As of 1 January 2019, the Ukrainian government increased the minimum statutory monthly wage from UAH 3,723 to UAH 4,173. Additionally, Ukraine increased financial penalties against employers who breach employment laws, such as failure to pay salaries in a timely […]
Amendments are in progress to the Enforcement Decree of the Insurance Business Act and the Regulation on the Supervision of Insurance Business to capture and encourage online insurance exchange platforms, streamlining processes and reducing costs for individuals and groups seeking […]
As of 1 January 2019, pension coverage has been extended to the self-employed and liberal professions through new supplementary pension schemes. Article 8 of the new pension reform law has, since 21 August 2018, reduced the maximum period of employment […]
On 12 December 2018, the Hungarian parliament adopted amendments to the Hungarian Labor Code to address the country’s growing labor shortage and improve economic growth. The amendments went into effect 1 January 2019. The most controversial change is to the […]
Effective 18 January 2019, the Employment (Amendment No. 3) Ordinance 2018, increased Hong Kong statutory paternity leave from three days to five days. The daily rate of statutory paternity leave pay (80 percent of the daily average wages of the […]
Hong Kong’s Executive Council recently approved a statutory minimum hourly wage increase of 8.7 percent, or HKD 3.00, per hour. If approved by the Hong Kong Legislative Council, the minimum hourly wage would rise from HKD 34.50 to HKD 37.50 […]
Effective 1 January 2019, new provisions have been introduced to regulate employment contracts for specific, non-permanent work or services. Employees under this type of employment contract will have the following rights: 15 days of paid annual leave when the work […]
Effective 1 January 2019, the Bahrain government passed a new Value Added Tax (VAT) law under Royal Decree No. 48 of 2018. This introduced a VAT at a 5 percent standard rate on goods and services that are not exempt […]
On 1 April 2017, the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 took effect, increasing paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for companies with at least 10 employees. The act also required employers with 50 or more employees to […]
After a bull run that lasted 10 years, 2018 has seen most world equity markets finish with negative returns (expressed in Canadian dollars, except for the US market). However, global bonds and some alternative investments, such as global infrastructure and […]