THE HOT STORY

Fathers call for paternity leave to be 'modernised'

Campaigners are urging the government to modernise paternity leave to support fathers in family life. The Dad Shift, co-founded by Alex Lloyd Hunter, seeks affordable and equal leave for all parents. Currently, less than 5% of UK fathers share parental leave, which allows up to 50 weeks off. Fathers only receive two paid weeks under the statutory system, less than half the minimum wage. Lloyd Hunter said: "We want to support our partners properly . . . and bring dads into the conversation." The government is reviewing the parental leave system, said Kate Dearden, minister for employment rights, who acknowledged the need for improvement.

BBC News

TECHNOLOGY

Celebrated or penalised? Employers confuse staff over AI rules

Opacity surrounding company artificial intelligence policies is resulting in staff running personal generative AI accounts in secret or discovering they have inadvertently breached rules, according to lawyers and employment experts.

Financial Times

TAX

Tax hike threatens flexible workspaces

Flexible working businesses have alerted Chancellor Rachel Reeves about potential property tax increases that could jeopardise thousands of jobs. Over 60 operators of serviced offices and co-working spaces, representing more than 27,000 businesses, have expressed their "urgent and deeply serious concern" in a letter. The Valuation Office Agency has reclassified these spaces, precipitating higher business rates and loss of reliefs for over 150,000 SMEs. Jane Sartin, executive director of the Flexible Space Association, said the reclassification of serviced offices “had been introduced without consultation and is already putting the future of many workspaces across the country in jeopardy. Operators are being hit with sudden, steep increases in business rates.”

The Times

WORKFORCE

Top earners feel poor, survey reveals

According to a survey by Times Money, 76% of top-rate taxpayers do not consider themselves rich, despite earning over £125,000. Only 21% of respondents say they feel wealthy, and many identify as working class. The survey, conducted by YouGov, included over 4,000 participants.

Daily Mail

The Times

LEGAL

Holiday pay complaints surge by 893%

Holiday pay complaints at the UK Employment Tribunal surged to 2,392 in the financial year ending March 2025, an increase of 893% from 241 the previous year. This spike follows reforms to the Working Time Regulations, effective January 1, 2024, which clarified holiday pay calculations. Glenn Hayes, employment partner at Hill Dickinson, noted that high-profile claims have boosted employee confidence in pursuing their rights. He said: "As more people become aware of it . . . we're only likely to see this increase further." The Ministry of Justice is responding by funding tribunal capacity and recruiting up to 1,000 judges.

Sunday Times

BHP found liable over Mariana dam disaster

The High Court in London has ruled that BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, is legally liable for one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of Brazil. Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians, around 2,000 businesses, and dozens of local governments had sued BHP over the collapse of the Fundao dam in Mariana, in the southeast of the country, which was owned and operated by BHP and Vale's Samarco joint venture. The event unleashed a wave of toxic sludge that killed 19 people and polluted the length of the Doce River. Judge Finola O'Farrell said in a summary of her ruling that BHP should not have continued to raise the height of the dam before its collapse, which was "a direct and immediate cause of collapse of the dam giving rise to fault-based liability on the part of BHP."

France 24

Financial Times

Reuters

INTERNATIONAL

Portugal's government seeks dialogue with unions

Portugal's minority centre-right government has said it is open to discussions with unions ahead of a planned general strike on December 11. Minister for Cabinet Affairs Antonio Leitao Amaro said: "It is hard to understand why some want to halt the country . . . when the government is showing its real, true and concrete openness to dialogue." The looming strike, which is supported by the UGT and CGTP unions, opposes proposed labour law reforms that would ease dismissals and increase outsourcing. Unions argue these changes threaten workers' rights, while the government is seeking to boost productivity. UGT leader Mario Mourao has said that the strike could be called off if the government presented a new reform plan which takes into account union proposals.

Reuters

Amazon faces lawsuit over disability policies

Amazon is facing a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that its absence policy discriminates against warehouse employees with disabilities. The complaint, led by Cayla Lyster, claims that Amazon docks unpaid time off for employees seeking accommodations and threatens termination for excessive absences. Lyster, who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, described what she said was a "punitive absence control system," which she claims intimidates employees into not requesting necessary accommodations. The lawsuit seeks damages for hourly warehouse workers in New York who have sought or intended to seek accommodations over the past three years. Inimai Chettiar, president of A Better Balance, a workplace advocacy organisation, said that "workers shouldn't ever need to choose between their safety and their paycheck." The lawsuit follows a similar case filed by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin against Amazon for denying reasonable accommodation requests.

Bloomberg Law

Reuters

Some Korean workers return to US factory after raid

Some South Korean workers detained in a September immigration raid at Hyundai's Georgia plant in the United States have returned to their jobs. The raid involved over 300 workers, primarily skilled engineers, who were detained for visa violations. Following negotiations, many were flown back to South Korea. HL-GA Battery Co., the plant's operator, confirmed that construction has resumed with a mix of new and returning workers. Mary Beth Kennedy, a spokesperson for HL-GA Battery, noted that some returning workers were among those detained.

The key role of nomadic women in Iran

Nomadic women are vital to Iran's tribal communities, contributing to social and economic sustainability, Deputy Cultural Heritage Minister Ali Darabi has said. At a recent gathering focused on developing entrepreneurial skills, Darabi highlighted these women's role as guardians of culture and essential support for nomadic societies. He noted a 2024 project aimed at empowering these women in West and Central Asia, which included documenting traditional knowledge and integrating it into policymaking. “We believe that sustainable development emerges from within culture and from the heart of living communities,” Darabi said. “It is time for indigenous knowledge and climate wisdom, alongside modern science, to be placed at the centre of the country's development and cultural policymaking.”

Tehran Times

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