On 28 February 2019, the Supreme Court of India ruled that special allowances will be included in the scope of basic wages and shall therefore be subject to Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributions. This issue has been subject to extensive […]
In March 2019, the government of China released social insurance policies that reduced the employers’ contribution to basic pension insurance from 20% of an employee’s salary down to 16%. This change takes effect 1 May 2019. China has one of […]
The government of Hong Kong passed a law increasing the maximum tax-deductible limit for voluntary contributions to Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF). The tax-deductible limit was raised from HKD 36,000 to HKD 60,000 per year per person. This legislation, the Inland […]
The Indian government passed the 2019 interim tax budget, which increased the standard deduction limit from INR 40,000 to INR 50,000. The change took effect on 1 April 2019. The standard deduction was initially introduced in the 2018 tax budget […]
Update: The changes listed in this article are now in force as of 5 May 2019. Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly (NLA) approved a draft amendment to the Labor Protection Act that increases maternity leave, personal leave and statutory severance pay. […]
During the 2019 budget vote, the French government passed a healthcare bill called “100 percent santé,” which provides full reimbursement through social security and supplementary health insurance for dental prostheses, optical devices and hearing aids. These changes will enter into […]
The Canadian government passed Bill C-86, the Budget Implementation Act of 2018, No. 2, which amends the Canadian Labor Code and the Employment Insurance Act. Bill C-86 creates pay equity legislation and introduces substantial changes to leave and termination policies. […]
On 7 February 2019, the government of the Czech Republic passed Act No. 32/2019, which decreases social security contributions and allows employees to have paid sick leave beginning with their first day of absence. The new act, which amends the […]
Amendments to the Labor Act increased both the minimum wage and the severance payment rates. The gross monthly minimum wage rate for 2019 increased from TRY 2,029.50 to TRY 2,558.40. The new rate applies to all industries except for the […]
The Thai cabinet has approved two additional paid public holidays for 2019: The Songkran (Thai New Year) holiday for 2019 is extended from four days to five days, from 12-16 April, due to 13 April falling on a Saturday. 6 […]