Global HR Newsletter

Pay Transparency Act

Employers are required to publish reports on gender pay gaps. The requirement commenced on 1 November 2024 for employers with 1000 or more employees in BC. For employers with 300 or more employees, the deadline is 1 November 2025, and for employers with 50 or more employees, the deadline is 1 November 2026.

International Credentials Recognition Act

From 1 July 2025, BC employers will be prohibited from requiring ‘Canadian experience’ in job adverts.

Mandatory terms & conditions of employment: effective from 1 July 2025.

Ontario employers with 25 or more employees are required to provide new hires with written employment details before their first day of employment (to include the employer's legal name, contact details, place of work, wage rate, pay period, pay day, description of work duties).

Ontario job posting requirements: effective from 1 January 2026

• Employers with 25 or more employees need to include the following in job adverts.
• Expected rate of pay or a range (but the range can’t exceed $50,000). Only applies to roles with a salary up to CAD 200,000 per year.
• Details of the use of AI in candidate screening.
• Posting is for an existing vacancy.

The rules do not apply to general recruitment campaigns or internal postings, or for positions where the work is performed outside of Ontario.

Also, from 1 January 2026, employers will be required to notify applicants within 45 days of their last interview about the hiring decision.

Francisation requirements apply to employers with 25 employees – effective from June 2025

From 1 June 2025, Quebec employers with 25 or more employees will be subject to francization requirements, including the requirement to register with Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) and to demonstrate that French is used in the workplace. Currently, the requirements apply to employers with 50 or more employees.

Medical certificates for the first three absences of three days or less per year – effective from 1 January 2025

Bill 68 prohibits an employer from requiring an employer from requesting a medical note for the first periods of absence “not exceeding three consecutive days taken over a 12-month period”.

An employer is also prevented from requesting a medical note if the employee is absent to provide care to a child, a relative or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver.

The approach follows that taken by Ontario, where an employer is no longer permitted to require a medical note for the first three days of a sickness absence. Instead, the employer can request ‘reasonable evidence’, which can include self-attestation.

Ban on post-termination non-competes proposed

On 25 March, the Federal Government’s budget announcement included a proposal to prohibit post-termination non-competes. The ban would ensure that provisions restricting a departing employee’s ability to work for a competitor or by themselves in competition with their previous employer would be prohibited if they earned less than the high-income threshold at the time of their termination (currently $175,000 per year). Substantive details are missing, such as a timeline (possibly 2027) and whether the non-solicitation clause will also be captured by the changes.

Rate changes effective from 1 April 2025

Increase to Adult Minimum Wage: The adult minimum wage (for employees aged 16 years and older) will increase from NZD 23.15 to NZD 23.50 per hour. Meanwhile, the starting-out and training minimum wage rates are set to rise from NZD 18.52 to NZD 18.80 per hour. Employers will need to ensure that any employees currently earning below these new thresholds receive the appropriate adjustment in their pay.

Changes to ACC Earner Levy Rate: The ACC Earner Levy rate is set to increase from 1.6% to 1.67% for the 2025-2026 tax year. Additionally, the maximum liable earnings threshold for the ACC Earner Levy will increase from NZD 142,283 to NZD 152,790 (any income above this amount will not be subject to the ACC Earner Levy).

Employer Superannuation Contribution Tax: ESCT thresholds will also be adjusted for the 2025-2026 tax year.

New parental leave starting from April 2025

From 1 April 2025, working fathers with Singapore citizen children born on or after 1 April 2025 will be entitled to four weeks of Government Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL). Currently, the entitlement is only two weeks (with a further two weeks provided at the employer’s discretion).

Also, from 1 April 2025, the current shared parental leave scheme will be replaced with a new scheme offering 10 weeks of paid leave to be shared between the parents. The leave is in addition to the GPPL benefits. It should be noted that the new scheme is being rolled out in two phases – from 1 April 2025, the entitlement will initially be limited to six weeks, and then from 1 April 2026, parents will be entitled to the full 10 weeks.

Changes to CPF contribution rates announced

Effective January 2026, contributions to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) for individuals aged 55 and over will increase. For individuals aged 55 to 60, the employer contribution will increase from 15.5% to 16%, and the employee contributions will increase from 17% to 18%. Individuals aged 60 to 65 will have their contributions increased from 11.5% to 12.5% and the employer contribution is to increase to 12.5% from 12%.

Passing of the workplace fairness bill

The much-heralded Workplace Fairness Bill (WFB), which creates additional protections for employees based on an extensive list of protected characteristics requires the passing of a second bill before it can become law – it is anticipated that the second bill will be published later this year, and the new law will be active in late 2026.

Changes to official job codes

Employers in Bulgaria are required to specify official job codes in employment contracts. The codes are listed in the National Classification of Professions and Positions 2011. The list has recently been updated with 21 new job positions, including an oenologist, energy efficiency expert, communication systems technician, tourist agent, concierge, book seller, etc. Additionally, the names of some roles have been amended as a result of the latest revisions. Employers are advised to refer to the latest listing when drafting new employment contracts.

