During the height of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, the employer, Concrete Lining Products, decided to close down operations from 25 March to 16 April 2020 whilst continuing to pay its employees in full for that period, with the amount paid to be offset against the employees’ annual leave for days not worked.   The applicant, a Mozambican national, returned to Mozambique over this period and only returned to work in October 2020.  He was subjected to a disciplinary hearing and dismissed for being “absent from work without permission – abscondment from June 2020 to 24 October 2020”. &nbs ..read more

The starting point under Singapore law is that any contractual term restricting a former employee’s business activities after termination of employment (known as a restraint of trade clause or a restrictive covenant) is – on its face – void and unenforceable for being a restraint on the freedom of trade and contrary to public policy. This is unless the former employer/company can show that the restraint of trade is: (a) necessary to protect a legitimate proprietary interest of the employer; and (b) reasonable in the interests of both the parties to the employment contract and the public. Two d ..read more

By: Nicki Milionis and Michael McCrae with thanks to Yasmine Sahihi and Amy Moore for their contributions Victoria’s first industrial manslaughter decision pursuant to section 39G of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) (OHS Act) was handed down in the Supreme Court recently in R v LH Holding Management Pty Ltd & Hanna [2024] VSC 90 (R v LH). LH Holding Management Pty Ltd (LH) pleaded guilty to a charge of workplace manslaughter contrary to s 39G(1) of the OHS Act.  Mr Hanna was the sole director of LH and was charged as an officer of a company that committed workplace ma ..read more

As we highlighted in our previous post (What to expect in employment law in 2024), 2023 saw the introduction of several significant employment legislative changes. Just to remind you of the changes due to come into effect in April. Holiday Leave and Pay: Provisions for irregular hours and part-year workers apply to leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. These provisions will affect how holiday pay accrues and is carried forward for workers with irregular hours or part-year employment and will allow employers the option to pay rolled-up holiday pay. Carer’s Leave: From 6 April 2024, emp ..read more

  In Yacht Management Company Ltd v Gordon the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld a decision of the Employment Tribunal, that there were numerous factors to support the Tribunal’s conclusion that it had jurisdiction to hear a claim of unfair dismissal brought by the employee because the seafarer’s “base” was her home in Aberdeen, Great Britain despite the fact that her “tours of duty” on the yacht all began and ended outside Great Britain and the yacht did not enter a UK port or UK waters at any time during her employment. Facts The employer, Yacht Management Company Ltd (YMC Ltd ..read more

German Federal Labour Court: The planned change of direction of the Sixth Senate In its decision of December 14, 2023 in case 6 AZR 157/22 (B), the Sixth Senate of the German Federal Labour Court, which is responsible for insolvency matters, announced that it would depart from existing case law pursuant to which a dismissal in the context of a collective redundancy pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the German Dismissal Protection Act (Kündigungsschutzgesetz – KSchG) is held to be invalid where a notification pursuant to Section 17 (1), (3) KSchG is missing or incorrect at the time of its declarati ..read more

BAG: Der geplante Kurswechsel des Sechstens Senats Der für Insolvenzsachen zuständige Sechste Senat des Bundesarbeitsgerichts hat mit Beschluss vom 14. Dezember 2023 in dem Verfahren 6 AZR 157/22 (B) angekündigt, seine Rechtsprechung aufzugeben, wonach eine im Rahmen einer Massenentlassung nach § 17 Abs. 1 KSchG ausgesprochene Kündigung unwirksam ist, wenn im Zeitpunkt ihrer Erklärung eine Anzeige nach § 17 Abs. 1, Abs. 3 KSchG fehlt oder fehlerhaft ist. Eine Aufgabe dieser Rechtsprechung stünde jedoch im Widerspruch zur ständigen Rechtsprechung des Zweiten Senats des Bundesarbeitsgerichts, de ..read more

Introduction Le Tribunal administratif du travail (TAT) a été appelé à rendre une décision[1] qui, pour la première fois, met en cause l’article 23(2) du Règlement sur les agences de placement de personnel et les agences de recrutement de travailleurs étrangers temporaires (Règlement sur les agences de placement)[2], lequel interdit de restreindre l’embauche d’un employé d’agence de placement par un client au-delà d’une période de six mois. Ainsi, dans une décision rendue le 19 janvier 2024, le TAT confirme l’illicéité du congédiement d’un employé ayant exercé un droit lui étant conféré par ce ..read more

Introduction La Cour d’appel du Québec a récemment eu à se prononcer sur la notion de discrimination fondée sur l’état civil, tel qu’énoncé à l’article 10 de la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne (la « Charte »)[1]. Dans un jugement rendu le 19 février 2024, la Cour d’appel confirme que les concepts de « parentalité », « état parental », « situation de famille » et « situation parentale » sont exclus de la notion de discrimination basée sur l’état civil[2]. Contexte En 2018, le Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, section locale 3333 (le « Syndicat »), représentant des chauffeu ..read more

In three decisions handed down on 13 September 2023, the French Supreme Court took an unprecedented position reversing the previous case law concerning accrual of paid leave for employees absent from work due to sickness. In these decisions, the French Supreme Court ruled that all employees on sick leave, regardless of whether the illness is work-related or not, must continue to accrue paid leave during the period of sickness absence. These rulings are based on the argument that in this area French law does not comply with European law. The French Labour Code as drafted does not comply with EU ..read more