Global Legislative Update, January 2025
January 9, 2025
The Global Legislative Update for January 2025 provides insights from Mercer consultants around the globe about key legal developments affecting employers’ benefit and human resource programs in various countries. Download the 101-page print-friendly PDF to read the full country-by-country coverage.
Here are some highlights from the latest issue:
Global
- Artificial intelligence: Global employer resources (updated)
- Minimum wage rates: Global employer resources (updated)
- Remote working: Global employer resources (updated)
- Reproductive rights: Global employer resources post Dobbs ruling (updated)
Americas
- Brazil: Measures gradually reintroduce the payroll tax from 2025 to 2027
- Canada: Annual 2025 and 2026 pension limits now effective
- Colombia: Minimum wage increased
- Costa Rica: Minimum wage increased
- Dutch Caribbean: Minimum wage increased in Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius
- Ecuador: Minimum wage increased
- Guatemala: Minimum wage increased
- Mexico: Minimum wage increased
- United States: H-1B visa rule revised to provide employers more flexibility in hiring foreign specialty occupation workers
Asia Pacific
- Australia: Privacy bill receives Royal Assent
- China: Nationwide private pension scheme begins
- Malaysia: Progressive wage policy to move forward in 2025
- Singapore: Shared parental leave entitlement, mandatory paternity leave introduced
- South Korea: Parental leave entitlement to expand
- Taiwan: Changes to National Health Insurance scheme participation issued
- Thailand: Minimum wage increased
EMEA
- European Union: Digital Operational Resilience Act to impose compliance obligations for pension scheme trustees
- Austria: Teleworking law revised
- Belgium: Federal government’s pension reforms effective
- Bulgaria: Minimum wage increased
- Channel Islands: Minimum wage to increase in Jersey
- Croatia: Minimum wage to increase
- Czech Republic: Labor code revised
- Denmark: Parental leave expanded in certain circumstances
- Estonia: Minimum wage increased
- France: Social security ceiling for 2025 set
- Germany: Employment contract bureaucracy reduced
- Greece: Tax exemption for day care and kindergarten costs
- Hungary: Measures increase taxation on company cars
- Ireland: Contributions to personal retirement savings accounts capped
- Israel: Health insurance contributions increased
- Lithuania: Employers must compensate for inability to shorten working day prior to public holiday
- Luxembourg: Minimum wage increased
- Malta: Minimum wage increased
- Moldova: Minimum wage increased
- Morocco: Minimum wage increased
- Namibia: National minimum wage introduced
- Netherlands: Updates on occupational pension reforms
- Poland: Minimum wage increased
- Portugal: Minimum wage increased
- Romania: Minimum wage increased
- Russia: Minimum wage introduced
- Serbia: Minimum wage increased
- Slovakia: Most employers face sports activity contribution for employees’ children
- Slovenia: Minimum wage increased
- South Africa: New employment measures take effect
- Spain: Mandatory measures for protections of LGTBI individuals
- Switzerland: Minimum wage ordinances struck down in Zürich and Winterthur
- Turkey: Minimum wage increased
- United Arab Emirates: Compulsory health insurance expands to Northern Emirates
- Ukraine: Minimum wage increased
- United Kingdom: Consultation on changes to banking remuneration regime issued
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