Tag archives: Employee

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal: Subjective belief can trump facts

Karen JensenBy Karen Jensen on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
Chodha v. 1352866, 2016 HRTO 1241 demonstrates that human rights tribunals will consider an employer’s bona fide subjective belief in deciding whether the employer has provided a reasonable explanation for apparently discriminatory conduct. Indeed, the employer’s belief may take precedence over factual circumstances, as they did in this case. The case involved the termination of … Continue reading

When an employer hides another employer

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier and Pauline Disdier on Posted in Europe, France
Dual employment is a sensitive subject in French employment law as it enables employees to raise claims against a different employer from that with which the employment contract was signed. The matrix-type organisation of groups of companies, which has become the rule, can have adverse consequences if employees have the feeling that they are employed … Continue reading

Update regarding protection against religion-based discrimination in France

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France
In France, the issue of religious behavior in the workplace is extremely sensitive. The principle under French employment law is that while public sector employers are required to enforce a policy of strict neutrality, in private sector companies, a balance must be maintained between the principle of secularism and the prohibition of discrimination based on … Continue reading

Key employment law developments expected in 2017

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Contracts, General, Germany
A significant amount of new employment legislation is expected or is already in place for 2017. Key changes will be in the hiring of temporary workers through an agency (referred to as “personnel leasing” in Germany), employee protection and equal treatment. Reform of laws regarding personnel leasing One of the main developments in 2017 will … Continue reading

New protection of French whistleblowers under the Sapin II Law

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France, Whistleblowing
Much attention was focused recently on President Obama’s decision, in the final days of his presidency, on commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning, who provided certain classified information to WikiLeaks. In France, new legislation has recently been passed and implemented harmonizing the protection of whistleblowing employees (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=4BBFD240827AF0FD9A6340FF254E6F1B.tpdila21v_3?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000033558528&categorieLien=id). Who is concerned? Under the new regulation, whistleblowers … Continue reading

Key French employment law developments in 2017

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in France
As 2017 is a Presidential election year in France, we do not expect major changes in employment legislation to occur in France in the near future.  However, this does not mean that French employment lawyers will be unoccupied. First and foremost, the El Khomri law (dated 8 August 2016), which significantly modified the employment law … Continue reading

Alberta employers kick-start 2017 with a big win in the Styles appeal

William J. ArmstrongBy William J. Armstrong on Posted in Canada
Following the SCC’s decision in Bhasin, there was uncertainty regarding the application of the common law duty to perform contractual obligations in good faith to the employment law context. The Court of Appeal of Alberta’s decision in Styles provides clarity on the application of Bhasin in the context of both termination and entitlement to bonuses … Continue reading

Recent changes to the law on the dismissal of severely disabled employees

Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in Europe, Germany
In Germany, as of 1 January 2017, various amendments to the law on severely disabled persons came into force. Of particular importance is a new regulation relating to the dismissal of severely disabled employees. Until the recent changes came into force, before the dismissal of a severely disabled employee the representative body for severely disabled … Continue reading

What rights do workers have to rest breaks in Germany?

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Germany
This post was also contributed by Sebastian Kutzner, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). Due to increasing demands for a work life balance, uncertainty as to employees’ rights to rest periods, in particular, is widespread. German law distinguishes between two types of rest periods: Rest breaks (to be granted during working time); and Resting time … Continue reading

Employee, worker or self-employed?

Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in Europe, UK
In UK employment law a person’s employment status determines both their rights and responsibilities. An individual can be an employee, a worker or self-employed.  Whilst traditionally individuals were employees or self-employed there has been a significant rise in “worker” status.  The recent reported case of Aslam and others v Uber BV considered whether drivers had … Continue reading

Reasonable Notice: it Goes Both Ways

John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
In Gagnon & Associates Inc. v Jesso, 2016 ONSC 209, the defendants (“Jesso” and “Cameau”) had been working as salesmen for the employer (“Gagnon”) for ten years when they resigned. They had been an integral part of the defendant’s operations, and were jointly responsible for approximately 60 per cent of the defendant’s sales. The defendants … Continue reading

What rights and protections are there for part-time workers?

Stefanie RadinaBy Stefanie Radina on Posted in Contracts, Europe, Germany
This post was also contributed by Dimitri Schaff, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). Currently, about one quarter of all employment relationships in Germany are based on part-time models, the proportion of part-time to full-time employees having increased by about 12 per cent since 2001. Furthermore, as a result of the implementation of the EU Part-time Workers … Continue reading

What rights and protections are there for workers on zero hours contracts in Germany?

