Labour Laws & Changes Shaping the Workplace

Labour Laws & Changes Shaping the Workplace

As the new world of work evolves, the workplace is not only changing because of technology and socio-economic factors, labour laws are also evolving to shape the work environment in which these changes are taking place.

Here are some of the new laws, policies, and initiatives that we have found:

In Canada 🇨🇦, the new Working for Workers Act 2021 requires:

Right to Disconnect

  • Where companies with over 25 employees must have a written policy about having the right to disconnect

Prohibition of Non-compete Agreements

  • No employment contract or other agreement with the employee should include a non-compete agreement

Removal of Canadian Experience as Qualification

  • Prohibits regulated professions from requiring “Canadian experience” as a qualification
And in Germany 🇩🇪:

The government is encouraging “home office“ working. Based on new regulations announced in 2021, employers are permitted to allow all suitable employees work from a “home office“ in the future.
It’s currently ranked as the best country in the world to work remotely based on a study which examined 66 countries to determine the most livable places for remote workers.

The 4-day work week has been a hot topic, where…

In Belgium 🇧🇪, starting February 2023, employees can decide whether to work four or five days a week.

In the UK 🇬🇧, they provided the biggest trial for a 6-month pilot program in an attempt to study the impact of shorter working hours on businesses’ productivity, worker’s well-being, environment and gender equality.

Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, will begin their trial in 2023. While Japan 🇯🇵 and Spain 🇪🇸 are starting to join the movement.

With the rise of AI tools…

The United States 🇺🇸, New York City Council has passed a new law regulating AI tools use for hiring.

And as for the rising gig economy…

Australia 🇦🇺 amended its Fair Work Act 2009 to accommodate Casual Employees, wherein they can be considered permanent employees for the purpose of entitlements in some cases.


These new policies and initiatives will require a planned approach to leading and managing change to ensure a smoother and successful transition, and to help organizations ensure compliance with these new laws.

 

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