Labour and Employee Benefits: Country Q&A tool

Resource type: Articles: know-how

Status: Published on 22-Jul-2009

This tool enables subscribers to search the Country Q&A in the Labour and Employee Benefits Handbook by question and jurisdiction. Simply select the questions and the jurisdictions that you are interested in and click the "submit" button.

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General

1. Do the main laws that regulate the employment relationship apply to:

  • Foreign nationals working in your jurisdiction?

  • Nationals of your jurisdiction working abroad?

 
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Employing people

2. Are there any age or nationality restrictions on managers or company directors? If so, please give details.
 
3. Are any grants or incentives available for employing people? If so, please give details.
 
4. What permits do foreign nationals require to work in your country? Please explain:

  • How these permits are obtained.

  • How much they cost.

  • How long the process takes.

 
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Terms of employment

5. What terms govern the employment relationship? In particular:

  • Is a written employment contract or statement of employment terms required?

  • Are any terms implied by law into the employment contract (in addition to the terms referred to in Question 1)?

  • Are collective agreements with trade unions or employee representatives common (generally or in specific industries)?

 
6. Is there a minimum wage? If so, please give details, in particular whether it applies to all employees, regardless of their age and experience.
 
7. Are there restrictions on working hours? If so, please give details.
 
8. Is there a minimum holiday entitlement? If so, please give details. How many public holidays are there in a year and are they included in the minimum holiday entitlement?
 
9. What rights do employees have to time off in the case of illness or injury? Is that time off paid? Can an employer recover from the state sick pay granted to its employees?
 
10. What are the statutory rights of employees who are parents or carers (including those of disabled children and adult dependants)? How is employees' pay affected during periods of leave?
 
11. Does a period of continuous employment create any benefits for employees? If individual employees are transferred to a new entity, are they deemed to retain their period of continuous employment?
 
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Temporary and agency workers

12. To what extent are temporary and agency workers entitled to the same rights and benefits as permanent employees?
 
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Employee protection

13. What statutory data protection rights do employees have?
 
14. What protection do employees have from discrimination or harassment, and on what grounds?
 
15. Do whistleblowers have any protection? If so, please give details.
 
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Dismissals and redundancies

16. What rights do employees have when their employment contract is terminated? Please provide information on:

  • Notice periods.

  • Severance payments.

  • Any procedural requirements for dismissal.

 
17. What protection do employees have against dismissal? Are there any specific categories of protected employees?
 
18. What rules apply on redundancies?
 
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Taxation of employment

19. What is the basis of taxation of employment income for:

  • Foreign nationals working in your jurisdiction?

  • Nationals of your jurisdiction working abroad?

 
20. What is the rate of taxation on employment income? Are any other taxes or social security contributions levied on employers and/or employees? If so, please give details, including the rates.
 
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Liability

21. Are there any circumstances in which:

  • An employer can be liable for the acts of its employees?

  • A parent company can be liable for the acts of a subsidiary company's employees?

 
22. What are an employer's obligations regarding the health and safety of its employees?
 
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Consultation

23. Are employees entitled to management representation (such as on the board of directors) or to be consulted about issues that affect them? Is employee consultation or consent required for major transactions (such as acquisitions, disposals or joint ventures)?
 
24. What are the remedies that are available if an employer fails to comply with its consultation duties? Can employees take action to prevent any proposals going ahead?
 
25. Is there any statutory protection of employees on a business transfer? In particular:

  • Are they automatically transferred with the business?

  • Are they protected against dismissal (before or after the disposal)?

  • Is it possible to harmonise their terms of employment with other (existing) employees of the buyer?

 
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Pensions

26. Do employers and/or employees make pension contributions to the state in your jurisdiction? If so, please give details of:

  • The contributions payable.

  • The tax treatment of those contributions.

  • The monthly amount of the state pension.

 
27. Is it common (or compulsory) for employers to provide access, or contribute, to supplementary pension schemes for their employees? Do such schemes provide pensions the value of which:

  • Can usually be determined at the start of the arrangement (for example, the value is linked to the employee's salary)?

  • Cannot usually be determined at the start of the arrangement (for example, the value is dependent on employer and employee contributions and investment return on those contributions)?

 
28. Is there a regulatory body that oversees the operation of supplementary pension schemes? If so, please briefly summarise the regulatory framework.
 
29. Are any tax reliefs available on contributions to supplementary pension schemes (by the employer and employees)? If so, please give details.
 
30. Can the following participate in a pension scheme established by a parent company in your jurisdiction:

  • Employees who are working abroad?

  • Employees of a foreign subsidiary company?

 
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Bonuses

31. Is it common to reward employees through contractual or discretionary bonuses? Are there restrictions or guidelines on what bonuses can be awarded? If so, please give details.
 
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IP

32. If employees create IP rights in the course of their employment, do the employees or the employer own the rights?
 
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Restraint of trade

33. Is it possible to restrict an employee's activities during employment and after termination? If so, in what circumstances can this be done? Must an employer pay its former employees remuneration while they are subject to post-employment restrictive covenants?
 
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Proposals for reform

34. Are there any proposals to reform employment law or pensions law in your jurisdiction?
 
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  • Resource ID: 5-386-8255
  • Published: 22-Jul-2009
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