Under PRC law, employers are required to pay social insurance premiums for employees. The social insurance premiums cover basic endowment, medical, employment–related injury, unemployment and maternity insurance. Non-compliance with these requirements can result in administrative penalties, claims by employees and… Read more

While Japan has seen an increase in the number of non-regular workers (part-time, fixed-term or dispatched workers), the terms and conditions of employment have traditionally been inferior to those offered to regular employees. Japan has recently amended the Act on… Read more

Two recent English decisions highlight the particular challenges when managing legal professional privilege in the context of resolving employee issues. We consider these decisions and how the principles may apply in Hong Kong in relation to dominant purpose, waiver and… Read more

HMRC is consulting on the extension of IR35 reforms to the private sector from April 2020. As previously announced, the rules introduced in April 2017 in relation to off-payroll workers in the public sector will be rolled out to off-payroll… Read more

As part of Herbert Smith Freehills’ series on the employment and industrial relations reforms leading up to the Australian federal election, this inaugural podcast focuses on the Australian Labor Party’s policy platform. It’s essential listening for HR professionals to assist… Read more

Our colleagues at Greenwoods + Herbert Smith Freehills have published their latest Employment Taxes Update, including commentary on the recent Federal Budget announcements. Click here to learn more. Read more

Mental Health First Aid England has published guidance for employers introducing mental health first aiders into the workplace. This highlights the importance of senior leadership engagement and makes recommendations on reviewing current working practices and support, creating clear documentation setting… Read more

Employers should ensure they agree in advance how and how often they will communicate with an employee while on maternity leave (or indeed other periods of longer family-related leave), particularly if the employee will be at risk of redundancy during… Read more

In iForce Ltd v Wood, the EAT has clarified that there is no claim for unfavourable treatment arising from disability where an employee is disciplined because they refuse to obey an instruction which they wrongly believe will exacerbate their disability,… Read more

Multi-employer bargaining is high on the ALP’s “to do” list if it wins the election, leading to speculation about the prospect of ‘industry bargaining’ under an ALP Government. The third article in our Federal Election series looks into industry bargaining.… Read more

Employers could be liable for a significant compensation award if their refusal to allow a worker to take rest breaks causes personal injury. The EAT has ruled that compensation can be awarded for personal injury suffered as a result of… Read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that 'Bad Leaver' provisions in Articles of Association requiring forfeiture of shares were not subject to the law on penalty clauses where triggered by an employee voluntarily resigning on notice, as repayment did not… Read more

The Court of Appeal has ruled that suspension pending a disciplinary investigation does not breach an employer's implied duty of trust and confidence, provided the employer has 'reasonable and proper cause'. An employer does not need to establish that it… Read more

Our financial services team have posted an update on compliance obligations for annual leave loading and superannuation guarantee obligations. Click here to discover more. In addition, our colleagues at Greenwoods + Herbert Smith Freehills have posted their article Superannuation Guarantee owed… Read more

Where an employee is a 'special case' worker (such as certain rail transport workers) entitled to equivalent compensatory rest rather than the core right to a 20 minute break after 6 hours, that rest need not be an uninterrupted 20… Read more

We're delighted to have launched our Australian Federal Election Reforms - IR Policy and the 2019 Federal Election hub. Look forward to weekly additions to this site focusing on the practical impacts for business in the face of the upcoming… Read more

Several important employment law reforms have come into force recently or will come into force shortly, both at the EU and French level. Below are some of the changes to expect for 2019: ... Read more

Further to its response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee report last December (see here), the Government is consulting until 29 April 2019 on proposals to regulate confidentiality clauses (commonly referred to as "NDAs" or non-disclosure agreements) in employment… Read more

Employers should resist the temptation to use the occasion of a TUPE transfer to dismiss employees (with two years' service and so eligible to claim unfair dismissal) with whom there is an ongoing performance or misconduct issue, as this is… Read more

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an employee may be automatically unfairly dismissed by reason of a TUPE transfer even if the employer has some other, personal reason to dismiss but has chosen to act on it because of… Read more

It is unlawful direct discrimination on grounds of religious belief only if the unfavourable treatment of an employee is because of the employee's belief or lack of belief, and not where the treatment is because of the discriminator's belief (for… Read more

The appropriate use of confidentiality agreements in the employment context has come under a lot of scrutiny given the #MeToo campaign; a recent case illustrates how the courts may approach the issue of enforceability. In Linklaters LLP v Mellish, Linklaters was… Read more

This article was first published in the ELA Briefing March 2019. Author: Peter Frost With the abolition of tribunal fees, the number of claims has increased considerably. But greater access to justice is only meaningful if that system of justice… Read more

The Victorian labour hire licensing scheme will commence on 29 April 2019. There is a six month transition period which ends on 29 October 2019. Please click the map below for a summary on the current status of licensing schemes… Read more

Hirers of agency workers should consider carefully up front whether and how the Agency Worker Regulations apply and seek to ensure the agency complies, given that a hirer can be held liable for breach and ordered to pay just and… Read more

With the second deadline for gender pay gap reports a month away, more guidance has been published (in addition to that covered here). The Government Equalities Office has published two sets of guidance, Eight ways to understand your gender pay… Read more

A recent law (law n°2018-771 dated 5 September 2018) has implemented a new obligation for companies of more than 50 employees to publish each year (through their website or by any means as long as their employees are informed of… Read more

Authors: Fatim Jumabhoy, Partner, Singapore, Rebecca Lim, This month we take a look at some upcoming changes to the employment law landscape in South Korea: read about those changes here. We also consider the requirements to hire disabled employees in… Read more

In a bid to increase the diversity of workforces, and increase access to employment for those with disabilities, Taiwan has a quota for the number of disabled employees. We take a look at how this works in practice. ... Read more

This month in our comparative table here, we consider the legal obligations on employers considering a transfer of business/undertaking, focussing on the position in China, Indonesia and Thailand. Read more