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European Edition
18th April 2024
 
THE HOT STORY
UK Supreme Court rules trade union law breaches workers' rights
The Supreme Court has ruled that the UK trade union law breaches the country’s duty to protect the right to take part in lawful strikes. The ruling came in the case of Fiona Mercer, a care worker who was suspended by her employer after participating in a planned strike. Lady Simler, who delivered the judgment, stated that if employees can only take strike action by exposing themselves to detrimental treatment, the right dissolves. The Unison union's general secretary Christina McAnea described the ruling as "a victory for every employee who might one day want to challenge something bad or unfair their employer has done," adding: "The government must now close this loophole promptly. It won't cost any money and isn't difficult to do." A spokesperson for Britain's Department of Business and Trade was equivocal on whether the law would be amended, saying "the government will consider the judgment carefully before responding."
STRATEGY
Google announces another round of layoffs
Google is laying off an unspecified number of employees as part of a “large scale” restructuring. Staff across several of Google's teams in its real estate and finance departments have been affected, according to a Business Insider report. A Google spokesperson said the layoffs are not company-wide and that affected employees will be able to apply for internal roles, but did not specify the number of employees affected nor the teams involved. "Throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, remove layers and align their resources to their biggest product priorities," the spokesperson added. A small percentage of the impacted roles will move to hubs the company is investing in, including Bangalore in India, Chicago and Atlanta in the US, and in Dublin.
LEGAL
Portuguese police and tax agents raid Uber premises in Lisbon
Portuguese police and tax agents conducted searches at Uber Technologies' premises in Lisbon as part of an investigation into suspected tax fraud worth €28m. The raids targeted some of Uber's delivery partners, but not the company's local unit. Uber confirmed the searches and stated that it is collaborating with authorities. The Public Prosecutor's Office revealed that the alleged fraud involved partners providing delivery services to a commercial company, benefiting from the issuance of invoices that did not correspond to services actually provided. The investigation is ongoing.
Germany's ruling coalition agrees on new climate protection law
Germany's ruling coalition has agreed on a new climate protection law that offers more flexibility for sectors unable to meet greenhouse emissions targets. The move comes after a top court ruling in 2021 that mandated Germany to tighten its climate protection law. The new law sets more ambitious CO2 reduction targets, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2045. The law ensures that if the country's total CO2 goal is met, sectors struggling to meet their targets will have some leeway. The move is seen as a step towards a greener future and aligns with Germany's commitment to combat climate change. "We need to take decisive action to protect our environment and secure a sustainable future," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "It's a win-win situation for businesses and the planet," observed environmental expert Dr. Lisa Müller.
HEALTH & WELLBEING
3.7m workers in England will have major illness by 2040, study finds
A record 3.7m workers in England will have a major illness by 2040, according to a report by the Health Foundation charity. On current trends, 700,000 more working-age adults will be living with high healthcare needs or substantial risk of mortality by 2040 – up nearly 25% from 2019 levels, according to the research. The Health Foundation warned that without more measures to improve working-age health, the government’s target to improve healthy life expectancy by five years by 2035 will be missed.
CORPORATE
XpertHR becomes Brightmine in strategic rebrand
XpertHR has rebranded to Brightmine, as the company seeks to further support HR leaders through increasingly complex workforce conditions and global economic uncertainty. By leveraging its extensive experience of over 20 years as a legal and compliance service, Brightmine will fill a gap in the market through its unique combination of the industry’s most up-to-date data sets, AI-enabled technology and trusted HR expertise, empowering HR leaders at more than 10,000 global organisations with the insight and guidance needed to improve business outcomes.
INVESTMENT
Struggling European startups look to US for funding
After struggling to raise capital in EU markets, Czech-rooted hospitality software firm Mews has secured funding by registering as a Dutch company. Mews is now considering listing in the US due to the difficulties faced in accessing European markets. The European Commission states that Europe will need €650bn of extra investment per year until 2030 to compete with China and the US. However, the maze of different national laws on bankruptcies, taxation, financial reporting, accounting, and supervision in Europe is deterring private investors. As a result, about €250bn leaves the EU each year, mainly to the US. EU leaders are now determined to give the Capital Markets Union (CMU) a fresh start to address these issues. Removing the preferential treatment of loans in EU tax systems and persuading Europeans to invest in securities are among the measures being considered. Fragmentation has also hindered the growth of venture capital firms in Europe.
INTERNATIONAL
Google workers stage sit-ins to protest company's work with Israel
Google employees in two different US offices protested the company’s work with the Israeli government on Tuesday, objecting to a $1.2bn contract it signed with the US ally three years ago.  Dozens of employees began occupying company offices in New York City and Sunnyvale, California. The contract, known as Nimbus, that Google shares with Amazon provides cloud computing services to the Israeli government. The contract has faced backlash from employees and activists since it was signed in 2021, but the objections have grown amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. “I would not like to lose my job,” explained Google Software engineer Emaan Haseem. “But I think that it is impossible for me to continue coming into work every week without acknowledging and loudly condemning Project Nimbus and any support for the Israeli government.”
Singapore instructs all employers to consider employees' flexi-time requests
Workers in Singapore will have the option to request more work-from-home days and flexible work timings starting from December 1. The new guidelines, announced by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, aim to retain talent by providing employees with greater flexibility. While the guidelines are not legally enforceable, all companies in Singapore are required to establish a process for employees to submit formal flexible-working arrangement requests. Employers can reject requests if they would significantly impact productivity or increase costs, but not based on company traditions or management preferences. Singapore's move aligns with other countries that require businesses to consider flexible work requests. Retaining flexible arrangements may benefit businesses, as they have been shown to attract and generate more productivity.
Multinationals need to read fine print on employee secondment to the UAE
The introduction of the UAE's corporate tax and a withholding tax regime in the near future has put the spotlight on cross-border employee secondments, writes Pankaj S. Jain for Gulf News. Until last year, multinationals were not worried about employees from group entities being deputed to work in the UAE at one of their subsidiary companies. The physical presence of such employees in the UAE did not expose the overseas entity's profits to any local tax risks. But now, shifting employees from any of an organisation's global operations to the UAE can trigger tax rules.
OTHER
H&M and Zara alleged to have sourced 'tainted cotton' from Brazil
Fashion retail giants H&M and Zara have been accused of sourcing "tainted cotton" from farms in Brazil linked to deforestation, land-grabbing, corruption, and violence. An undercover investigation by environmental group Earthsight revealed that the cotton, farmed in the Cerrado savannah by two of Brazil's largest agribusiness firms, SLC Agricola and the Horita Group, had been labelled as ethical by the Better Cotton certification scheme. The report, titled "Fashion Crimes", highlighted the "deep flaws" in the oversight programme. The Cerrado, known as the most biodiverse savannah on Earth, has been rapidly disappearing due to Brazil's agribusiness industry. Over 816,000 tonnes of cotton exported from 2014 to 2023 were traced back to farms run by SLC and Horita. H&M and Zara were among the clothing manufacturers that received the cotton. Both companies say they are taking the allegations seriously, and have urged Better Cotton to release the auditors' findings.
 


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