On 1 September 2009, the long-anticipated Social Security Agreement between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of India (the “SSA”) entered into force. The SSA was signed in New Delhi on 3 November 2006 and is considered as a landmark agreement as it was the first treaty of its kind to be signed by the Indian authorities. Therefore it is likely to serve as a benchmark for similar agreements between India and other countries ...
Under the Tobacco acT (r.s.Q., c. t-0.01), employers mUst prohibit their employees from smoKing inside their establishments. howeVer, the act is mute on no smoKing oUtside, on the company’s land ...
At this moment, according to the Brazilian Constitution, employees may not work more than 44 hours per week. Also, whenever employees work overtime, the hourly rates are increased by at least 50%. Yet, a Constitutional Amendment Bill is being discussed in Brazilian House of Representatives in order to change such provisions. Bill no ...
Pursuant to Article 74, 2nd paragraph, of the Brazilian labor code, companies with more than ten employees should control the working hours of its employees by means of manual, mechanic or electronic time registers. Electronic time registers (“ponto eletronico”) have been commonly used by employers to keep track of employees’ work hours ...
ON OCTOBER 27TH, THE HONOURABLE JIM FLAHERTY, MINISTER OF FINANCE, ANNOUNCED AN IMPORTANT PLAN TO REFORM FEDERALLY REGULATED PENSION PLANS(1). THIS REFORM PLAN IS THE RESULT OF EXTENSIVE CONSULTATIONS THAT BEGAN IN JANUARY 2009 WITH THE RELEASE OF A DISCUSSION PAPER ENTITLED STRENGTHENING THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR PRIVATE PENSION PLANS SUBJECT TO THE PENSION BENEFITS STANDARDS ACT, 1985 ...
On October 27, 2009 the Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty announced a number of proposed changes to the pension framework in Canada. Most of the proposed changes will be made to the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 (Canada) (the “PBSA”), which governs federally regulated pension plans ...
Labour & Employment Law Update A Cautionary Tale about Temporary Layoffs A recent decision of the B.C. Supreme Court, Besse v. Dr. A.S. Mechner Inc., 2009 BCSC 1316, serves as a reminder that employers do not have the right to lay off employees temporarily (and without severance) unless this right is specified in the employment agreement. In this case, a dentist was seeking to reduce the staffing costs associated with his practice ...
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) ...
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 ...
by Bryan G. Scott and Elizabeth K. Strickland Few areas of law have proven more dynamic over the last few years than the interplay between state tort laws and the federal regulation of pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices ...
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
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 ...
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 ...
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") ...
We are increasingly being asked: “Is it more likely that individuals rather than companies will be prosecuted under the new Health and Safety Offences Act 2008?”. The new Act, which came into force in January 2009, did not introduce any further duties on either organisations or individuals, but it did dramatically increase the penalties that can be imposed for breaches of existing health and safety legislation ...
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 ...
One of the most talked about eHealth initiatives is the introduction of a national electronic health record for all Australians. Having a centralised database of electronic health records will greatly improve access to accurate and up-to-date data by health care workers, including doctors, hospital staff and emergency service providers ...
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 ...
