Work/Life: international employment news update

Issue 55

Welcome to the latest edition of our international employment news update. Given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, we wanted to direct readers to our practical resources aimed at supporting those who wish to understand and help the circumstances of Ukrainian people who want to be able to live and work. Here is the link led by our CE offices:

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Europe passes tougher cybersecurity rules

All medium and large companies in essential sectors, including energy, financial and digital providers such as online search engines and social networking platforms, will fall under the new rules which seek to address concerns of cyberattacks from state actors. These firms will need to perform an assessment of their cybersecurity risk and notify authorities of the risks and what technical and organisational measures they are taking to mitigate the risk.

Netflix staff told to tolerate diverse content or work elsewhere

In a memo to employees, bosses at the streaming giant acknowledged not everyone will agree with the content being produced and if they find it hard to "support our content breadth, Netflix might not be the place for you." The platform lost 200,000 subscribers in the first 3 months of 2022.

Research suggests male managers block gender balance efforts

According to the Chartered Management Institute, male managers are actively blocking efforts to improve the gender balance at UK companies.

NL: stores cut hours due to worker shortage

A worker shortage in the retail sector is forcing many shops to close early. There are around 40,000 jobs open in the retail sector right now and companies are also finding it difficult to keep staff once they are hired. Because of this, many medium-sized companies are adjusting their opening hours.

Berlin: the German start-up capital

With more than 500 startups registrations per year, Berlin is Germany's undisputed startup capital and is extending its lead nationwide. The capital is particularly attractive to founders from the creative industries and the technology sector.

Employers in UK hesitant to increase pay

The survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) of 2,000 UK employees shows that 73% of companies across all sectors are unwilling to increase pay to retain or attract new talent. The report suggests there will be a 3% increase in pay on average in the second quarter despite the 9.1% inflation. This comes despite almost half of employers reporting a struggle to fill vacancies and over 60% saying they expect hiring shortages to continue over the next 6 months. The CIPD said employers are now focusing on retaining and keeping happy their existing workforce.

UK PM thinks cheese is a distraction

Mr Johnson said working from remote locations does not work and that a full workplace will increase productivity and revive towns and city centres. He argues being surrounded by colleagues makes people more energetic and full of ideas. He went on to say his own experience of working from home is spending a lot of time "making another cup of coffee and…walking slowly to the fridge" for some cheese.

Britain European leader on switch to homeworking

Research shows office occupancy is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels and that efficiency in the UK has increased with homeworking more than their European counterparts. Google data shows that London is behind other capitals when it comes to returning to the office post-pandemic. The average number of days worked is around 1.94 and Britons are arguing two days in the office are enough. An analysis by Linkedin found 52% of women are leaving or considering to leave their job over the lack of flexibility.

The French Supreme Court accepts the use of LinkedIn profiles as evidence before Courts

The French Supreme Court has implied that the information published in an employee's LinkedIn profile can be used as evidence in a court case. Further to a dismissal which it considered as unfair, a court of appeal ordered the payment of damages to the employee but limited their amount by relying on the employee’s LinkedIn profile which showed they had since become employed. The case proceeded to the Supreme Court which agreed that a Linkedin profile can be considered.

NL: Unions call for €150 million fund to compensate long covid sufferers

Care workers and teachers who have developed Long Covid should be entitled to compensation from the government. The unions want the government to set up a €150 million fund for the thousands of people who are living with Long Covid.

Deliveroo riders unionise with GMB

Over 90,000 self-employed riders have unionised with the GMB union granting them rights to collective bargaining on pay. Deliveroo founder and CEO said he was delighted with the "first-of-its-kind voluntary agreement." The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain criticised the move saying Deliveroo made a "backroom deal" with the GMB, which "presents no threat to their exploitative business practices."