On 23 September 2021, the UK Government launched a consultation on flexible working arrangements.  The consultation considers reforms to the existing flexible working regulations and is seeking views on proposals to ensure that the framework supports flexible working in all its forms. The consultation considers five areas for review: Making the right to request flexible working a ‘day one’ right by removing the 26-week qualifying period. The suggestion is that including the right to request…

The “Act to Promote Works Council Elections and Works Council Activities in a Digital Working World” (Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetz – Works Council Modernization Act) came into force on June 18, 2021. The Act is intended to facilitate the activities of works councils and to strengthen the co-determination rights of works councils with regard to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the plans for more mobile working in companies. Promoting works council elections…

The Occupational Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2021 (the amendment Act) was passed by the Victorian Parliament on Thursday 16 September 2021, and amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) (the Act). Labour Hire On the first day after the end of a 6 month period, new provisions in relation to labour hire commence.  Those provisions provide that: for the purposes of the Act, an employer of a worker is…

On 29 August 2021, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the Government will enact new laws to formally enshrine the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (“TAFEP Guidelines”) into statute.1 There are, at present, no specific laws in Singapore which directly regulate workplace discrimination. Employers are, however, expected to abide by the principles of fair employment and adopt the recommended good practices set out in the TAFEP Guidelines.2 These guidelines are…

In recent years, many defined benefit (DB) pension scheme members have taken advantage of the ability to transfer their DB pension pots out of their schemes, to be able to access their money in different and more flexible ways. In practice, this often means a transfer to a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). However, the industry has been plagued by unscrupulous advisers and unsuitable receiving schemes, which have often left transferring trustees uncomfortable, but with little…

One of the challenging circumstances often facing an employer is having to make a tough decision (e.g. termination) with respect to an employee who is known to have a protected characteristic under human rights law. Whether the employee is elderly, has a disability, is gay, or has another protected characteristic, the concern is that the employee will allege that the decision was discriminatory. Even if the employer is comfortable that the protected ground was not…