A number of recently announced initiatives could introduce potentially significant changes to the rules governing the workforce in the UAE. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Labour promulgated Ministerial Resolutions Nos. 764, 765 and 766 of 2015. According to the reports of Ministry of Labour spokesmen that appeared in the local press, the new resolutions were designed to deter a number of undesirable practices ...
LCS has provided a 2015 Taiwan Employment Law Update. 1. Five-Day Workweek to Kick Off Next Year An amendment to the Labor Standards Act (the "LSA") will take effect on January 1, 2016, paving the way for a five-day workweek and for working hours per week to be reduced to 40 hours. The LSA currently sets a ceiling of regular working hours of 84 hours fortnightly. 2 ...
Two recent Labour Court decisions have highlighted the duty of trade unions and their officials to act to prevent unprotected strikes and unlawful actions during the course of a strike. These add to the growing list of decisions in which the court has indicated that it will hold unions accountable for unlawful acts by their members ...
On December 18, Congress voted to reauthorize the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program without change through September 30, 2016. The EB-5 program was scheduled to sunset on September 30, 2015 but was granted two short-term reprieves while lawmakers debated several changes which would have made investing in the program more difficult, including increases to the minimum investment amount and restrictions on the calculation of indirect job creation ...
The recent Memorandum of Understanding (the “MOU”) between the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Department of Labor (“DOL”) reinvigorated the Worker Endangerment Initiative by “redoubling” the agencies’ cooperative “efforts to hold accountable those who unlawfully jeopardize workers’ health and safety,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates announced on December 17, 2015. An accompanying memorandum sent to all 93 U.S ...
The filing window for Fiscal Year 2017 for Cap-Subject H-1B petitions – those subject to the annual numerical limit (the “Cap”) – will open on April 1, 2016. Given recent trends, the number of filed petitions is expected to again exceed the Cap. Over the last three years, the Cap has been reached within the first week of the April filing period ...
On January 11, 2016, Vadim Kazenelson, a project manager for Metron Construction Corporation (“Metron”), was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.1 This sentence follows the decision rendered on June 26, 2015 in which the Superior Court of Ontario found Mr. Kazenelson guilty of the five charges against him, including four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm ...
A new bill on restrictive employment covenants has been adopted. Restrictive covenants concluded after 1 January 2016 will be subject to the new rules. We have listed some of the key changes below. Non-competition clauses can now only be entered into with employees who hold a very special position of trust. Previously, it was only a requirement that the employee held a special position of trust ...
The purpose of this newsletter is to raise the awareness of employers regarding the problems related to making knowledge of English a requirement for employment ...
2015 was an eventful year for government contractors as the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) finalized several key rules related to contractors’ relationships with employees and job applicants. With more rules expected to be finalized in 2016, the OFCCP will exercise increasing oversight over contractors’ activities ...
Employment law expert, Mirko Kovač, attended a Roundtable discussion on the new Law on Conditions for Secondment of Employees Abroad and their Protection organised by the Ministry of Labour on 13 January 2016. Our office previously analysed this law in more detail and additional information on the novelties it introduces may be found on our website (http://www.karanovic-nikolic.com/2015/11/16/serbia-adopts-law-on-conditions-for-secondment-of-employees-abroad-and-their-protection/ ) ...
With the use of zero-hours contracts 'ZHCs' increasing and new regulations in this area coming into effect, employers should ensure compliance with the new rules. Background Since our previous article, the Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hours Contracts (Redress) Regulations 2015 (the 'Regulations') came into force on 11 January 2016 ...
On November 24, 2015, the Québec Court of Appeal rendered a much anticipated judgment in the case of Université McGill v. McGill University Non Academic Certified Association (MUNACA)1 (“McGill”) ...
The government recently published draft legislation introducing an apprenticeship levy which is expected to come into force on 6 April 2017. In this article we look at the impact on employers. What is the apprenticeship levy? In last year's budget, the government announced its intention to introduce a levy on large employers in order to fund 3 million new apprenticeships in England by 2020 ...
Latest Legislative News on Employment Related Matters Law 15/2015 became effective on 1st January 2016 - the official budget law sets annual exemptions, deductions and tax withholding minimum thresholds for 2016. Regarding professional tax the following applies in Macau for 2016: 1. Tax rates (professional tax rates) are progressive up to 12% with the top tax rates applying to an annual income over MOP424,000. Professional tax rates apply to residents and to non-residents. 2 ...
Serbia – Executive Summary of Qualification of a Director's Mandate (in a local or foreign company) This article, authored by Jelena Danilović, was originally published in the 2016 'Social Security for Directors Working in Multiple Jurisdictions', published by World Services Group.Domestic Rules1. Social security regimeRegistered legal representatives i.e ...
The new Labour Law of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the "Labour Law") which introduced changes to the term of fixed term employment contracts, employee benefits, collective bargaining agreements and contracts with company managers, was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of the FBiH on 23 February ...
According to judgment of 5 February 2016 from the Danish Western High Court, an employer's summary dismissal was justified in consequence of the employee's non-salaried assignment on the board of directors in a competing company. The case involved the question whether an employee had acted disloyally to his former employer when he became a member of the board of directors in another company during his release period ...
The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2016 come into force on 1 April 2016. Employers need to be aware of their new obligations in good time to ensure compliance. What is the National Living Wage? The National Living Wage (NLW) is a new, mandatory premium to be paid on top of the current national minimum wage (NMW). This will increase minimum pay for all workers over the age of 25. Workers under this age will be unaffected ...
European Court of Human Rights Considers an Employer's Right to Monitor EmployeesIn its recent judgment Bărbulescu v. Romania, the European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") considered an employer's right to monitor an employee's work computer and an employee's right to privacy ...
The Serbian Foreign Investors Council (FIC) has re-elected Mirko Kovač to the position of Vice President of the FIC HR Committee for a period of 2 years, effectively giving Mirko his second mandate as the Vice President of the HR Committee ...
Employment law specialist and Karanović & Nikolić's Senior Associate, Jelena Danilović, has contributed to the newest edition of Women, Business and the Law 2016 – Getting Equal, issued by the World Bank Group.This report is the fourth in a biennial series of reports that provide objective measures of legal and regulatory barriers to women's entrepreneurship and employment ...
Following publication of the Regulation (EU) No. 2015/2424 which is part of the reform legislative package that also replaces the existing Trade Mark Directive, the long awaited reform of the existing Community trade mark will enter into force on 23 March 2016. The most evident change is that the Community trade mark will be renamed the European Union trade mark (EUTM), adopting the terminology of the Lisbon Treaty ...
Special Economic Zones (“SEZs”) are geographically designated areas within a country that are set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, supported through special arrangements (that may include laws) and systems to promote industrial development. An SEZ is meant to be an economic development tool to promote rapid economic growth by using various support measures to attract targeted foreign and domestic investments and technology ...
