The concept of a shorter workweek had been percolating for a few years in Icelandic society. In 2014, the city council of Reykjavik decided to launch a series of trials to test out a shortened workweek.

Many components go into getting the employment relationship off to a good start in Canada. Here are some key aspects Canadian employers should keep in mind as hiring picks up.

The pandemic has made companies throughout Turkey re-evaluate their openness to remote work, culminating with an amendment to the labor law that spells out the procedures for taking on remote workers. The Regulation on Remote Work went into effect on March 10 and tells employers how to legally implement and onboard remote employees.

The restrictions in British Columbia limit nonessential travel between three consolidation health regions.

While Canadian leave policies for vaccination vary from province to province, Saskatchewan is the first province to offer paid leave for employees to get their vaccination shots for COVID-19. Alberta and British Columbia also have elected to offer paid leave for vaccination.

The U.K. entered its third lockdown in January, and now, with an efficient and ongoing vaccine rollout, some of the measures are slowly being lifted. Whether they are lifted too quickly or too slowly can have consequences for businesses as well as for the mental health of workers.

The UAE has vaccinated over 50 percent of its population, thanks to early widespread availability of the Chinese-produced Sinopharm vaccine and an organized nationwide effort to get all residents vaccinated.

As the U.K. settles into its third lockdown, employees are struggling to balance work responsibilities, child care duties and mental health in the face of an uncertain future.

As offices tentatively open, companies and governments throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are trying to adapt to remote work. While some countries are mostly back to normal, the months of telecommuting have opened new possibilities for flexible work arrangements in countries where that was previously untested.

It's important for employers to create a comprehensive and suitable plan to combat the risk of working in the heat.

While self-isolation has been expected in the U.K. throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, on Sept. 28 a law was passed to criminalize the failure to comply with mandatory self-isolation upon receiving a positive COVID-19 test or being in close contact with someone who has tested positive. Now, refusing to comply is a criminal offense that can be punished with a fine.

As of Sept. 1, changes to the S Pass and Employment Pass visas for foreign workers went into effect.

As businesses begin to reopen in the U.K. and employees return to work, companies are left to navigate complicated situations.

"If companies are facing financial difficulties, especially during COVID-19, they can file a request before the French government for what we call partial activity."

In March 2020, the Australian Human Rights Commission released an extensive report on sexual harassment in the workplace in Australia that included 55 recommendations on how the situation can be improved.

With an aging population and a growing number of older people out of the workforce, Persian Gulf states and other countries in the Middle East have started to address the issue of underemployment of older individuals.

Employers have had to adapt to the new reality of the pandemic.

As the pandemic drags on and the social and economic toll continues to rise, businesses have had to adapt to the new reality, and the government has had to find ways to support employees and employers.

In a recently litigated case, a court upheld an employer's video surveillance of a worker suspected of lying about a shoulder injury.

Some companies around the world are offering to pay their employees in cryptocurrencies, a controversial and complicated choice that can cause problems for workers.

Organizations are working to encourage Turkish women who want to become entrepreneurs, as well as those who have already started their own companies.

In Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), nearly 90 percent of the population are expatriates, while in Cairo, 95 percent are locals. Yet the workforces of both cities are dealing with the same issue: a critical lack of affordable housing for middle-income employees.

An Australian bill would protect employees who engage in an "industrial action" for the purposes of opposing climate change.

The number of older employees in the Irish workforce has doubled in the last 20 years, making it more likely that a workplace will have a more age-diverse workforce.

In Turkey, women struggle to crack the glass ceiling and advance into higher managerial or executive positions, and the issue isn’t just anecdotal; it’s widespread.

A new United Arab Emirates (UAE) policy extends to expat husbands work-permit options that have long been available to expat wives.

Cultural and political trends in Saudi Arabia are changing the reality for working women.

Workers’ sabbaticals hold potential benefits and risks for companies.

In 2020, a law in Portugal pertaining to paid parental leave will change, thanks to an amendment passed in September.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has begun implementing a more stringent application of its existing UAE Labor Law market testing process, with the goal of prioritizing the hiring of nationals.