The government of Israel recently introduced a health insurance reform establishing a comprehensive Private Medical Insurance (PMI) framework that creates a uniform structure for basic health policy.
The new circular entered into effect on 1 May 2023.
The new circular is expected to come into effect on 1 May 2023.
The government of Oman recently issued Royal Decree 52/2023 (the “New Law”) promulgating the Social Protection Law, which extends certain social protection benefits—including maternity leave, paternity leave, work injury, and sick leave—to foreign workers.
The New Law is effective from 20 July 2023, but its provisions will enter into effect on different dates between July 2023 and July 2026. Companies will receive additional guidance via the implementing regulations expected to be released in the coming months.
With the rise of technology, work from home has been a steadily growing trend for many years. Remote working has exploded since Spring 2020 with quarantines, workplace closures and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at least for jobs and industries that do not always require workers to be on-site.
This abrupt worldwide shift to remote work has sparked new logistical and structural legal challenges that have warranted many countries to pass teleworking legislation, some of which are summarized in this article.
On 31 August 2023, the Argentinian government passed Emergency Decree 438/23 mandating private and public sector employers pay employees earning ARS 400,000 or less a one-time tax-free allowance of up to ARS 60,000. The exact, final amount will depend on the employee’s net monthly salary.
The allowance must be paid in two equal installments: the first installment must be paid within 15 days from 31 August 2023 and the second installment must be paid with the salary of the month of September 2023.
The Romanian government recently passed a new law introducing two additional annual paid public holidays on 6 January and 7 January for the feast days of the Epiphany and Saint John the Baptist, respectively.
Law no. 52/2023 entered into effect on 9 March 2023 and the new public holidays will apply to all employees in Romania starting from 2024.
On 22 June 2023, the Australian government passed the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Bill 2023 expanding unpaid parental leave entitlements to ease leave restrictions on employee couples.
The French government recently passed amendments to the Labor Code increasing government-paid bereavement leave following the passing of an employee’s child, as well as government-paid leave that may be taken following the diagnosis of a child’s disability or serious health condition.
The amendments entered into effect on 19 July 2023.
The Spanish government passed legislation transposing the European Union (EU) Directive 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers into local law. Royal Decree Law 5/2023 entered into effect on 30 June 2023 and introduces, among other provisions, unpaid parental care leave, paid force majeure leave, and extensions to current carers’ leave provisions and other existing leaves.
On 12 June 2023, the National Assembly of the South African Parliament passed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill (the “Bill”). The Bill aims to establish a universal healthcare system supported by a National Health Insurance Fund (the “Fund”). As it stands, the Fund is expected to be financed by monthly employee payroll contributions and through general tax increases.
The Bill has advanced to the next stage and has been referred to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for review and possible revisions. Once final, the Bill will be sent to the President for assent.
Lockton’s global benefits experts have compiled information on flu vaccines to assist multinational employers in evaluating the ability to provide preventive treatment to their global workforce.