Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that European Union (EU) workers on maternity leave must not lose annual holiday entitlements, even when vacations are fixed for certain dates by collective agreement. The case focused on Merino Gómez, working for Spain’s Continental Industrias when she took maternity leave from May to August 2001.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Labour Organisation (ILO) is developing a comparative database of member countries’ policies and practices regarding wages, working time, work organisation, accommodating life outside work and workplace conditions. The Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL) is creating analytical tools and technical advice to help improve standards in each of these areas.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
STATE guarantee organisations should be allowed to pay insolvent company employees more money than required to cover their basic needs, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. In a case brought against Italy’s National Social Welfare Institution (INPS), the court also said national laws should not order deductions from guarantee fund handouts where a failed business paid its employees some money while eing wound up.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament has approved a new directive that will remove red-tape immigration rules for workers and their families moving from one European Union (EU) member country to another. The legislation gives any employed or self-employed EU citizen the right to live in any EU country and tells governments to abolish rules requiring these migrants to obtain local identity cards.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament’s environment committee has proposed amendments to a new European Union energy efficiency directive, that would force the European Commission to introduce tough electricity consumption standards for office equipment, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems. These rules would be introduced within a year of the directive coming into force.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
CORPORATE directors in Canada are bracing themselves for accounting scandals in their own companies, according to a survey by KPMG. Of 116 directors surveyed, 46 per cent said it was possible their own boards could face problems of financial misconduct while only 54 per cent were confident they would not encounter incidences of financial manipulation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN INTERNATIONAL Internet crime treaty, insisting that 45 countries criminalise computer-based fraud, has come into force following its ratification by Lithuania, the fifth country to do so. The Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention covers most European countries, including Russia and other former Soviet republics.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has avoided proposing outright bans on statutory auditors carrying out additional work for client companies, although tabled reforms to EU auditing rules insist auditors avoid conflicts of interest. A proposed directive orders auditors or audit firms to be “independent from the audited entity and not in any way involved in management decisions.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is assembling a crack anti-fraud team from amongst specialist legal practices worldwide, tasked with offering advice to victims of commercial deception, money laundering and cybercrime. This Fraudnet group would help victims prosecute fraudsters and recover lost property.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BELEAGUED European Union (EU) anti-fraud unit OLAF will have to argue its corner over reforms to its operation, now formally tabled by European Commission president Romano Prodi. When announcing his intention to force OLAF to divulge details of its investigations last October, following the Eurostat scandal, the fraud unit said it opposed changing its procedures, which would cause disruption.…