Surveys
International: National minimum wage update 2008
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 15/01/2009
National minimum wages in the EU in July 2008 ranged from €112 per month in Bulgaria to €1,610 in Luxembourg, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.
Germany: Trade union institute highlights danger of German export bias
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 15/01/2009
Germany's success in holding down labour-cost growth in recent years has boosted export competitiveness, but raised the risks of an increased exposure to fluctuations in world trade, according to a November 2008 analysis of labour costs by a trade union-linked research institute.
International: Minimum wage update 2007
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 09/08/2007
In 2007, national minimum wages in the EU range from €1,570 per month in Luxembourg to €92 in Bulgaria, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.
Netherlands: Accounting rules 'prompt companies to change pension schemes'
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 12/07/2007
The introduction in January 2005 of rules for dealing with employee benefits in company accounts has motivated a significant number of Dutch companies to change the nature of their pension arrangements, or prepare plans to do so in the near future. This is a key finding of a recently [when?] published study by researchers at Maastricht University.
International: Call centre employment and HR practices examined
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 12/07/2007
Research published in May 2007 analyses employment and HR management in call centres in 17 countries worldwide. It finds that the widespread view of call centres as “electronic sweatshops” with low pay, poor quality of work and little collective representation of workers is not true in all countries and types of call centre.
Netherlands: Pay rose 2% in 2006
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/03/2007
According to the CBS national statistics bureau, average collectively agreed pay rose by 2% in 2006, while inflation stood at 1.1%.
Netherlands: Labour shortages may push up pay
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/02/2007
While the unemployment rate stands at just over 5%, the number of job vacancies in the Netherlands is at an all-time high in early 2007.
Netherlands: Partially disabled workers dismissed
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/02/2007
The bipartite Labour Foundation (Stichting van de Arbeid, STAR) recently published research findings that one-third of employees who are partially disabled lose their jobs after two years of sickness.
Netherlands: Offshore outsourcing study
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/01/2007
A study carried out by the Erasmus University Rotterdam, in conjunction with other European and American institutes, finds that the Netherlands outsources abroad more knowledge-intensive activities such as R&D and design than the other countries in the study: Germany, Spain, the UK and the US.
Netherlands: UWV claims good record on jobs
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/01/2007
Figures released by the Dutch social security agency (UWV) show that, during the first three quarters of 2006, it helped more than 20,000 people find jobs.
Commitment matters
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 01/12/2006
British employees are more likely to be disaffected with their work life than their counterparts in mainland Europe, according to a study by research and consultancy business ISR.
European Union: Flexicurity in the spotlight
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/12/2006
With "flexicurity" - a balance between flexibility and security on the labour market - high on the EU agenda at present, the European Commission has recently published research examining the extent to which flexicurity currently exists in the member states.
Employee engagement is "low" in the UK
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/12/2006
A recent survey carried out by the global research and consultancy firm, ISR, indicates that more employees in the UK are thinking about leaving their jobs than in other major European economies.
TUC calls for flexible hours for over-50s
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 28/11/2006
The TUC is calling on the government to extend flexible working rights to the over-50s after new figures revealed more than one-third of UK workers believe they will be unable to do their job at 60 years old.
European Union: Employing an ageing workforce
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/11/2006
Increasing the employment of "older workers" has been a focus of European Union policy for many years. A new study examines national policies and looks at company practice on this issue across Europe in a series of case studies.
European Company Statute state of play
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/11/2006
The European Company Statute and its employee involvement Directive came into force in October 2004. Two years on, we review progress in national implementation and in the establishment of European Companies.
European Union: Collective bargaining trends in Europe
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/08/2006
The European Trade Union Confederation recently published the results of its mid-year survey of collective bargaining trends in Europe. Its main findings are that the pay moderation that has characterised the EU15 member states is set to continue and that annual working time is increasing in some countries.
Case studies
International: Post-merger EWC agreed at GDF Suez
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 18/06/2009
An agreement signed in May 2009 to create a European Works Council (EWC) at GDF Suez, the newly merged energy multinational, has been hailed as a "benchmark" by trade unions, not least because it reflects some of the changes recently made to the EWCs Directive.
International: Gaz de France signs Europe-wide CSR agreement
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 31/07/2008
In July 2008, Gaz de France, a French energy multinational, signed a Europe-wide agreement on corporate social responsibility (CSR) with European and national trade union organisations, which includes commitments in areas such as training, health and safety, skills management, diversity and employment conditions.
Stryker selects top talent
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 16/09/2005
Developing a rigorous selection process based on recruiting people with the right innate qualities for the role has helped global company Stryker to enhance its organisational performance.
Software puts staff in the picture
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 30/08/2005
Dutch telecommunications giant KPN’s new e-HR system helped streamline routine administrative processes, in turn simplifying the reporting of a range of HR management and planning activities.
Winning the recruitment race
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 16/11/2004
Nike's decision to automate recruitment administration has led to vacancies being filled much quicker, while cutting cost. Alex Blyth reports.
International: Latest progress in restructuring plans at Danone
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/04/2003
The major reorganisation of its European factories at French food group Danone, originally announced in March 2001, is progressing. Here, we look in detail at the extensive social and reindustrialisation plans being implemented by the company, which are destined, eventually, to create more jobs than have been lost.
