For employers operating across borders, understanding an employer’s freedom to contract with its employees is vital. New laws in individual countries, which restrict this by filling perceived gaps in employee protection, are always fascinating to read about.
This quarter our German colleagues discuss such an example, relating to new rights on ‘bridging’ part time employment. Certain employees, who move to part time working, will be given the ability to return to full time hours. The policy implications around part time working are complex. For example, depending on how it operates, it can be both the solution to and a contributing factor towards a business’s gender pay gap. Providing employees with the ability to reduce their hours for a set period knowing that they can increase their hours in the future may seem very attractive for an employee, but perhaps less so for an employer faced with the additional challenges around workforce planning.
Another measure which seems set to find favour with employees are the new rules enabling employers to offer a tax free bonus of up to 1000 Euros in France, in response to recent events there. Otherwise, this edition brings the usual mix of interesting content including our Belgian colleagues commenting on a recent case concerning the clash of rights between an employer’s dress code and an individual’s religious belief; another sensitive area where a uniform (pardon the pun!) approach across borders will not be possible.
If you want to get in touch to find out more about a development in a particular country covered, or any other CMS jurisdiction, please speak to your usual CMS contact or e-mail employment@cmslegal.com.
The CMS Employment Team
