Employment law in 5 for September

At a glance

• 5 developments to read for September in less than 5 minutes

1. The Great Reset: Insights from the 2022 Global Employer Conference 

Since the WHO declared the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic in March 2020, businesses and their leaders have had to react and adapt to unprecedented changes. In September 2022, after a three-year pause, we held our annual Global Employer Conference at Pembroke College in Oxford, UK to explore key developments impacting our workforces and what’s ahead. Themes included reinventing the workplace for a changing workforce, improving health and wellbeing, making meaningful progress on D&I, and responding to new risks and regulation, including pay transparency, whistleblowing and artificial intelligence (AI). Materials for these and all other conference sessions can be accessed via GENIE.

2. EU Directives: Commission tackles transposition delays

Whilst implementation activity in member states continues, the EU Commission is adopting a package of infringement decisions due to the absence of communication by Member States of measures taken to transpose the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions and the Work-life Balance Directives into national law. The Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to 19 Member States in relation to the first of these Directives and to 20 Member States in relation to the second. Our trackers here and here monitor progress on implementation. The EU Parliament has also recently adopted a draft Directive on minimum wages which will require implementation in the next few years.

3. Canada: Electronic monitoring policy deadline looms in Ontario

The Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 has been amended to require employers with 25 or more employees in Ontario to have an employee electronic monitoring policy in place as of 11 October 2022 and provide a copy of this policy to all of their employees in Ontario by 10 November 2022. In addition, the Government of Ontario has provided guidance to employers clarifying whether they are required to comply with the employee electronic monitoring policy section of the ESA. This development occurs at a time when, as we reported earlier in 2022, wider reforms of Canadian Privacy legislation remain under consideration.

4. Global trend: New measures to combat sexual harassment in the workplace

in what would amount to a significant enhancement of employers’ obligations to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation at work, Australia’s new Labour Government has introduced a Respect@Work Bill to Parliament. If passed, the new legislation would implement seven of the 55 changes previously recommended by the Sex Discrimination Commission in the Respect@Work Report. Australia is not alone in recent action on sexual harassment. In New Zealand, a Bill to extend the time available to raise a personal grievance that involves allegations of sexual harassment from 90 days to 12 months is passing through the legislative process. In the US, the Senate passed a bill that would limit the enforcement of NDAs in cases involving workplace sexual harassment and assault. The bill was introduced in July, just months after Congress passed a bill banning the enforcement of mandatory arbitration agreements in cases involving sexual harassment and assault.

5. Listen: Global reductions in force: how to mitigate risk

In the most recent episode of DLA Piper's "Beyond the Curve" podcast series, the Employment Group's Ute Krudewagen, Hélène Bogaard and Georgia Jolink discuss what companies should consider when implementing a global reduction in force, including balancing global timelines with country-specific requirements.