Last month we saw Endometriosis Awareness Month come and go and with it, the question of whether endometriosis is fully recognised in the workplace yet. Last year, in February 2022, support for individuals who suffer from endometriosis was debated in the House of Commons. The key takeaway was that endometriosis affects so many women, yet is still largely unrecognised within the workplace ...
On the 30th of March 2023, as part of its efforts to address the gender pay gap phenomenon and promote the equal pay principle, the European Parliament widely approved the EU Pay Transparency Directive. In 2021, the gender pay gap stood at 12.7% in the EU, with no minimal changes in the last ten years ...
Introduction An EU Regulation on the making available on the Union market as well as export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation (“Deforestation Regulation”) was agreed upon by the EU legislators in December 2022. The European Parliament has now green-lighted the Provisional Agreement at this month’s plenary session ...
On 21 November 2022, the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (“MISTI”) issued Prakas 252 on the Implementation of General Principles of Food Hygiene in Factories, Enterprises and Handicrafts (“Prakas 252”) to establish standard requirements for food factories, enterprises and handicrafts in Cambodia ...
Our working worlds were rocked by the global pandemic in 2020. Working from home was compulsory for all bar key workers, whilst the country grappled with the pandemic, furlough and trying to make it all work. Many employees now work remotely or on a hybrid basis as employers review their working policies with an increased focus on productivity, as the outlook for the UK economy remains hard to accurately predict ...
Part of the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the condition labelled ‘long-covid’. This is still a relatively new condition that remains under study, but symptoms include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, loss of smell and muscle aches. Some people experience further complications and suffer memory problems known as ‘brain fog,’ difficulty sleeping, dizziness, depression and anxiety ...
The Chilean Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) has recently announced the possibility to apply to a program for fast-tracking patent’s and utility model’s applications, provided that said applications relate to technical solutions capable of impacting the environment positively ...
On April 10th, 2023, the Congress approved a bill that reduces the workday weekly limit from 45 to 40 hours (Bill N°11.179-13). This bill, however, includes multiple and important amendments to the working hour and rest regimes, amongst which we can highlight the following: Reduction of the ordinary working hours limit The duration of the ordinary working hours will be reduced from 45 to 40 hours ...
Notification 005/23 was issued by the Accounting and Auditing Regulator (ACAR) on the 11th of April 2023 concerning the Extension to Submit Annual Financial Statements for the 2022 financial year for Enterprises and Non-Profit Organizations that are not subject to independent financial audits ...
In early March, Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally adopted rules governing the state's low-THC oil industry. As businesses navigate this new landscape, legal questions will inevitably pop up. And lawyers, being trained to answer them, will want to address their clients' questions. But a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court means that Georgia lawyers generally cannot ethically advise participants in this new program ...
What can employers say in a job advertisement? How to verify the legality of a worker’s stay in Poland? What are the steps for legally hiring Ukrainians in Poland? What formalities are required when amending their terms of employment? How to delegate Ukrainian citizens to work elsewhere in the EU? How to end cooperation with foreign workers? Lawyers from the firm’s Employment & Global Mobility practice write about the rules for employing Ukrainians in Poland ...
The rise of ChatGPT and other large language models has been well-documented, although the technology underpinning it has been developing for several years ...
In the fourth of our HR Improve articles, we consider the importance of effective absence management and what steps employers should take to support employees whilst minimising the impact of sickness absence on the organisation. All organisations will experience employees taking sickness absence at one time or another. The Office for National Statistics found that 149 million days of work were lost in 2021 due to sickness absence ...
Earlier this year, the government announced its support for the passing of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill. Should it become law, the Bill is set to bring huge change for tens of millions of employees in the UK who do not currently have a statutory right to request a predictable working pattern ...
On the 5th of April 2023 the Accounting and Auditing Regulator (“ACAR”) issued Notification 0013/23. ACAR/N reminding enterprise owners and directors of non-profit organisations of their obligation to submit, via the ACAR e-filing system, their annual financial statements for the 2022 financial year to the ACAR by the required due date ...
Employer obligations From the date the Order takes effect, all employers will need to ensure they are paying at least the minimum wage and that their contracts and/or Statements of Employment are updated where necessary to ensure that they are compliant. Note that only 'employees' are entitled to the minimum wage, not self-employed contractors ...
The Limited Partnerships (Jersey) Law 1994 (the “Law”) governs Jersey limited partnerships. A limited partnership seeks to combine the flexibility and “tax transparency” offered by a partnership structure with the benefits, for limited partners, of limited liability offered by a company ...
On 30 March 2023, the State Administration Council enacted the 2023 Union Tax Law (“2023 UTL”), which clarifies the tax rates and related procedures concerning income tax, commercial tax, and specific goods tax. This new law is effective on 1 April 2023 or the start of the new financial year 2023-2024 in Myanmar ...
In the Apple TV+ show Severance, employees of Lumon Industries may agree to a "severance" program in which non-work memories are separated from work memories. Outside of work, these Lumon Industries employees cannot discuss what happened at work because they have no memory of it. While Severance’s technology is fictional, employers frequently seek a similar result when offering severance agreements to departing employees ...
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives play a critical role in creating and sustaining a high-functioning business with an open flow of creative ideas. As companies continue to adapt to having an increased share of employees working in a remote or hybrid role, they should reexamine whether their workplace culture is inclusive for people of all backgrounds and experiences ...
The process of selecting the right candidate for a new position involves time and resources. Extending an offer of employment is generally an exciting endeavor for both the employer and its new hire - which is why the details set forth in that offer of employment are so critical. While a verbal offer of employment is perfectly appropriate to provide, it is equally important that a written offer follow ...
In April statutory rates of pay and maximum awards in the Employment Tribunal increase. Given current inflation, the increases this year are higher compared to previous years. Employers must ensure they adequately budget for the rise in staffing costs. The key changes to rates and limits that employers need to be aware of are set out below ...
