Much has been and continues to be written about applications for cost-sharing under section 329 of An Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (the “AIAOD ”).Art. 329 I n the case of a worker already handicapped when his employment injury appears, the Comm ission may, on its own initiative or on the application of an employer, impute all or part of the cost of the benefits to the employers of all of the units ...
In recent times, the issue of post-retirement healthcare benefits has taken on a heightened significance for employers and sponsors of pension and health and welfare plans. Factors such as an increasing number of retirees, rising drug and healthcare costs and government cutbacks to universal healthcare programs are causing organizations to re-evaluate the extent to which they can or are willing to continue to provide post-retirement healthcare benefits ...
The Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO) came into force last week on 10 July 2009 following the passage of the Code of Practice on Employment under the RDO (Code) in the Legislative Council on 9 July 2009. Accordingly to reports in the South China Morning Post, one organisation has already said that it has prepared two cases for the Equal Opportunities Commission to tackle under the RDO ...
In Hong Kong, some companies located in comparatively less accessible areas provide shuttle bus services for employees to travel to and from the workplace. This, of course, raises issues of liability and entitlement. More specifically, in the unfortunate event of a member of staff being injured while travelling on the company shuttle, he or she is entitled to make a claim under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (ECO) ...
Renewable energy sources, including wind power, represent 40 percent of the total energy production in Sweden. In order to curb climate change the European Union stated, as a part of the so called 2020-decision of the 23 of January 2009, that Sweden should increase its production of renewable energy to 49 percent by the year 2020 ...
On July 17, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a unanimous judgment setting aside the ruling by the Quebec Court of Appeal and affirming that the employer had fulfilled its duty to accommodate in the case of Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d’Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ). In this judgment, the Court essentially dealt with two aspects ...
The decision in KERRY - August 7, 2009 (1) In this decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed, inter alia, that the company: May oblige the pension fund to pay the Plan expenses, that is the expenses associated with the employment of actuaries, accountants, counsel and other service providers required for the administration of the Plan; May combine the defined benefit (“DB”) and the defined c
Currently, employers can lawfully require employees to retire at 65 (the so-called default retirement age) as long as they follow the correct procedure. This has come under increasing criticism, and is currently the subject of a legal challenge by the charity Heyday (part of Age Concern). Whatever the outcome of the Heyday challenge, the Government had previously said it would review the default retirement age in 2011 to see if it was still needed ...
On August 7, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada released its much anticipated decision of Nolan v. Kerry (Canada) Inc., a decision that concerns the ability of a plan sponsor to charge pension plan administrative expenses to the pension fund and the ability of a sponsor to use the actuarial surplus in the defined benefit portion of a pension plan to fund a contribution holiday in respect of the defined contribution portion of the plan ...
A number of laws and regulations have been promulgated in the past few years to introduce a series of changes to the existing PRC Labour Law, among which the key legislations are the PRC Labour Contract Law effective on 1 January 2008 and its detailed implementing regulations effective on 18 September 2008 ("Laws") ...
The British Property Federation (BPF) has published a guide for landlords and tenants explaining the Government's proposed Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), and illustrating how expected additional costs might be shared. Around 5,000 large public and private organisations are likely to be full participants in CRC, and it has been estimated that energy costs will increase between 7% and 15%. The introductory phase is due to start in April 2010 ...
The House of Lords has today given its long awaited judgement in the Stringer case (previously known as Ainsworth). The House of Lords allowed the employees' appeal, overturning the Court of Appeal's earlier decision and substituting the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal ...
The Labour Market Opinion (LMO) program of Service Canada has recently changed: extension applications for LMOs are no longer permitted. Instead, each request to continue to employ a foreign worker will be treated as a new LMO request and will need to be supported by evidence of updated recruitment activity ...
Robertson v. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., 2009 BCSC 602 Employee not constructively dismissed when employer’s unilateral reduction in his remuneration was small and he waited too long to complain about changes to his duties. Robertson was employed by West Fraser Timber (“WFT”) and its predecessor Weldwood for twenty-nine years ...
A lot hinged on the answer to the following question for thousands of businesses and organisations across the UK. When is equipment used at work not work equipment for the purposes of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998? It was put before the House of Lords at a hearing on 4 February 2009, exactly one year after the same question was considered by the Court of Appeal ...
How far do you have to go in carrying out risk assessments when the risks to your employees arise from activities conducted off your premises? It is a question that has always troubled health and safety advisors. The recent decision of the House of Lords in Smith (Jean) v Northamptonshire County Council, 2009 has helped to define the boundaries. In this case a care worker employed by the council was injured at a client's home ...
Environmental laws sweep broadly, regulating a wide range of business activities. Environmental laws create obligations and liabilities that affect not only ongoing businesses, but business transactions as well. They also may form the basis for, or otherwise be relevant to, litigation ...
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Industrial Revolution produced radical transformations not only in technology, including an ever increasing use of fossil fuels, but also in economic policies and social structure ...
The High Court has held that in certain circumstances, an employee has the right to be represented by a lawyer at internal disciplinary hearings. The Employment Relations Act 1999 gives employees a statutory right to be accompanied only by a work colleague or union official at disciplinary and grievance hearings. The good practice recommendations in the new ACAS Code on Disciplinary and Grievance in the Workplace reflect this ...
On 6 April 2009 the Mandatory Dismissal and Disciplinary Procedures and Grievance Procedures (the statutory procedures) will be Repealed when Relevant Provisions of the Employment Act 2008 Come Into Force. It is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most eagerly awaited changes to employment law for many years, and it is all but impossible to find anyone who doesn't view this as a positive development ...
The property industry will have an opportunity to assess the impact of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) when a user guide and a consultation paper are issued by the Government, this month. The CRC is a UK-wide, legally binding scheme designed to reduce energy use, and a key component of the Government's strategy to reduce carbon emissions attributable to property ...
With the Baltic States a hotbed of energy related activity and practice areas such as M&A decidedly lukewarm, law firms in the region could be forgiven for hoping that several high-profile ventures in the sector would brighten up an otherwise gloomy 2009. But the highly political nature of the energy market means that lawyers are watching frustrated from the sidelines as large scale projects consistently fail to get off the ground ...
The shifting of the burden of proof is an issue of great concern for suppliers when involved with litigation over product liability ...
The New Mining Law After almost four years of discussions, the Bill on Minerals and Coal Mining was finally passed by the House of Representatives on 16 December 2008 and signed by the President on 12 January 2009 as Law No. 4 of 2009. The enactment of the New Mining Law brings mining under a new licensing regime whereas for the last 40 years, foreign investors have had to sign a Contract of Work to engage in mining ...
I. IntroductionIt has been over 4 years since the Constitutional Court’s ruling on 26 October 2004 which declared that Article 158 and other relevant articles of the Manpower Law in relation to serious misconduct were against the Indonesia Constitution and therefore were not legally binding. The legal effect of the ruling was that an employer cannot immediately terminate an employee for serious misconduct ...
