| Welcome
to the 5th edition of the Working Worldwide Newsletter, incorporating
the UK legal brief. We hope you find the new format easy to navigate
and as always we welcome your feedback. Within the UK there has been
clarification of the temporary worker holiday pay rules and new
diversity legislation. On the international scene, the main updates
have focused on immigration, whilst across Europe there have been
changes to labour leasing licence/temporary worker requirements. I hope you find this newsletter informative and useful, if you wish to discuss any of the topics please send me an email or call me on +44 (0)20 7484 3000. Regards, Lara Pritchard
Tax & Compliance Manager
European Union
Free Movement of Labour not so Free from 1 May 2004
From
1 May 2004 the European Union will growing from 15 to 25 member
countries increasing the general right to free movement of citizens
between existing and accession countries...
[more] UK
Brussels attacks UK over working hours
Britain could lose its opt-out from the European Union working time rules unless it stops companies abusing the loophole...
[more] Tribunal brings clarification to the issue of “rolled-up” holiday pay
The
thorny issue of “rolled-up” or “topped-up” holiday pay came back to the
fore in a recent deferred decision, which was published by the English
Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT)... [more] Sexual Orientation and Religion and Belief Discrimination Legislation
New
discrimination legislation, covering sexual orientation and religion or
belief, came into effect on 1 st and 2 nd December 2003 respectively.
The new regulations cover direct and indirect discrimination,
harassment and victimisation... [more] Immigration changes in both directions
The
UK Home Office has been busy bringing in stricter rules for certain
nationalities while easing the rules under the Highly Skilled Migrant
Programme...
[more] Crackdown On Offshore Bank Accounts
The
Inland Revenue has launched a crackdown on offshore bank accounts. A
team of investigators are to target UK savers who do not declare their
offshore banking in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Switzerland and
other havens...
[more]
Finland
Work Shortages Ease Immigration Restrictions
Because of the potential shortages of workers in Finland it is going to become easier to obtain a work permit in Finland...
[more] Germany
Changes to Labour Leasing Licence (AÜG)
From 1st January 2004 there have been changes to the rules regarding the German AÜG licence required for Labour Leasing...
[more] Hungary
New Legislation Targets Fixed Term and ‘Sham' Civil Law Contracts
In
2003 the Hungarian government amended the legislation to reduce the
number of contracts that fall outside the labour law (‘Sham' civil law
contracts). These are contracts for specific tasks as compared to
employment contracts. In addition, the new labour code provisions
specifically prohibit discrimination against part-time and fixed-term
workers... [more] Italy
Court decision on reinstatement of temporary agency worker
The
Bologna labour tribunal recently ordered a telecommunications company
to reinstate a temporary agency worker on an indefinite contract due to
breaches in the law (The Treu law) governing the placement of
contractors in Italy... [more] Poland
Temporary Agency Workers Legislation
The
new legislation defines temporary agency work and lays down rules on
its use and on the employment conditions of agency workers... [more] Australia
Immigration Changes Target Recruitment Companies
Changes
affecting immigration of contractors moving to Australia include
removing IT and Technology specialists from the Migration Occupations
in Demand list and clarification of the regulations affecting the
sponsorship of contractors by management companies... [more] China
Immigration requirements clarified
In
order to work in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) requires the
individual to obtain permanent residency status or prior authorisation...
[more] New Zealand
Skilled Migrant Programme Fine-Tuned
New Zealand has changed its skilled migrant programme to cope with the ever-increasing levels of migrants...
[more] Global
Personal Tax Rate Changes for 2004...
[more] The
International Contracting Quarterly Newsletter is intended as a general
guide only, and the application of its contents to specific situations
will depend on the particular circumstances involved. This newsletter
should not be relied upon as a substitute for further advice. While all
reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this
newsletter are accurate, Glotel Plc or its related companies accepts no
responsibility for any errors or omissions. This newsletter shall not
be copied and/or distributed without prior approval from Glotel Plc. | 