Employers should also be aware that the current system of paper records of employment is being replaced with electronic records via a national register forecasted to become live in June 2025.

Digital employment contracts from 1 January 2025

Wet inked signatures on hard copy documents has been a key requirement of employment contracts and their supporting documents. The Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (BEG IV) changes this position.

Effective from 1 January 2025 the rules relating to employment contracts have been relaxed allowing for an electronic format and conditional on the following applying:

• The document must be accessible to the employee – this can be achieved by emailing the document to the employee’s private email address whereupon they can save or print it themselves.
• The employer must request that the employee provide proof of receipt (i.e. acknowledge by return email).
• The document no longer requires a handwritten signature, a scanned signature will be sufficient.

Note that there are exceptions to the new law where the old rules will still apply, such as for certain sectors (construction, hospitality, freight, meat processing industries etc), when a collective agreement requires it, for fixed term employment, agreements covering post termination non competes, and agreements with interns.

Also from 1 January 2025 employment reference letters can be provided in electronic format with the consent of the employee. The relaxation is a welcome development given the formalities that employers have had to deal with (wet ink signatures on unfolded paper).

Parental leave system overhaul?

In a recent announcement the French government has indicated that the current parental leave system will be replaced by a new birth leave which will provide 6 months paid leave which can be taken by both parents at the same time or successively and either full time or part time paid by the social security at  50% of the employees last pay capped at euro 1800 and supplemented by payments from the employer. Details on the provisions or an effective date have yet to be released.

Tax exemption for mothers

Starting in October 2025, there will be a phased introduction of a tax exemption scheme for women who have had children which for some women will provide a lifetime exemption not income tax. The scheme will first apply to women with three children, and will be expanded from January 2026 to women who are younger than 40 who have two children. From January 2027 the regime will include mothers aged 40 to 50, from January 2028, mothers aged 50 to 60 and from January 2029 to mothers aged over 60. The legislation has yet to receive approval from parliament.   

Gender pay gap reporting

EU countries are currently transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive into domestic law. Ireland has been an early adopter of the gender pay gap requirements under the Directive – organisations with 150 or employees had to report on their gender pay gap by December 2024. In 2025, the requirements to report are extended to employers with 50 or more employees, and the deadline has been brought forward 5 months to November.

As a reminder, the report requires an employer to publish the following.

• The difference between the mean and median hourly pay for male and female employees.
• The difference between the mean and median bonuses paid to male and female employees.
• The percentage of men and women receiving bonus payments.
• The number of men and women falling into four pay bands (lowest to highest paid).

Non-compete rule changes

The Netherlands joins a growing list of countries looking to change the rules on post-termination non-competes. However, rather than prohibit their application completely, the employer will be permitted to use them, conditional on the following applying:

• the maximum duration of the restrictions is one year 
• the employer must clearly stipulate in the employment contract their justification for applying the restriction 
• a geographical limit must be stipulated 
• compensation of at least 50% of the most recently earned salary will be payable for each month of the restriction.

The changes are expected to become law later this year.

Holiday Act under scrutiny

The Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion is reviewing whether the Holiday Act complies with the requirements of the EU Working Time Directive. Under the current legislation, holiday pay accrues during the first year if employment to be paid out in the following year when the holiday is taken. As a result, employees who are new to the job market cannot avail of any paid holiday during the first year of employment. Further updates are expected later this year.

The right to terminate for delayed salary payments 

From 3 April 2025 employees will have the right to unilaterally terminate their employment and claim compensation for unfair dismissal if within a year they have not received three monthly salary payments (don’t have to be consecutive months) or have experienced delays in payments of 6 months (don’t have to be consecutive months). Late payment will be considered a delay if it is more than 15 days late.

A draft bill has outlined a future requirement for employers to record the working time of their employees digitally and in a way that can be accessed by the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate remotely. A breach of the requirements will levy significant fines.

Further detail on the requirements and timelines has yet to be announced.

New meal allowance rates

From the 1st of April 2025, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, and Family of the Slovak Republic will implement changes regarding meal allowance rates. This change will increase the meal allowances provided for employees during business trips on travel reimbursements.

These new meal allowance rates are set as follows:

• Sk 5 to 12 hours – euro 8.80
• Sk 12 to 18 hours – euro13.10s
• Sk 18 hours or greater – euro19.50

The meal allowance is provided for each calendar day of the business trip, and its amount depends on the duration of the business trip on that day.

Meal Vouchers – also from 1st April 2025, the minimum value of a meal voucher will be euro 6.60 (75% of the meal allowance) for a business trip lasting 5 to 12 hours.

