On 27 March 2024, Austria published legislation transposing the European Transparency Directive into national law after some delay from the original EU deadline of 1 August 2022.
This new legislation came into force on 28 March 2024 and applies to employment relationships established after that date.
It introduces changes to existing labour laws to enhance transparency and employee rights.
On 19 March 2024, Labour MP Camilla Belich introduced the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill to Parliament.
The Bill seeks to amend the Employment Relations Act 2000, introducing protections for employees engaging in remuneration discussions.
If passed, it would classify adverse actions by employers related to remuneration discussions as grounds for personal grievances, supporting the right to discuss pay freely without fear of retaliation.
The Bill will have its first reading in the next few weeks.
As we reported last May, British Colombia adopted the Pay Transparency Act, which addresses systemic discrimination in the workplace and aims to reduce pay gaps affecting women, people of colour, people with disabilities, and non-binary people.
According to the Act, employers can no longer ask job applicants about what they were paid in previous positions.
From 1 November 2023, all employers in British Columbia must include pay ranges in job postings, prepare reports identifying systemic pay discrimination, and disclose pay information to employees and applicants upon request.
The Pay Transparency Regulation (BC Reg 225/2023) was released on 23 October 2023 and is now in force. It provides details on the mandatory contents of the remuneration transparency reports.
The bill proposes new provisions in the Employment Rights Act 1996 aiming to give workers on atypical contracts and agency workers the right to request more predictable terms and conditions of work.
On 3 July 2023, Law 85 converting, with amendments, the Decree Law 48/2023 on "Urgent measures for social inclusion and access to employment" was published in the Official Gazette.
It aims to ensure greater flexibility for personnel management, introduces amendments to the discipline of fixed-term employment contracts and simplifies information obligations under the Transparency Decree.
On 21 December 2022, Act LXXIV, which includes the amendment of Act I of 2012 on the Hungarian Labour Code, effective as of 1 January 2023, was published.
The official purpose was to harmonise Hungarian legislation with EU legislation. Still, it became a broader reform than just the transposition of the Directives on work-life balance and predictable working conditions.
On 4 October 2022, the Slovak parliament adopted an amendment to the Labour Code (the "Amendment") effective from 1 November 2022.
It mainly aims to implement two EU directives: No. 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU and No. 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers.