
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