Employment Rights Research Articles

Populist Reforms in Hungary and Poland: Same Song, Different Melodies

Populism is gaining ground in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and Hungary and Poland are the best examples of this trend. The Hungarian Orbán government and conservative Polish coalition led by Kaczyński (PiS), widely considered in the literature as populist, have been in power for some time now, which allows us not only to evaluate their labour law policies, but also the results. Though there are evident similarities between these two countries, such as political motivated layoffs in public employment or significant wage increases, the discrepancies are far more numerous. These differences result from each country’s specific socio-economic conditions and (almost) diametrically opposed political strategies with respect to employment matters. While Viktor Orbán believes in a workfare society, without social allowances and with flexibilized employment protection, in Poland PiS is pushing through a belated welfare revolution with expanded social benefits and employment rights. This article starts by describing populism as it has developed in Hungary and Poland in section 1, and the promises made by Orbán and Kaczyński before coming to power in section 2. Section 3 examines the main pillars of populist labour law policy, such as flexibilization, wages, collective rights, self-employment, social benefits and political motivated layoffs. Finally, we try to explain why and how these seemingly similar populist governments have adopted fundamentally different labour law reforms. labour law reforms, collective rights, flexibilization, Hungary, Poland

Social Dialogue and Its Role in Germany Vocational Education and Training

This paper takes Germany as a case study, examining the role and development of social dialogue in Germany's vocational education system. Considering the extensiveness of the German VET system, the central question is how social dialogue can play its role to promote vocational training and development in various sectors. The paper analyzes the role of social dialogue at the national and company level and concludes that social dialogue actively contributes to the development of VET in Germany and ensures the rights of apprentices and employers in terms of legislation, financial, and qualification levels. In addition, the paper also identifies the social dialogues responses to challenges faced by VET in Germany, i.e., facility and operational problems due to the rapid development of digital technology and the integration of vocational education into higher education.

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment on Physical Health of Rural-Urban Migrants—Empirical Evidence from China Migrants Dynamic Survey

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on rural-urban migrants' physical health and its influencing mechanism. A total of 134,920 rural-urban migrant samples are matched based on the China Migrants Dynamic Survey in 2017 and the China Urban Statistical Yearbook in 2016. On the basis of the samples, a Binary Probit Model is used to explore the relationship between the degree of FDI and rural-urban migrants' physical health. The results show that compared with migrants who lived in cities with a lower FDI level, rural-urban migrants who lived in cities with a higher FDI level are better in physical health. The results of the mediation effect model show that the degree of FDI has a significant positive impact on employment rights and benefits the protection of rural-urban migrants, improving rural-urban migrants' physical health, which means employment rights and benefits protection plays an intermediary role in the process of FDI affecting rural-urban migrants' physical health. Therefore, when formulating public policies such as plans to improve the physical health of rural-urban migrants, not only the availability of medical services for rural-urban migrants needs to be improved, but the positive spillover effect of FDI should be taken into account. By doing so, FDI can positively affect the physical health of rural-urban migrants.

Assessment of medical records management practice at Al-Wahda Hospital in Derna city, Libya

Background: Medical records support patient’s care, provide continuity in the event of a disaster and protect the interests of the organization and the rights of employees. The aim of the study was to assess medical records management at Al-Wahda hospital in Derna, Libya. Methods: A cross-sectional design was conducted using various health professions including records officers, medical doctors, nurses for various department and the admitting clerks. A sample of 71 participants was selected using convenience-sampling technique. Data was collected using a questionnaire from August to October 2019. Results: The study showed that there was poor management of medical records at Al-Wahda hospital. The study revealed that the medical records were found in paper format. It indicated that the policy in place is record management policy, and findings confirmed that the policies are not communicated to healthcare workers and professionals. Furthermore, control measures were mentioned by the hospital records administrator was storing of records in locked cabinets. Similarly, the hospital records administrator confirmed that patient records were kept for above 12 months, and methods of patient records disposal is manually by burning. The study also indicated that failure to have a computerization processes. Conclusions: The findings of the study recommended the use of policy guidelines in relation to the best practices of how medical records are managed; the use of electronic systems for opening, tracking and indexing of files; further a need to increase the number of record officers, training of records staff; and conducting regular records awareness workshops.

