The UK will have a general election on 4 July 2024, which will decide who the next government will be. The political parties have been publishing their employment and HR-related proposals, which we summarize in this article. We have limited ourselves to Labour, the Conservatives, Reform, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, as the current top-polling parties fielding candidates throughout Great Britain.
On 16 May 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Procedure for Conscription of Citizens for Military Service During Mobilization and amended the Procedure for Organization and Maintenance of Military Registration (“Amendments”). The Amendments, among other things, detail employers’ existing obligations during mobilization and establish the new ones.
In the face of intensifying geopolitical risk and continuing economic uncertainty, the challenges for global employers to plan carefully and operate strategically to maintain a thriving workforce is greater than ever. We’ll help employers navigate those challenges in our four-part webinar series featuring Baker McKenzie Global Employment Law colleagues from the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa who will share legal updates and trends impacting US-based multinationals, and provide tips and best practices for your success.
The latest edition of The Global Employer: Focus on Global Immigration & Mobility is now available and includes an overview of key global immigration and mobility issues related to immigration, employment, compensation and employee benefits, income taxes and social insurance, and global equity compensation. It also identifies key government agencies, highlights current compliance and enforcement trends, and describes short and long term visas appropriate for business travel, training and employment assignments.
We are pleased to present the second edition in 2024 of Ukrainian Laws in Wartime: Guide for International and Domestic Businesses, a brief overview of the key features of wartime legislation.
The Pay Transparency Directive (EU 2023/970) has been in force for exactly one year, since 6 June 2023. Its aim is to reduce the gender pay gap through new regulations on pay transparency. The EU member states have until June 2026 to implement the directive. The Austrian legislature has not taken any action yet. However, employers should start preparing for the effects now. The new rules require HR processes and the remuneration system to be adapted, for which sufficient preparation time must be planned.
The recruitment process stands as a critical juncture in shaping the workforce of any organization. As organizations scale, the influx of job applications creates a complex balancing act. In an article, Morven Ross explores the risks to organizations of disability discrimination in the recruitment process and the correct management of AI in this context.
On 1 July 2023, a Framework Agreement entered into force to govern employees’ social security affiliation within the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. Based on this Agreement, cross-border teleworkers who work substantially from their home state can remain affiliated with the social security legislation of the state where their employer is established.
On 15 May 2024, the Luxembourg Parliament adopted draft bill No. 8304 (“Law”), which aims to implement Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of 20 October 2021 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment (“Directive”).
The primary goal of the Directive is to update the EU Blue Card rules, providing a more targeted legal migration system to address skill shortages and facilitate entry for highly qualified workers. More specifically, it provides for more flexible admission conditions for highly skilled foreign workers, notably in terms of the minimum wage threshold, enhanced rights, more favorable conditions for family reunification, and the possibility of traveling and working more easily in other EU member states.
On 16 May 2024, the government launched a consultation concerning TUPE and European Works Councils (EWCs). There are three proposals under consultation: (1) Overturn the concept of split assignment in a TUPE transfer (where an employee’s contract of employment could be split between two transferees). (2) Confirm that TUPE only covers employees, not workers. (3) Repeal the remaining post-Brexit EWC legislation, which will likely see the end of any statutory obligations to maintain an EWC in the UK.