Germany: No tax-free wages for pregnant workers
The German Federal Finance Court has found that a rule prohibiting pregnant workers from working at night, on Sundays and on public holidays, and therefore not being able to claim pay for these additional hours tax-free, is not discriminatory.

The current rules applicable to workers in general allow these hours to be paid tax-free as long as they do not exceed a certain percentage of the employee's basic wage. As pregnant workers are prohibited for health and safety reasons from working these hours, it was alleged that the policy was discriminatory. However, the court ruled that the policy is not discriminatory as it is in force to protect pregnant women.

Lithuania: Labour code amendments
On 23 July 2009, the Lithuanian government adopted several amendments to the Labour Code. The principal changes are as follows.

• The notice period for dismissal of employees covered by a collective agreement is shortened to one or two months and the period for making changes to remuneration and terms and conditions is shortened to two weeks.
• Greater employment protection has been introduced for employees who have served three years or more, up to the point when they reach retirement age.
• Fixed-term employment contracts may now be terminated before the expiry of their full term, upon granting one month's severance pay.
• Employees who have been dismissed and are serving a notice period do not have to be paid their normal salary if they take time out during their notice period to look for other jobs. Their employer is only legally responsible for paying the minimum wage during this period.
• The maximum amount of overtime allowed has been increased to four hours a day,  up to a limit of 180 hours a year.

These amendments have been introduced to ease employment pressures during the current economic downturn. Many are temporary and are only valid up to 1 January 2011.

Netherlands: Seeking solution to pensions shortfall
Employers and trade unions in the Netherlands are currently in talks about the future of Dutch occupational pensions.

As they are jointly accountable for managing pension funds, both sides are equally concerned about the way pension scheme risks are formally assessed. As things stand, extra payments have to be made if funds temporarily drop below the coverage ratio of 105 percent. In recent months, drastic measures have had to be taken to improve the shaky financial position of the funds. Employers alone are having to pay around EUR 5.5 billion extra in the form of topping-up payments and higher premiums.

If an agreement can be concluded by the end of the year, it will then be up to the Dutch government to come up with a legislative amendment to allow exceptions to the current coverage ratio rules.

Other European news in brief

Belgium
Illegal immigrants who are able to demonstrate that they have been "sufficiently integrated" into the Belgian culture and economy could soon achieve official residency status. The Belgian government is offering a limited amnesty to people who have lived illegally in the country for five years, worked there for at least two and a half years, learned one of the three official languages or entered their children into the school system. It is anticipated that at least 25,000 people will take advantage of the regularisation when it takes effect between 15 September and 15 December 2009.

Bulgaria
Twenty to thirty thousand applications to achieve Bulgarian citizenship are made each year by Macedonian (FYROM) nationals and the backlog now exceeds 60,000. The volume of applications has grown rapidly since Bulgaria joined the EU on 1 January 2007. In two thirds of cases the authorities have found that claims made about Bulgarian origins are fake.

Croatia
The Croatian parliament has approved a bill that will allow employers in financial difficulties to reduce the working week from 40 hours to 32 hours for up to three months. During this period, the employers concerned will receive a 10 percent state subsidy for the pay of each affected worker and will also be able to cut social security contributions by 20 percent.

France
New legislation on the provision of family care leave for employees who have a terminally ill close relative is currently being debated by the French Senate (upper house of parliament). This new provision would allow employees to take a maximum of three months' leave in a given year, paid through an allowance from the social security system (with one opportunity of renewal). The employee would have to provide 72 hours' notice that they intended to take the leave, and three days' notice upon their proposed return to work. If the legislation is passed, family care leave could be available to employees from Autumn 2009.

Germany
The German Act on the Adequacy of Managerial Salaries came into force on 5 August 2009. One of the most controversial aspects of the new law is the obligation on companies to purchase directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance which imposes a per-loss burden of 10 percent on all personnel covered by it. This is capped at 1.5 times the individual's annual fixed compensation. Existing D&O policies must be amended to conform with the new requirement by July 2010. Management board members who wish to hedge against this risk will have to purchase a separate insurance policy covering their personal liability.

Republic of Ireland
Pressure is growing on the Irish government to amend the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2009 following the discovery that a solvent company that goes offshore may wind up its underfunded pension scheme without funding the deficit. Such schemes do not qualify for help from the Pensions Insolvency Payment Scheme (PIPS) as the government cannot extend the categories of insolvency to still solvent employers.

Poland
A draft bill proclaiming 1 August as a national holiday has been submitted by President Lech Kaczynski to the Polish Sejm (lower house of parliament). In a recent survey, it was found that 72 percent of Poles support the proposal. However, the proposal is opposed by the Civic Platform, the political party with the largest number of seats in the Sejm.

Slovakia
The Ministry of Labour in Slovakia has proposed a minimum wage increase of 8.1 percent, bringing the minimum wage from EUR 295.49 to EUR 319.50 a month. If the bill is passed, the minimum wage would be applied from the 1 January 2010.

Spain
The Spanish Government has approved the introduction of 28 new professional and vocational qualifications that could benefit up to 10 million of the country's workers. This reform, which is aimed at those who have not followed traditional training routes, would allow qualifications to be gained on the job, and would provide employers with a better basis by which to grade their employees and develop their skills.

United Kingdom
In a landmark decision, the UK's House of Lords has ruled that workers with a mental or physical condition that 'could well' deteriorate over time and have 'a substantial adverse effect on the ability of the person concerned to carry out normal day-to-day activities' should be classed as disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). The Lords further decided that workers whose illness is controlled by medication without which the impairment would be "likely" to be substantial should also come under the protection of the DDA.

Copyright: FedEE Services Ltd 2009