Leave of medical workers must be provided by the employer: note to the accountant

The novelties of labor legislation concerning additional vacations of certain categories of medical workers, which replaced the previously existing regulations, conditions and procedure for their application in 2023, are considered. The analysis of practical issues related to the regime of unused vacations, including ensuring the rights of employees who did not use paid vacations at the set time, is carried out; law enforcement practice concerning the division of annual leave into parts is considered; types of liability of the employer that prevents the employee from exercising his rights to annual basic and additional paid leave.

Guarantees of exercise of labor and social rights of employees of prosecutor's offices as an integral part of their legal status

The article considers the mechanisms of realization of labor and social rights of prosecutors. The authors investigated that prosecutors are subject to both general labor legislation (norms of the Labor Code of Ukraine) and special ones established by the Law of Ukraine "On the Prosecutor's Office", which emphasizes the special legal status of these employees.
 Acquisition of legal status by prosecutors as subjects of labor law allows them to exercise their constitutional rights and responsibilities. These elements of the legal status of prosecutors should be considered in close connection with the employment relationship and social rights in which these prosecutors are involved. The authors found that an integral part of the legal status of prosecutors are guarantees of labor and social rights - legal norms that establish ways and means of ensuring the rights and freedoms of prosecutors, their protection and restoration during office and retirement.
 The study found that an important role in improving the legislation of Ukraine in the field of labor relations with prosecutors and their social rights are played by familiarity with international regulations (Conclusion of the Advisory Council of European Prosecutors № 9 (2014 (Rome Charter), Conclusion № 13 (2018) of the Advisory Council of European Prosecutors) which regulate labor and social guarantees for prosecutors. Problematic issues and gaps in the provisions of Ukrainian legislation in the field of labor and social security relations with prosecutors were investigated. The authors also developed ways to eliminate them by preserving existing and creating new norms that meet national characteristics. The importance of this study is that this system of government has a significant impact on the implementation of responsibilities for the protection of human rights and freedoms, the common interests of society and the state.

Is collective bargaining for better working conditions an option for security guards from Samburu community working In Nairobi?

The study determines whether collective bargaining for better working conditions is an option for security guards from the Samburu community working in Nairobi. The theoretical framework of the study was the Interests Theory of human rights, which emphasised the capacity of the right-holder (employee) to have rights and the obligation of the right-grantor (employer) to grant those rights. The research adopted a survey design to investigate the welfare of security guards from nomadic pastoralist communities working in Nairobi.The study involved all security guards from the Samburu community working in Nairobi as the population of study and individual security guards as the unit of analysis. Five areas of the city, that is, Westlands/Kabete, Lavington/Kangemi/Waithaka/Muthaiga/Thika Road, Karen/Lang’ata, South C/South B and Embakasi, were marked out as the places from which the study sample was taken from each of these areas. A sample of 200 security guards was selected through random sampling. The data used in the study was both quantitative and qualitative.The study focused on several employee welfare issues, including employee exposure to knowledge about trade unions, which is relevant to collective bargaining for better working conditions. The indicators examined in the study to assess the granting or non-granting of employee rights included membership in a trade union and collective bargaining rights. The findings indicated that security guards lacked information about trade unions and were not enjoying their collective bargaining rights.

Study on Multinational Corporations and the Guarantee of Equal Rights for Women in Employment

This article relies on the current situation that the legal provisions related to the protection of the rights of female employees of multinational corporations are not perfect and not tough and uses the legal norm analysis method to explain the existing problems and give possible solutions. Firstly, it discusses the current situation and predicament of the existing women's employment equality protection in multinational corporations, as well as the lack of content and substantive binding of existing international conventions. It also discusses the reasons for the dilemma of rights protection, such as the differentiation of traditional thinking and social structure roles, the level of rule of law in developing countries and the status of multinational corporations. It gives ways to improve legislation and related systems and improve the supervision mechanism of social and non-governmental organizations.

The Power of the Employer to Terminate Employment Contracts: A Comparative Study between the UAE and Egypt

Abstract Labour law grants an employer the power to terminate an employment contract without the worker’s consent when he is guilty of serious misconduct. This power can also be exercised when the employer has legitimate cause even if the worker has not committed any misconduct. This article compares how legislators in the UAE and Egypt regulate this power. The Emirati legislator has recently passed Law No. 33 of 2021, which updated the dismissal causes list and enabled the employer to terminate definite term contracts for a legitimate cause. The Egyptian legislator is currently debating the employer’s power to terminate employment contracts in a discussion of the bill on employment law, which will soon replace the current Labour Law No. 12 of 2003. The article concludes that the various legal rules in the UAE and Egypt can be transplanted to balance the rights of employers and workers.