Employers are required to contribute at least 55% of the meal price. Since the minimum value of the meal voucher is euro 6.60, the employer’s contribution will need to be at least euro 3.63 from 1st April 2025. The maximum employer contribution is capped at 55% of the meal allowance for a business trip lasting 5 to 12 hours, which means the new maximum employer contribution will be euro 4.8.

Unlawful deductions – two-year backstop  under doubt

Since 1 July 2025, tribunal claims in connection with wages have been subject to a two-year backstop, with the result that an employer could be confident that their liability didn’t stretch back further than this. However, in the recent case of Afshar and others v Addison Lee Limited the Employment Tribunal held that the two-year backstop is ultra vires, and that the employee could claim for losses extending back further than two years. Given that the decision was just a first instance tribunal decision, it is not binding on future cases, but it is an interesting development worth monitoring against future tribunal decisions.

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

From 1 September 2025, employers may be held criminally liable for an employee’s fraud where it is intended to benefit the employer, or in some cases a client, and the employer did not have reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place. Employers are advised to ensure that appropriate staff policies and processes are put in place or existing policies reviewed.

The thorny issue of protected beliefs

In a recent Court of Appeal case (Higgs v Farmor’s School), the court held that the dismissal of an employee for expressing gender critical beliefs was unfair. The claimant in the case was the school’s pastoral administrator and had expressed ‘homophobic and prejudiced views’ on her Facebook page in which she objected to government policy on sex education in primary schools and the perceived promotion of gender fluidity. The posts were posted in the claimant's maiden name, did not refer to the school and were mainly quoted from other sources. The claimant claimed against the school for direct discrimination and harassment on the grounds of religion nor belief.

The Court of Appeal found in the claimant's favour, stating that if an employee is terminated for expressing a religious or other protected belief, this will constitute unlawful direct discrimination. They also commented, however, that if the termination was not due to the belief itself but because of something objectionable inn the way that the belief was expressed (manifestation of beliefs) a termination can be lawful so long as the employer can objectively justify their decision. The burden of proof is on the employer to prove all of the following:

• the employer's action was in response to something objectionable or inappropriate in the way the belief was manifested
• in taking action, the employer had a legitimate aim; it was seeking to protect
• the action taken was proportionate (does the benefit of the action outweigh the potential harm to individual rights, and was there a less intrusive action to meet the same aim).

The forum, context, content and manner of what is said are relevant to what is proportional and the Court in this case held that the termination was not proportionate, given that she was a long serving member of staff and her comments were not grossly offensive and had not negatively impacted the reputation of the school.

The case is a reminder to employers that a broad range of beliefs are capable of protection under the Equality Act, even if they are offensive to others, and their actions need to be considered and proportionate so as to avoid potential risk.

Rate changes effective from 6 April 2025

• National Insurance (social security) Contributions for employers will increase from 13.8% to 15%.
• The salary threshold for when National Insurance Contributions are payable is reduced from £9,100 to £5,000.
• National Minimum Wage will increase: £12.21/hr for those aged 21 years or older (up from £11.44), £10.00/hr for those aged 18-20 (up from £8.60), and £7.55 for apprentices (up from £6.40).
• Statutory Sick Pay increases to £118.75 per week (up from £116.75).
• Maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and bereavement leave pay increases to £187.18 per week (up from £184.03).
• Statutory Redundancy Pay weekly wage cap increases from £700 to £719.

New employment regulations effective from 1 April 2025

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Registration Authority has launched the Employment Regulations 2024, replacing the previous regulations and effective from 1 April 2025.

Key updates

• Definition of employee expanded to include remote employees.
• Contracts of employment to be issued in writing within one month of hire.
• Probationary periods are restricted to six months (for fixed-term contracts lasting six months or less, the probationary period cannot be more than half of the term). Employees are entitled to repatriation flights if terminated during their probationary period. 
• Bigger fines apply to employers who do not cancel work permits promptly, and the cancellation of a work permit for a terminated employee cannot be conditional on them waiving their rights.
• Working hours are limited to 48 hours per week (unless covered by written consent).
• Muslim employees are entitled to a 25% reduction in working hours during Ramadan with no decrease in their wages.
• Paternity leave of five days within two months of birth.
• Maternity leave extended to adoptive mothers and women experiencing stillbirth or miscarriage after 24 weeks.
• Five days of annual leave can be carried forward.
• Employers are required to provide at least seven days’ notice of a requirement to take leave.
• Five days' bereavement leave for the death of a parent, sibling, spouse or child.
• Pregnancy and maternity have been added to the list of protected characteristics.
• Compensation for discrimination/victimisation of up to three years.
• Minimum notice periods: seven days for less than three months' service, 30 days for more than three months' service. Payment in lieu of notice required employee consent.
• All termination payments must be paid within 21 days of the termination date.
• End of Service Gratuity payable regardless of the reason for termination.
• Settlement agreements in which employees waive their rights are still an option, but are now subject to specific criteria, including the requirement for independent legal advice.