Dispatch 22: Polish Legislative Reform Tests a More Principled Approach to Collective Rights of Self-Employed Workers

Until 2019 Poland had one of the highest levels of workers performing personal work outside employment relationship who were at the same time fully excluded from the right to form …

What do we know about the extent of stand downs, their legal basis, and challenging unlawful stand downs?

Over the last month, we have become all-too-familiar with a very old concept in employment law: stand downs. Government restrictions to contain COVID-19 have had a devastating economic impact, leading …

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Will fundamental workers’ rights also fall victim to COVID-19?

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed in stark terms the fact that our economies are built on the systematic exploitation of workers, whether at our local grocery store or in distant farms, factories …

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What Now for Wage Theft? Enforcement of Employment Rights and Entitlements in a Time of Crisis

“At the start of 2020, not a day would go by where a story of ‘wage theft’ did not appear in the major news outlets. There were multiple government inquiries …

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Responding to Forced Labour in the US Healthcare System

“Late last month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) revoked its ban on imports from a Malaysian rubber gloves manufacturer accused of engaging in forced labour. The CBP had previously …

Coronavirus and directing employees to work from home: examining an employer’s duty of care

“In the present wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, many employees have been directed by their employers to work from home. The question I pose here is: what impact might such …

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“States responses to Covid 19 threat should not halt freedoms of assembly and association” – UN expert on the rights to freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. Clément Voule

“Laws limiting public gatherings, as well as freedom of movement, have been passed in many States. Restrictions based on public health concerns are justified, where they are necessary and proportionate …

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Temp Workers Face Greater Risk and Insecurity in COVID-19 Crisis

“In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, some of our most essential workers are temp workers. The warehouse workers who fulfill and package online orders often don’t work for Amazon but …

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Covid-19 crisis makes clear a new concept of ‘worker’ is overdue

The crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of those outside conventional employment. A broader concept of ‘worker’ is needed to protect them equally. The Covid-19 crisis has found the western world, …

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Shaping a new social contract through the pandemic

“In the midst of our COVID-19 pandemic, there are rising calls for government and business to form a ‘new social contract’. This would tackle the immediate economic hardship, and more …

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