In July 2022, the law changed to allow employment businesses to supply workers to cover the duties of those taking part in official industrial action. Previously, it had been a criminal offence to do so. Following a successful judicial review challenge brought by unions, that law has been quashed. It is once again a criminal offence to supply agency workers to cover the duties of workers on an official strike, or to supply agency workers to cover the duties of other workers reassigned to cover striking workers.
On 19 June 2023, the Financial Supervisory Service of the Republic of Korea issued a notice which states that domestic employees may be sanctioned for violating the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act if they sell foreign-listed stock through an overseas broker or deposit funds resulting from the sale of foreign-listed stock in an overseas financial institution. To comply with the applicable regulation, domestic employees are required to open an account with a domestic broker and sell foreign-listed shares through such domestic broker.
In 2019, the government consulted on various measures to support families. It has now responded to chapter one of that consultation – Parental leave and pay: Supporting parents and achieving equality – and announced changes to the statutory paternity leave regime to give fathers and partners more choice and flexibility around how and when they take their entitlement.
Please note that this event will be held on 12 July 2023 at 4:00pm CET in German only.
On 3 July 2023, the Brazilian president sanctioned Law n. 14,611/2023, which aims to ensure equal payment for women and men who perform the same activities. The new regulation also creates greater sanctions for employers.
On 30 June 2023, the law amending the Luxembourg Labor Code to introduce a mechanism relating to the right for employees to disconnect outside working hours was published in the Luxembourg official journal. It enters into force on 4 July 2023.
The Czech Act on Protection of Whistleblowers (“Whistleblowing Act”) which implements the EU Whistleblowing Directive 2019/1937 was finally adopted and will become effective from 1 August 2023. The Whistleblowing Act introduces the obligation of employers to establish a whistleblowing channel to enable reporting of selected violations, and to protect individuals that filed such report.
The recent high-profile sexual harassment cases in Taiwan have raised concerns and triggered discussions about the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. In fact, among the various types of employee misconduct, sexual harassment has been mostly addressed in Taiwanese law. Taiwan’s Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Act of Gender Equality in Employment both require employers to provide a friendly and safe working environment, and provide detailed regulations for the process of investigations of sexual harassment complaints.
Currently, Vietnam is in the process of reviewing the implementation of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP on foreign employees working in Vietnam, and the recruitment and management of Vietnamese employees working for foreign individuals and organizations in Vietnam. Against this context, the authorities have made various attempts to visit, inspect and audit companies on the use of foreign employees, work permit documentation and relevant compliance matters.
California Assembly Bill 1228 or, the “Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act” seeks to make fast food franchisors liable for certain civil violations committed by their franchisees. The Bill was passed by the California Assembly on 31 May and awaits a vote in the Senate. If signed into law in its current form, the Bill would drastically increase the legal exposure of certain franchisors in the fast-food industry.