The Norwegian government passed new legislation introducing the right for all employees (including low-paid workers and part-time employees) to participate in their employer’s existing private occupational pension scheme.
The legislation entered into effect on 1 January 2022, with an adjustment period to allow for gradual implementation by 30 June 2022.
The Irish government passed legislation mandating that employers with a minimum of 50 employees report and publish information on their gender pay differentials.
The Mexican government recently published two decrees amending several provisions of the Mexican Federal Labor Law to allow all employees to take necessary unpaid time off to participate in the country’s presidential “revocation of mandate” process and to mandate employers to consider the use of technology and other creative work tools when the nature of employees’ work may result in their death or serious health issues. The decrees entered into effect on 28 April 2022.
The Egyptian Senate recently approved a draft labor law that would create new benefits and expand existing benefits for employees. Some provisions include increasing maternity leave, creating a new severance requirement and increasing sick leave benefits. draft law will need to be approved by both houses of Parliament and signed by the president before entering into effect. If passed, the draft labor law would replace the current labor law of 2003.
The New Zealand government passed new legislation introducing a 12th public holiday to commemorate Matariki. The new public holiday aims at honoring those who have lost their lives since the last rising of Matariki as well as celebrating the present and looking forward to the future. The legislation entered into effect on 6 April 2022. In 2022, the additional holiday will fall on 24 June 2022.
The Romanian government recently introduced a proposal aimed at boosting private sector employees’ work-life balance and increasing productivity by giving employees the option to ask their employers for a four-day workweek. The proposed amendment to the Romanian labor code still needs to be debated in the senate and discussed by the Chamber of Deputies before it is passed. The implementation date of this change will depend on the length of the legislative process.
The Finnish parliament recently adopted a bill introducing a government-paid pregnancy leave and an unpaid carer’s leave, as well as equalizing family leave entitlements between both parents, including same-sex couples and adoptive parents. The family leave reform entered into effect on 1 August 2022, and applies to births from 4 September 2022 and placements for adoption on or after 31 July 2022.
Update: On 30 March 2022, the British Columbia government passed new amendments to the paid sick leave provisions: Made sick leave available to employees in each calendar year instead of the employment year (marked by the employee’s anniversary date). This […]
The Kingdom of Bahrain recently introduced a new law increasing the value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services from 5% to 10%. The new VAT rate entered into effect on 1 January 2022, with a one-year transition period. Background VAT […]
The German government recently increased the statutory minimum wage from EUR 9.60 per hour to EUR 9.82 per hour on 1 January 2022. Two additional increases will occur in 2022: From the current EUR 9.82 per hour to EUR 10.45 […]