Protection of rights of employees in case of employment contract’s suspension under the martial law

The author focuses on the actual problems of implementing the employee's right to protection in case of the employment contract’s suspension in the conditions of martial law. Within the framework of the study, the author considers both theoretical and practical issues of the institute of suspension of employment relations. At the same time, the main attention is paid to the peculiarities of the suspension of employment contracts during the legal regime of martial law, as well as to the problems of implementing the right of employees to protection in case of violation of legal grounds for such suspension by employers. It is emphasized that for the legality of the suspension of the employment contract in the conditions of martial law, the simultaneous presence of several conditions is necessary, such as: 1) the fact of armed aggression and the existence of the legal regime of martial law; 2) absolute impossibility of providing work by the employer and performing work by the employee. At the same time, the lack of a relevant legal norm is the absence of a clear definition or at least signs of the impossibility of the parties to the employment contract fulfilling their obligations. It has been proven that the labour legislation should not only clearly state the conditions and procedure for suspending the employment contract, but also establish the employer's financial responsibility to the employee in the form of average earnings for forced absenteeism in the event that such suspension is recognized as illegal. In particular, in the case of the cancellation of the suspension of the employment contract by the court in connection with the employer's violation of the labor legislation when it was issued (for example, the suspension of the employment contract was introduced at the initiative of the employer without sufficient grounds for this), the implementation of the right to protect the violated rights of the employee should include not only the cancellation of the order and the restoration of the employment contract, but also the reimbursement by the employer of the average earnings during the period of forced absenteeism, by analogy with Article 235 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, according to the second part of which, when making a decision on reinstatement, the body that considers a labor dispute simultaneously takes decision to pay the employee the average salary for the period of forced absenteeism.

Indonesia’s Contra-Productive Regulation against the Rights of Unskilled Workers for Balinese in New Zealand

New Zealand relies heavily on its agricultural industry. There are over 4,150 cultivators in the horticultural sector. They require the cooperation of foreign workers. Some of them were recruited from Indonesia, where most of the labour force is poor and unskilled. This research is conducted to analyse the compatibility of legislation and policy in Indonesia and New Zealand. So, they may enjoy their rights and possibilities for choosing, acquiring, or migrating from one work to another and earning a fair salary, whether domestically or internationally. Based on the contextual law method, it has been concluded that New Zealand’s laws provide excellent regulations for such enjoyment. Regarding the equal enjoyment of their fundamental employment rights, Indonesian Law and policy have failed to meet the needs of employees. This article demonstrates the Indonesian and New Zealand legal systems’ capacity and the need for Indonesian Law to be reconstructed to fulfil workers' demands.

Assessing Social Sustainability Performance in Textile Industry using Integrated Fuzzy Best-Worst Method and Fuzzy Inference System

The main purpose of the research primarily focused on the development of sustainable social indicators and to test their usefulness and applicability in the Nigerian textile sector in terms of social performance. The integrated Fuzzy Best-Worst method (FBWM) and Fuzzy inference system (FIS) was presented to aid in the evaluation of these indicators. The outcomes demonstrate that employee rights received the highest score of 0.206 in the study. Employee rights are regarded as the most crucial and critical factor. Furthermore, among the indicators, fair salary has the highest global weight. The case company's sustainability performance index was 0.248, which was in the "poor" performance category. A case study was conducted in a Nigerian textile industry to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. These findings will assist managers and policymakers in the textile manufacturing industry, particularly in emerging economies such as Nigeria, in developing strategies to lay the groundwork for social sustainability and transition to truly sustainable textile manufacturing industry.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on motivating factors affecting individual investors’ socially responsible investment decision: a comparative analysis of the USA, Germany and Japan

