Tag archives: Employment & Labour

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

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

Italian labour court hands down landmark decision on Foodora case with potentially far-reaching implications for any company active in Italy’s growing Gig economy

Vincenzo Di GennaroAttilio PavoneBy Vincenzo Di Gennaro and Attilio Pavone on Posted in Europe, Italy
On May 7, 2018 the Labour Court of Turin handed down a landmark decision in a case brought by delivery bike drivers or couriers (“riders”) working for Foodora, an online food delivery company that offers meal delivery in 10 countries worldwide, including Italy. Amongst other things, the riders, each with a freelance work contract with … Continue reading

Bill 6 looks to broaden leave entitlements in British Columbia

Marino SveinsonBy Marino Sveinson on Posted in Canada
On April 9, 2018, BC’s Minister of Labour introduced Bill 6, the Employment Standards Amendment Act, to the BC Legislature.  Bill 6 includes proposed amendments to the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) to bring certain types of leave into line with the Federal government’s recent changes to the Employment Insurance Act so that employees are entitled to job protection under the … Continue reading

Singapore: Legal issues commonly faced by freelancers and self-employed individuals

Mathias GohBy Mathias Goh on Posted in Asia Pacific, Singapore
An estimated 8 to 10% of Singapore’s existing workforce comprise freelancers and self-employed individuals.[1]  This percentage is likely to increase with the expansion of the gig and on-demand economy. In recent months, there has been increasing public concern as to the ‘employment’ rights and legal status of these freelancers and self-employed individuals. Are they employees … Continue reading

Hello, Bonjour: Parliament Set to Rethink Official Language Requirements in the Provision of Federal Services

Alexa BiscaroStéphane EricksonBy Alexa Biscaro and Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of Canada’s Official Languages Act (the “OLA” or the “Act”), the Federal Government recently announced a historic $2.7 billion in funding to support Canada’s official language minority groups and promote official bilingualism from coast to coast. Specifically regarding the provision of services, the 2018 Federal Budget Plan informs that … Continue reading

Bonjour, Hello : Repenser les exigences en matière de langues officielles incombant à certains prestataires de services du ressort fédéral

Alexa BiscaroStéphane EricksonBy Alexa Biscaro and Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada
À l’aube du cinquantième anniversaire de la Loi sur les langues officielles (la “LLO” ou la “Loi”), le gouvernement fédéral a annoncé un investissement sans précédent de 2,7 milliards de dollars dédié à l’épanouissement des communautés de langue officielle en situation minoritaire et à la promotion du bilinguisme officiel et ce, dans l’ensemble du pays. … Continue reading

Lack of probity may provide grounds for dismissal for serious misconduct

Global Workplace InsiderFrançois 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

Coming Soon: Heightened Accountability and Transparency in Federal Employment Equity

Stéphane EricksonBy Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment, General
In Canada, most federally regulated employers in the private and public spheres are subject to the Employment Equity Act, or in French, la Loi sur l’équité en matière d’emploi (the “Act”). First enacted in 1986, the Act’s objective is to ensure that federally regulated employers proactively engage in equitable practices that reduce barriers and counter … Continue reading

Le projet de loi sur la réforme de la LNT: quelles sont les conséquences pour les agences de placement?

Philippe BélisleBy Philippe Bélisle on Posted in Québec
Le projet de loi 176 intitulé « Loi modifiant la Loi sur les normes du travail et d’autres dispositions législatives afin principalement de faciliter la conciliation famille-travail » a été déposé par le gouvernement libéral à l’Assemblée nationale à la fin du mois de mars. Plusieurs de ses dispositions auront un impact significatif sur les agences de placement … Continue reading

The proposed bill to amend Québec’s labour standards: what are the effects on placement agencies?

Philippe BélisleBy Philippe Bélisle on Posted in Québec
The Act to amend the Act respecting labour standards and other legislative provisions (the bill) was tabled by the liberal government at the National Assembly at the end of March. Several provisions of this bill will have an impact on the businesses of personnel placement agencies. Here is our take on these issues. In a … Continue reading

Will Artificial Intelligence Need Human Rights Training ?

John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
The Financial Post interviews Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP’s patent and trademark lawyer Maya Medeiros on Artificial Intelligence’s discriminatory biases. Despite all of the advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), experts reveal that these technologies are not immune from some of the less-than-admirable tendencies which afflict humans. As recently reported by the Financial … 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

Subventions du comité d’entreprise : du changement plus tôt que prévu

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Europe, France
Le calcul des subventions qui doivent être allouées au comité d’entreprise (qu’il s’agisse de la subvention de fonctionnement, ou la contribution aux activités sociales et culturelles) est un casse-tête chinois pour les entreprises depuis plusieurs années déjà. Ce casse-tête a été partiellement résolu par les ordonnances portant réforme du Code du travail qui ont prévu … Continue reading

A (Not So) New Test for Family Status Discrimination in British Columbia

Cory SullyBy Cory Sully on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
It is often a challenge for employers to determine whether they have a duty to accommodate an employee’s “family status” under human rights legislation.  Adjudicators across Canada have taken different approaches to assess whether the duty to accommodate family status has been triggered.  The recent B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision in Adair v. Forensic Psychiatric … Continue reading

The never-ending search for fairness in a termination clause

Ryan FreemanBy Ryan Freeman on Posted in Canada
Over the course of this past year there have been several important decisions dealing with the enforceability of termination clauses in employment agreements, and how a court is to interpret a clause to determine the employer’s obligations to a departing employee.  The importance of these decisions can be seen by contrasting the financial consequences that … Continue reading

Ontario Bill 148 reform and public holidays: a reminder

John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
Since Ontario Family Day is coming on February 19, please take another look at our posts explaining how Bill 148 amended the public holiday provisions in the Ontario Employment Standards Act. As you may recall, there is a new formula for calculating public holiday pay, plus additional employer obligations when an employee works on a … Continue reading

Legislative changes under Ontario Bill 177

Andrew NichollBy Andrew Nicholl on Posted in Canada
The effect of the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2017 (“Bill 177”), which received royal assent on December 14, 2017, is far reaching as it introduces changes to a number of statutes. The Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act (“BPSECA”), the Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”) and the … 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 InsiderFrançois 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
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