The ECJ has ruled that workers cannot be deprived of paid statutory holiday entitlement on the termination of employment or at the end of a particular reference period or authorised carry-over period, unless the employer has ensured "specifically and transparently"… Read more

In Pettigrew v HMRC the First Tier Tribunal has held that settlement payments made by reference to underpaid past earnings arising out of a claim of discrimination against part-time workers were fully taxable as employment income. The appellant referred to… Read more

When disciplining a disabled employee, employers need to consider carefully whether they should obtain medical evidence on any possible link between the employee's actions and their disability. The Court of Appeal has upheld a tribunal ruling that an employer was liable… Read more

Human rights continue to keep the pressure on Thailand's fishing industry, as forced labour and exploitation claims get increasing exposure. Human rights groups continue to report of coercive labour practices in Thailand, in particular, in the fishing industry. In 2015,… Read more

Victoria introduces new Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Act) In our previous post here, we discussed the proposed changes to existing long service leave entitlements for Victorian employees. Since then, minor amendments to the Bill were introduced and on 8… Read more

On 14 September 2017, the Tokyo District Court interpreted and applied the meaning of "unreasonable differences" to the benefits enjoyed by permanent and fixed term employees at Japan Post. The decision provides guidance on which benefits are exclusively available to… Read more

The National Assembly has approved amendments to the Labour Standards Act to reduce the total working hours over a 7 day period from 68 hours to 52 hours. This change further demonstrates the government's crackdown on long working hours, and… Read more

By way of the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, 2017, the state of Maharashtra has adopted the Central Government's model legislation intended to increase the ease of doing business and boosting employment opportunities for women. The Act represents significant reform… Read more

Following a public consultation on the review of the Singapore Employment Act (the "EA"), the Ministry of Manpower ("MOM") announced on 5 March 2018 that amendments to the EA will be implemented effective 1 April 2019. ... Read more

Two recent cases have established that tribunals cannot award compensation for injury to feelings where a worker is prevented from exercising his working time rights, but can do so where he claims detriment for refusal to comply with an instruction… Read more

The EAT in Brazel v The Harper Trust has ruled that employers must calculate holiday pay for term-time (or other casual) workers using the normal rate of pay averaged over the 12 weeks prior to holiday being taken, in accordance… Read more

The Legislative Council Panel on Manpower has released a report on enforcement actions taken by the Labour Department during 2017 (Paper) which shows an increase in the number of convictions for breaches of the Employment Ordinance (EO) and other labour… Read more

The government has this morning issued a press release announcing its response to the independent Taylor Review published last year (see our summary here). The government has given a general commitment to pursue quality of work in addition to number… Read more

Employers in certain sectors can rely on the exemption from the ordinary rest break requirements in the Working Time Regulations (or 20 minutes for every 6 hours worked) as long as they provide equivalent compensatory rest. The EAT has confirmed… Read more

Prompted by criticisms from both employers and employees to its amendments to the Labor Standards Act (the "Act") in December 2016 (the "first amendments"), the Taiwanese Government proposed further revisions to the Act (the "further amendments"), less than a year… Read more

An independent review of mental health at work, commissioned by the Prime Minister, has been published. The Stevenson/Farmer review calls on employers to adopt six mental health core standards covering mental health at work plans, employee awareness and open communication,… Read more

The ECJ has agreed with the Advocate-General's opinion in King v Sash Windows that workers denied paid holiday can carry over their 4 weeks' statutory holiday entitlement indefinitely and be paid in lieu of the entire accrued untaken entitlement on… Read more

One of Emmanuel Macron's key campaign promises was the reform of laws relating to employees partly, in order to help French companies respond in a more flexible manner to the challenges they are facing to become more competitive in the… Read more

The Federal Court has clarified that a right of entry to hold discussions with relevant employees under section 484 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) cannot be exercised before or after those employees’ scheduled working hours.1 ... Read more

On 31 July 2017 the Tripartite Alliance issued the Tripartite Standard on Employment of Term Contract Employees (First Standard), (Tripartite Standards). The Tripartite Standards are the first of five new standards seek to encourage fair and progressive labour practices in… Read more

The EAT has upheld first instance tribunal decisions that the calculation of statutory holiday pay (for the 4 weeks' EU-derived holiday) should reflect voluntary overtime, voluntary standby and voluntary call out payments, provided that the work has been undertaken with… Read more

Overview As a result of a decision handed down by the Fair Work Commission (Commission) on 5 July 2017, a model casual conversion clause will be inserted into 85 modern awards. A summary of the 300+ page decision is available… Read more

South Korea's new President Moon Jae-In has announced the Government's support for greater work-life balance for Korean employees, including proposals to curb Korea's notoriously long work days, broaden parental leave and ease the burden of childcare costs. Following President Moon… Read more

The main parties' manifestos for the general election all contained numerous proposed employment law reforms, the Conservatives promising "the greatest expansion in workers' rights by any Conservative government in history" while Labour included a 20 point "plan for security and equality… Read more

The ECJ Advocate-General has given his opinion in King v The Sash Window Workshop that employers must make ‘adequate facilities’ (eg, contractual rights or administrative procedures) available to workers in order that they can take annual leave. If those facilities… Read more

Employers will welcome a recent EAT ruling in relation to claims for statutory holiday pay, which must be brought within three months of the end of each 'series' of underpayments. The EAT treated as binding precedent an earlier EAT decision… Read more

Currently, employers are in principle prohibited from causing employees to work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. Subject to a Labour Management Agreement being entered into with a union consisting of more than half the… Read more

Last year the Ministry of Manpower issued an important regulation regarding religious holiday allowances, in the form of Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 6 of 2016 (Regulation 6/2016). Regulation 6/2016 revoked and replaced the previous regulation governing the issue, which… Read more

The Chinese government recently issued three sets of measures to strengthen labour law enforcement in China. These measures are aimed at cracking down on material violations of labour laws and regulations and improving compliance by employers. Companies need to pay… Read more

The Supreme Court yesterday refused British Gas permission to appeal the Court of Appeal ruling that statutory holiday pay must include results-based commission (Lock v British Gas Trading). This provides employers with final confirmation that the calculation of pay for… Read more