At a glance
- The Ombudsman for Equality (Ombudsman) has addressed discriminatory regulations in Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA).
- It assessed the wording and purpose of individual CBAs and concluded, that in the examined cases, the regulations were discriminatory.
- The Ombudsman has instructed labour parties to reassess their CBAs and practices.
The Ombudsman issued new statements regarding family leave and CBA based one-time salary increases. The statements concern different CBAs. In its statements, the Ombudsman considered the wordings of the CBAs and the purpose and nature of the salary increase provisions in question. Therefore, the Ombudsman’s statements are case-specific and cannot necessarily be applied in all sectors covered by different CBAs.
In the examined cases, it was considered that an employee on part-time family leave should not receive the one-time increase only pro-rated but should instead receive it in full. Further, when the salary increase is considered as salary, employees on family leave will be entitled to the increase even though the family leave is unpaid at the time of the increase.
The Ombudsman instructs labour parties to reassess their CBAs and practices and also reminds employers that they will be liable if their practices are discriminatory.
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