Employment law in 5: 5 developments to read for October in less than 5 minutes

Since the WHO declared the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic in March 2020, businesses and their leaders have had to 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. Materials for these and all other conference sessions can be accessed via GENIE. 

While implementation activity in member states continues, the EU Commission is adopting a package of infringement decisions addressing 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. Our trackers here and here monitor progress on implementation of these directives The EU Parliament has also recently adopted a draft Directive on minimum wages which will require implementation in the next few years. 

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 October 11, 2022 and provide a copy of this policy to all of their employees in Ontario by November 10, 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. 

In what would amount to a significant enhancement of employers’ obligations to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimization at work, Australia’s new Labor 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 involving 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.