PurposeIndividual investors are experiencing serious sentiment shifts that influence their financial activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic while socially responsible investment (SRI) has garnered attention worldwide. This study aims to explore how individual investors’ sentiments and investment choices altered in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachWe surveyed 1,219 individual investors in Japan, the USA and Germany using an online questionnaire and performed a cross-sectional analysis using logit and ordered logit regressions.FindingsThis study found that individual investor sentiment affects SRI after COVID-19, but not necessarily in the same manner. Return-focused aspects negatively affect their SRI, while relationship-oriented social issues positively affect it. In addition, the relationship differs by nation. Japanese investors anticipate shorter term SRI returns than the US and German investors. Only Japanese investors’ SRI decisions were impacted by the relationship-oriented social factors including the environment, diversity and employee rights and welfare.Research limitations/implicationsThis study emphasizes the need for precise motivation characterization when evaluating the same issue. The author also identified the variance and characteristics among countries, which differ from previous research.Practical implicationsAn academically credible image of the relationship will enable business managers to find appealing strategies. This study also suggests country-specific investor relations strategies.Originality/valueThis study differentiates return- and relationship-oriented social motivations for SRI into 14 components, thus clarifying the relationship mechanism between the COVID-19 pandemic and individual investors’ SRI behavior. Moreover, no study has compared individual investor sentiment and investment behavior affected by the pandemic in the three countries.

Remuneration level of security guards from Samburu community working in Nairobi

This study investigated the remuneration level of security guards from Samburu Community working in Nairobi. The study adopted, as its theoretical framework, the Interests Theory of human rights as described by Raz. In examining these issues, the study looked at the following indicators, which provided evidence for granting or non-granting of employee rights: shelter, diet and investments made by the employees; existence of job contracts, insurance cover, retirement benefit plan and health cover; membership to a trade union; promotion at work and salary increment; and the nature of equipment and training for the job. The study involved all security guards from the Samburu community working in Nairobi as the population of study and individual security guards as the unit of analysis. Five areas of the city, that is, Westlands/Kabete, Lavington/Kangemi/Waithaka/Muthaiga/Thika Road, Karen/Lang’ata, South C/South B and Embakasi, were marked out as the places from which the study sample was taken. The study adopted a survey design, and data was collected through questionnaires, which were applied to 200 security guards who had been randomly selected from 5 administrative clusters in Nairobi. The findings indicated that security guards were poorly remunerated. It recommended that the government of Kenya enforce a minimum salary of at least at the level of maximum un-taxable income and proper job contraction for security guards.

Remuneration level of security guards from Samburu community working in Nairobi

This study investigated the remuneration level of security guards from Samburu Community working in Nairobi. The study adopted, as its theoretical framework, the Interests Theory of human rights as described by Raz. In examining these issues, the study looked at the following indicators, which provided evidence for granting or non-granting of employee rights: shelter, diet and investments made by the employees; existence of job contracts, insurance cover, retirement benefit plan and health cover; membership to a trade union; promotion at work and salary increment; and the nature of equipment and training for the job. The study involved all security guards from the Samburu community working in Nairobi as the population of study and individual security guards as the unit of analysis. Five areas of the city, that is, Westlands/Kabete, Lavington/Kangemi/Waithaka/Muthaiga/Thika Road, Karen/Lang’ata, South C/South B and Embakasi, were marked out as the places from which the study sample was taken. The study adopted a survey design, and data was collected through questionnaires, which were applied to 200 security guards who had been randomly selected from 5 administrative clusters in Nairobi. The findings indicated that security guards were poorly remunerated. It recommended that the government of Kenya enforce a minimum salary of at least at the level of maximum un-taxable income and proper job contraction for security guards.

When are trans women treated worse than trans men?

PurposeThis paper aims to test penis panic theory, which predicts that trans women will face more discrimination than trans men in some but not all situations.Design/methodology/approachRespondents were 262 American college students who were all enrolled in the same undergraduate course. They were presented with a case about coworker resistance to transgender employees' use of the workplace restrooms of their choice. Four versions of a case were randomly distributed as follows: trans woman, restroom with one toilet; trans woman, restroom with three toilets; trans man, restroom with one toilet and trans man, restroom with three toilets.FindingsThe authors observed greater discrimination against trans women compared to trans men when there was one toilet but not when there were three toilets. This supports penis panic theory.Research limitations/implicationsThe chief limitation was the use of American college students as respondents. The results may not generalize to practicing managers especially in other countries. Future researchers should develop a scale to measure situational discrimination against trans women. This study should be replicated in other contexts to deepen the understanding of discrimination against trans men and trans women with disabilities, as well as discrimination against nonbinary individuals who identify as neither trans men nor trans women.Practical implicationsEmployers need to search for situations in which trans women face greater discrimination than trans men, because they can be resolved in ways that protect the rights of transgender employees no matter how transphobic their coworkers may be. Also, employers need a nuanced approach to combat discrimination that recognizes the unique perspectives of trans men, trans women and other members of the transgender community.Originality/valueThis is the first quantitative study of penis panic theory, and it illuminates the understanding of discrimination against transgender individuals.