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Contracts, Europe, Germany
Unlike in the U.K. and other EU member states, zero hours contracts are not (yet) common practice in Germany. To date, other arrangements aimed at achieving “flexible working” such as fixed-term or part-time contracts, secondment of personnel and – more recently – contracts to provide services have been more widespread. However, as German case law … Continue reading

Quebec Labour Tribunal rules on decision to terminate a high paid employee

Andréane GiguèreBy Andréane Giguère on Posted in Québec
The Tribunal administratif du travail recently released Major c. Nova DM Média Canada inc., 2016 QCTAT 4423, which clarified an employer’s burden of proof to demonstrate that an employee was laid off as part of an administrative reorganization rather than dismissed not for good and sufficient cause. In this decision, administrative judge François Caron relied … Continue reading

A warning for a slap : is it reasonable ?

Judicaël FouquetBy Judicaël Fouquet on Posted in Europe, France
Under French employment law, the definition of a disciplinary sanction is broad as it is defined by law as being “any measure, other than a verbal observation, taken by an employer in response to an act of an employee which the employer considers incorrect, whether or not such measure has an immediate effect upon the … Continue reading

What are the latest developments on whistleblowing in the workplace?

Judicaël FouquetBy Judicaël Fouquet on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France
French employment law does not yet provide for a comprehensive and consistent set of rules for the purpose of protecting whistleblowers. Instead, French employment law tackles issues arising out of whistleblowing situations through a relatively meager set of legislative provisions. Current legislation Under currently applicable legislation, no employee can be disciplined, dismissed or discriminated against … Continue reading

“What are the latest developments on whistleblowing in the workplace in Germany?”

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany, Whistleblowing
Apart from the well-known Wiki-leaks, recent prominent cases of whistleblowing such as Lux-leaks, the Panama Papers or the case of the German geriatric nurse Brigitte Heinisch, who was dismissed after revealing the ill-treatment of elderly people in a Berlin retirement home, continue to highlight the continued relevance of the topic “whistleblowing”. While this has resulted … Continue reading

Reform of the German Law on Temporary Employment

Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
This post was also contributed by Bastian Semmel, International Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Frankfurt). With effect from 1 January 2017, the German legislation on temporary employment will be reformed, as the Federal Cabinet recently passed a draft law regarding this matter on 1 June 2016. These changes are designed to address the misuse of temporary … Continue reading

What measures are in place (or being proposed) to address gender pay inequality in the workplace in France ?

Judicaël FouquetBy Judicaël Fouquet on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France
Gender pay inequality remains a topical issue in France despite the introduction of numerous pieces of legislation intended to suppress the persistent pay gap in average remuneration between women and men. Although French employment law theoretically prohibits any discrimination based on gender and requires that employers ensure equal remuneration between women and men occupying a … Continue reading

Fair P(l)ay in Germany? – What measures are in place (or proposed) to address gender pay inequality in the workplace

Global Workplace InsiderBy on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany
This post was also contributed by Ebru Tirel, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). In Germany, “Equal Pay Day” is widely observed. It marks the day from which women are deemed to start to earn wages in that calendar year, where men have started to earn wages since January 1st. This year, Equal Pay Day was … Continue reading

OHRC Takes a Stand on Gendered Dress Codes

John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
The Human Rights Commission of Ontario (“HRCO”) very recently clarified its stance on gender-specific dress codes by issuing a policy position on the subject.  The policy takes aim at sexualized dress codes found mainly in the restaurant and bar industries.  Of particular concern to the HRTO were any formal or informal policies requiring women to … Continue reading

The occurrence of willful misconduct no longer constitutes an exception to the payment of the indemnity in lieu of paid leave in France

Judicaël FouquetBy Judicaël Fouquet on Posted in Europe, France
Under French employment law, there is a classic distinction between dismissals for “gross misconduct” (faute grave) and willful misconduct (faute lourde) regarding the consequences of such misconduct for the employee. Although in both cases the employee loses his/her entitlement to a notice period and to a dismissal indemnity, an employee dismissed for willful misconduct will also … Continue reading

Ontario Court Upholds Employment Agreement Provision that Limited Employee’s Notice of Termination to Statutory Minimum.

John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
In Oudin v. Le Centre Francophone de Toronto, The Ontario Superior Court dismissed a motion for summary judgment brought by an employee who alleged that the termination provision in his employment agreement was unenforceable. This provision limited his entitlement to notice of termination to the minimum required by employment standards legislation. The court did find … Continue reading
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