On 29 September 2022, Parliament approved the final text of the new Labour Deal that brings with it significant changes to employment laws and practices. On 10 November 2022, the Various Labour Provisions Act was published in the Belgian State Gazette.
According to a recent ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court, employees dismissed during the Covid-19 pandemic are not automatically entitled to reinstatement.
The decision of 19 October 2022 clarifies an interpretative doubt that had led to the assumption that any dismissal linked to the Covid 19 crisis was forbidden, entailing its automatic nullity and the consequent reinstatement of the dismissed workers.
In Public Prosecutor v Manta Equipment (S) Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC 157 (“Manta Equipment“), the High Court reviewed the sentencing framework with harsher penalties against employers who fail to ensure the health and safety of employees at work under the Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006 (WSHA).
On 19 July 2022, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) stated that communicating an employee’s sensitive health data to other employees without their specific consent and including this data in a minute of a meeting is a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld a termination for cause for slapping a colleague’s buttocks and later joked about it.
The decision clears the difference between common law “just cause” and statutory “wilful misconduct", stating that the employee was entitled to receive statutory termination payments.
In the recent case of Bank of Uganda v Joseph Kibuuka, the Ugandan Court of Appeal has re-affirmed employers’ right to terminate an employee without reason by either giving notice or payment in lieu of notice.
Later, the Industrial Court, in the case of Asiimwe Apollo v Law Development Centre,stated that employers must give reasons before an employment contract is terminated.
The different treatment depends on the nature of the termination. In a disciplinary dismissal a reason has to be given, while this is not necessary where the employer’s decision is related to a need for restructuring.
Shanghai Yangpu District People’s Court stated that the dismissal of an employee who omitted to report a cross provincial trip against company’s health policy was lawful.
The Supreme Court, in two judgments (n°21-14.490 and n°21-15.247) of 11 May 2022 ruled that the so called 'Macron scale' - used to calculate compensation for unfairly dismissed employees – is compatible with the International Labour Organization Convention on Termination of Employment No. 158.