The government of Mozambique passed Labor Law No. 13/2023 introducing several changes, including increases in maternity leave, paternity leave, and annual leave entitlements.
The changes entered into effect on 21 February 2024.
The Hong Kong Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, which focuses on progressively increasing statutory annual paid public holidays from 13 days to 17 days by 2030, entered into effect on 5 March 2021. The first of the five additional public holidays, the Birthday of Buddha, became effective in 2022. The second one, which falls on the first weekday after Christmas, will become available to employees in December 2024.
UPDATE: From 1 July 2024, government-paid combined gender-neutral parental leave will increase from 20 weeks to 22 weeks. Parental leave entitlements will increase again to 24 weeks from July 2025 and 26 weeks from July 2026.
The Bahraini government recently introduced legislation (Edict 109 of 2023) requiring private sector employers to participate in a government program to fund and deliver the mandatory End of Service Gratuity (EOSG) payments for expatriate (non-Bahraini) employees.
On 10 January 2024, the government of Karnataka released compulsory gratuity insurance rules, 2024 (the “Rules”), mandating that businesses in Karnataka, covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, obtain an insurance policy to cover their gratuity liabilities.
High-performing organizations feature engaged workforces that are motivated by the connection employees feel towards their work, teams, leadership, and organization as a whole. And the digital technologies that are a central part of modern life can strengthen that connection while giving employees greater flexibility in when and where they perform their work. For this greater connectivity to promote positive engagement, employees also need to know that they can safely disconnect and recharge, which is only possible when organizations communicate reasonable expectations around working outside of normal working hours, including monitoring and responding to communications (emails, chats, posts, etc.).
On 29 November 2023, the French government passed the Profit-Sharing Act requiring companies with 11 to 49 employees to implement a profit-sharing scheme effective from 1 January 2025. This program is set to run as a five-year trial and will then be reassessed by the government to determine if the profit-sharing obligation for these smaller employers will become permanent and in what format.
On 12 February 2024, the Australian Federal Parliament passed the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023, which introduces, among other changes, a right for all employees to disconnect outside of working hours.
The right to disconnect will enter into effect 6 months after the legislation receives royal assent (expected soon) for businesses with at least 15 employees and 18 months after royal assent for businesses with fewer than 15 employees.
We invite you to participate in the inaugural Global Benefits Strategy for Multinational Employers Survey. By participating in the survey here, you will receive survey data, summaries of analysis, and cuts of data relevant to you and your business – all at no cost! Results will be sent to you in early summer 2024.
The Ukrainian parliament recently adopted a new law introducing certain limitations to employment rights as a response to the presidential Decree No. 64/2022, which declared martial law in Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
“On Organizing of Employment Relations During Martial Law” (the “Law”) entered into effect on 15 March 2022 and is expected to apply until 13 May 2024, as extended by the Ukrainian President.