United States: Massachusetts Expands Parental Leave Rights for All Employees

The Massachusetts Parental Leave Act (“PLA”) recently expanded to provide parental leave rights to all employees regardless of gender. The PLA takes effect April 7, 2015, and requires employers with six or more employees to provide a minimum of eight weeks of job protected leave to employees for: (1) the birth of a child; (2) the adoption of a child under 18 or under 23 if the child has a mental or physical disability, […]

By | February 18th, 2015 ||

Canada: "Give Me A Raise Or I’ll Quit": Has The Employee Resigned?

It can be surprisingly difficult for an employer to rely on statements such as “I quit” to establish that an employee resigned, particularly if the employee later indicates that they want to return to work. Courts require proof of a clear intention to resign in order to find that an employee terminated their employment. While the statement “I quit” may seem clear, courts will inquire into the circumstances in which the statement was made […]

By | February 17th, 2015 ||

UK: Fit For Work – Is It Fit For Purpose?

According to a 2014 report by the Office of National Statistics, in 2013, 131 million working days were lost due to sickness absence in the UK. Although this represents a slight decline in numbers, it still remains disproportionately high. Successive governments have recognised this issue and have sought to take steps to assist employers. In 2010, the traditional GP’s note was replaced with a ‘Statement of Fitness for Work’. The idea behind the statement […]

By | February 17th, 2015 ||