The EU Committees on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and Legal Affairs voted today in favour of a joint report on the draft EU directive which will require EU-listed companies to ensure, by 2020, that at least 40% of their non-executive board members are women, so as to promote gender equality in economic decision making. … Read more

Will the increased global focus on gender diversity on corporate boards distort the merit-based appointments process and result in sex discrimination against men in the workplace? Our article, first published in the June 2013 issue of the Newsletter of the International Bar Association Legal Practice Division, examines the European Commission’s draft directive to address gender imbalance … Read more

A Royal Decree Law approved on 15 March 2013, and entering into force on 1 April 2013, amends certain provisions of Law 27/2011, having regard to updating, adjustment and modernisation of the Spanish social security system and aims to discourage age discrimination from being employed in staff downsizing decisions. Read more

As previously reported,  on 14 November 2012 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a gender Directive which plans to introduce a 40% “minimum objective” for the proportion of female non-executive directors (“NEDs”) on EU listed companies.  The European Commission announced today that insufficient national parliaments challenged the EC's proposal on "subsidiarity" grounds by the deadline of … Read more

The European Commission has published a draft Directive which aims to improve gender diversity on boards of EU listed companies. The draft sets a 40% "minimum objective" for the proportion of female non-executive directors. The proposal also requires companies to publish targets for female representation among their executive directors but without setting a minimum objective.  The revised proposals have been welcomed … Read more

Employers should not disadvantage an employee due to their former fixed term status.  The ECJ has ruled that EU law permits employees to bring claims for detrimental treatment occurring after they have ceased to be fixed–term, where the reason is their former fixed-term status.  A claim was possible under the Fixed-Term Work Directive where time … Read more

 Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, has announced today that the European Commission's vote on her proposal to introduce a mandatory quota for women on the boards of listed companies in member states has been postponed. However, we understand that this issue will be back on the Commission's agenda on 14 … Read more