Better Know A Strange Labor Law: France

This is the third installment of our new series "Better Know A Strange Labor Law".
You can find the previous installments here.

(Please also read the disclaimer at the bottom of this post)

Another disclaimer
This post is not really about a specific labor law, but rather about a habit that has legal implications. And it's pretty strange.

France: The Country
France, also called the Hexagon, is situated in western Europe and is one of the founding members of the European Union. They have the bomb, the president is now married to an Italian supermodel and they call a byte "un octet". Their English is usually not too good but their bread is incredibly yummy. Never compare Rugby to American Football!

France: The Strange Habit
The French love a good strike, especially before or after long weekends.

When on strike against a specific company, the unions like to lay siege to the headquarters, keeping the members of senior management inside the building until an agreement has been reached. Their hostages get water and food, but they have to sleep in their offices and can't take showers or change clothes. This can last several days.

Taking HR Hostage
But here's another strategy: instead of occupying the top floor, the unions take the HR department hostage. And since they're already there, they make copies of the personnel files to pass the time. After all, this could be useful for future contract or salary negotiations.

Keep Quiet
According to French law this is of course highly illegal, but it's up to the individual to sue their captors. And since most companies want to avoid additional trouble, they tell their employees to just shut up.

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Disclaimer:
I'm no lawyer. This doesn't constitute in any way, shape, form or size legal advice. People tell me stuff. If they seem nice, I assume that they know what they're talking about. If you really need serious advice, contact a lawyer.
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Better Know A Strange Labor Law: Portugal

This is the second installment of our new series "Better Know A Strange Labor Law".

(Please also read the disclaimer at the bottom of this post)

Portugal: The Country
Situated in Europe on the Iberian peninsula with a population of almost 11 million. All cab drivers are fluent in sign language and some understand English. Great country if you love meat, almost all dishes are served with fries AND rice. According to a former employee, TAP (the national airline) stands for "Take Another Plane". Great weather!

Portugal: The Strange Labor Law
If your company intends to start doing business in Portugal, here's one important thing to know: There's no termination period for the employer.

This doesn't mean that you can tell your employees to go home and the next day their employment contract will have disappeared. This means that you can't fire anybody. An employee can resign with a 1 month resignation period in the 2 first years of employment and 2 months afterwards.

The employer has the following choices:

• offer money and beg the employee to leave (also known as "mutual consent")
• fire the employee for gross misconduct (also known as "for cause" or "good luck proving that")
• fire the employee, pay up to 6 months salary AND risk to be forced to reinstate the employee (also known as "abusive dismissal" or "back to square one")

Impact On Labor Market
The consequence is that most companies only offer fixed-term contracts (can be extended 2x within 2 years) or hire their workforce through temp agencies.

Unfortunately, this is another example of a labor law that was meant to protect employees but is probably doing more harm than good.

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Disclaimer:
I'm no lawyer. This doesn't constitute in any way, shape, form or size legal advice. I'm just babbling. I got most of my information from fortune cookies. If you really need serious advice, contact a real lawyer. But first make sure he is sober.

Disclaimer re: the Disclaimer:
I have nothing against lawyers. But I thought that it would be fun to say something bad about them since everybody seems to hate lawyers. Especially my friends who went through a divorce.
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Better Know A Strange Labor Law: Italy

This is the first installment of our new series "Better Know A Strange Labor Law".

The labor laws in your own country may not always make sense to you, but at least you're used to them. If you start working in another country however, you will encounter labor laws which may seem a bit strange.

(Please also read the disclaimer at the bottom of this post)

Italy: The Country
Italy is a country in Southern Europe and looks like a boot. The Italians (back then Romans) were famous for their bloody entertainment long before Hollywood (gladiators and lions). Italians are crazy about football but you mustn't mention the word "soccer". Awesome food, beautiful women, great weather.

Italy: The Crazy Labor Law
"Trattamento Di Fine Rapporto" (TFR) is difficult to translate, but "end-of-service payment" comes quite close.

If an employee leaves your company, you will have to pay the equivalent of roughly one monthly salary per year of service. Some consider this a severance payment, but the money is also due in case of resignation.

If you start a company in Italy, make sure that your local adviser doesn't only explain the costs for base salary, social security and pension, but also ask him about the different mandatory accruals and their consequences.

Since 2007 companies with 50 or more employees must pay the TFR into a pension fund, which is easier to understand.

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Disclaimer:
I ain't no lawyer. This doesn't constitute in any way, shape, form or size legal advice. I got all my information from Google ads and TV commercials. If you really, really need serious advice, contact a lawyer. But first tell him your favorite lawyer joke. If he laughs, find a real lawyer.