At a glance
- New GENIE guide on recording working hours.
- Automatic enrolment and non-disclosure agreements in Ireland.
- Significant court judgments in Spain.
- 2024 in review and 2025 in preview: webinar.
- Focus on the Americas.
New GENIE guide: Recording working hours
Our new GENIE country guide Recording working hours: A guide to employer obligations across the EU and the UK is now live. The guide provides GENIE subscribers with access to information on recording working hours obligations in 26 jurisdictions and the ability to create tailored comparison reports. The guide covers recordable hours and workers in scope, recording obligations, record retention, and sanctions and penalties.
Focus on Ireland
Implementation of the new automatic enrolment system of retirement savings has been postponed from January 2025 to 30 September 2025, giving employers more time to comply. Continuing a global trend, restrictions on non-disclosure agreements have been signed into law. Once in force, the new law will make attempts to prevent an employee from sharing information about allegations of discrimination, victimisation, harassment, or sexual harassment null and void.
Spain: Significant Court judgments
A recent ruling of the Supreme Court makes conduct and performance terminations more difficult. Increasing the administrative burden, employers must now provide employees with the chance to defend themselves prior to dismissal. Separately, the Constitutional Court has decided that the current limit of 16 weeks of parental leave for single-parent families is unconstitutional and discriminatory when compared to the 26 week leave entitlement of two-parent families. Legislative changes are expected to follow.
Webinar: 2024 review and 2025 preview
Join us for our global employment webinar on 11 December 2024 as we review the state of global employment law at the end of 2024 and look ahead at what the future holds for global employers. Topics will include pay transparency, return-to-office and hybrid working issues, work-life balance and employee wellness, regulation of AI in the workplace, working time, wage and hour risks, gig workers and employers of record, and a roundup of other significant in-country changes.
Focus on the Americas
In the United States, a Texas federal court struck down (on appeal) the US Department of Labor’s final rule raising the minimum salary level for the executive, administrative, and professional and the highly compensated employee overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). For now, employers do not need to comply with the salary increases that were scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025, or the increases that were previously implemented on July 1, 2024, to maintain an employee’s overtime exemption status under the FLSA.
In Canada, ahead of the second reporting cycle under the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, Public Safety Canada released updated guidance for businesses. Ontario also passed legislation amending the Employer Health Tax Act.
More to explore
Employment law 5 in 5: November 2024
Five developments to read for November in less than five minutes.
