Tag archives: working hours

France combats the pandemic

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Europe, France
Since January 2020, Coronavirus COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world, causing massive disruption to business and everyday life as well as thousands of deaths. The French Government has reacted in several stages. After issuing recommendations for barrier measures, it decided to close schools and more recently, it ordered the general confinement of French people … Continue reading

What are an employer’s chances of overcoming an employee’s claim for overtime in France ?

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
The basic working time arrangement in France is 35 hours per week, and although there are a number of alternative working time arrangements potentially available, this is still the one that applies to the majority of French employees. However, this is not a maximum working week – employees working beyond that amount are entitled to … Continue reading

Control or trust: Legal claim to home office?

Photo of Cornelia MarquardtBy Cornelia Marquardt on Posted in Contracts, Data privacy and GDPR, Germany
Digitization and  technological advances are accelerating the flexibility of working conditions leading to a changed understanding of leadership. A key topic of debate is the “home office” which is currently used by approximately 12 per cent of employees in Germany for all or part of their working time. On this topic, the German government is … Continue reading

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

Photo of Natasha HyppolitePhoto of Stéphane EricksonBy Natasha Hyppolite, Stéphane Erickson and Heather Cameron on 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 … Continue reading

Lancement du Guide d’information en matière de droit de l’emploi et du travail fédéral: Modifications à la partie III du Code canadien du travail qui entreront en vigueur le 1er septembre 2019

Photo of Natasha HyppolitePhoto of Stéphane EricksonBy Natasha Hyppolite, Stéphane Erickson and Heather Cameron on Posted in Canada
Une série de nouvelles modifications apportées à la partie III du Code canadien du travail (Code), qui entreront en vigueur le 1er septembre 2019, conféreront de nouveaux droits aux employés. Ces modifications, adoptées en vertu des projets de loi C-86 et C-63, auront des répercussions importantes sur le milieu de travail et l’entreprise de nombreux employeurs … Continue reading

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

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

What rights do workers have to rest breaks in Germany?

Photo of 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

DOL to appeal injunction against new overtime regulations

Photo of Andrew Yeh (US)Photo of Matt Heller (US)By Andrew Yeh (US) and Matt Heller (US) on Posted in United States
Despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime regulations were set to go into effect on December 1st, the validity of the regulations remains unsettled. We previously reported that on November 22nd, Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a nationwide injunction precluding … Continue reading

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

Photo of 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

Overtime overhaul – small businesses want more time to prepare

Photo of Norlynn Price (US)By Norlynn Price (US) on Posted in United States
With just about 90 days to go before the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule dramatically updating overtime regulations is scheduled to go into effect, small business owners have petitioned the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division seeking more time to prepare for and implement changes to the way they operate their businesses so that they … Continue reading

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

Photo of 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

Fair pay, safe workplaces, and federal contractors telling it like it is

Photo of Norlynn Price (US)By Norlynn Price (US) on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, United States
On August 24, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Counsel issued a final rule to implement President Obama’s Executive Order 13673, entitled “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,” first announced by the President over two years ago on July 31, 2014. According to the Federal Acquisition Institute, the purpose of E.O. … Continue reading

(Night-)Time is Money

Photo of Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Europe, Germany
Even though, unarguably, few employees would give up a good night’s sleep in order to work night shifts, operational necessity often dictates otherwise. Certain businesses can only remain competitive and survive in the market if they require their employees to work during night-time. Parcel services, bakeries and hospitals are just a few examples of businesses … Continue reading

Fatter paychecks for employees, tough decisions for employers

Photo of Norlynn Price (US)By Norlynn Price (US) on Posted in United States
On June 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will significantly increase the number of employees entitled to receive overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours during a regular workweek. Once implemented, the new rule is estimated to affect at least 5 million full-time employees … Continue reading

Working time in the UK – are there any restrictions on an employee’s working week?

Photo of Claire Darbourne (UK)By Claire Darbourne (UK) on Posted in Europe, UK
The Working Time Regulations 1998 (the Regulations) implemented the requirements of the 1993 EC Working Time Directive. Before the Regulations came into force, the hours of work undertaken by employees were largely unregulated in the UK. For the first time, the Regulations introduced restrictions on the number of hours worked by employees and workers together … Continue reading

Flexible Working Act: Stronger position for employees who want to work from home

Global Workplace InsiderBy Maartje Govaert and Annette van Beers on Posted in Europe, The Netherlands
On 14 April 2015, the Dutch Senate has accepted the Flexible Working Act, allowing employees of companies in the Netherlands more flexibility in respect of working hours and working from home. With effect from 1 January 2016, employees will be able to ask not only for changes to the number of hours they work, but also changes … Continue reading

Working Hours and Annual Leave in China

Global Workplace InsiderBy Grace Ye on Posted in Asia Pacific, China
Working Hours PRC law recognises three categories of working hour systems: (i) the Standard Working Hour System; (ii) the Flexible Working Hour System; and (iii) the Comprehensive Working Hour System.  Each system varies in its applicability to employment positions and industries within the PRC. The Standard Working Hour System provides that an employee may work … Continue reading
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