Measurement of Working Time in Telecommuting

The paper focuses on the special characteristics of working time in the case of telecommuting and in particular, on the problematic of teleworking time measurement. First, it examines two systems for measuring teleworking time, namely based on the quantity of work produced or based on the time the employee is connected to the company’s network. Then, it highlights the need for establishing objective mechanisms for measuring teleworking time. Finally, it analyses the provision of telecommuting outside of formal working hours, which is very common in the digital era and confuses working periods with rest periods. Our conclusions focus firstly on the need for legislative regulation, which will posit and specify the methods of measuring telework time and secondly on the imperative need to safeguard the rights of employees in terms of the protection of privacy and personal data.

Amendments to the Employment Act 1955: An Analysis of the Key Changes with Reference to International Labour Standards – A Positive Improvement for Malaysia’s Employment Regime?

In Malaysia, employment issues are primarily governed by the Employment Act 1955 [Act 265] being the key piece of legislation on the matter. Hence, it is imperative to analyze whether the amendments brought by the Employment Amendment Act are positive improvements as compared to the current provisions of the Employment Act as well as adequate according to the international labour standards as stated by the International Labour Organization. In 2022, the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 as well as the Employment (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2022 were passed which will bring key changes to the employer-employee relationship in Malaysia. These amendments to the Employment Act 1955 are overdue, given that the last amendments made was more than a decade ago in April 2012. The research employs a qualitative methodology and incorporates a content analysis approach by examining the relevant legislation, the conventions, recommendations and publications of the International Labour Organization, as well as other publications from researchers. The main finding of the research is that although the amendments brought by the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 were a positive improvement, there is still much room for improvement for the employment regime, as well as to expand the amendments to the concurrent legislation in Sabah and Sarawak. However, further research should be conducted to study whether the implementation and enforcement of the amendments to the Act is successful in improving the rights of employees in Malaysia and bring positive changes to the employer-employee relationship.

Under thequasi‐judicialstate:H‐1Bemployment rights in an era of judicial retrenchment

AbstractForeign workers holding H‐1B visas gained recourse to federal employment rights under the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) for the very first time when Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT90). This paper examines H‐1B employment rights enforcement under the INA as it has intersected with broader features of the American legal system: what political scientists call judicial retrenchment and the quasi‐judicial state. I first show how H‐1B rights, already limited by the domestic politics that shaped the IMMACT, became subject to judicial retrenchment when the federal courts confined H‐1B disputes under the INA to the quasi‐judicial state at the Department of Labor (DOL). I then use published data on DOL investigation outcomes, published and unpublished administrative case records, and judicial cases reviewing agency action to examine the extent to which and how H‐1B workers can use the quasi‐judicial state to solve workplace problems. My empirical findings contribute to a new understanding of the relationship between rights retrenchment, the judiciary, and the rise of alternatives to court in immigration and employment law and point to possible fine‐grained changes for future immigration reform.

Employee Monitoring: As Technology Advances Yet the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Stays in the Past

Since the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 was enacted, the United States has endured an evolution of technology. While progressive at its inception, the ECPA has since been met with a tumultuous response from scholars, courts, and others trying to understand its purpose and application regarding privacy rights and the monitoring of communications. Specifically, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the ECPA has remained at the forefront of debate with respect to employee monitoring and surveillance practices. This article provides an overview of the ECPA and explains why today’s technological advancements have surpassed the protections afforded by the Act, leaving employees at risk and employers with significant discretion to implement their desired monitoring practices. While initially intended to extend privacy protections for U.S. citizens, the Act carved out various exceptions for which monitoring is permitted, including most business-related purposes. In addition, this article discusses the approaches and legislation that several states have proposed to combat the ambiguities of the ECPA and highlights the various ways the federal government could amend the ECPA to resolve such challenges and protect the privacy rights of employees in U.S. companies.