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Here’s your quick world tour of the biggest benefits changes this quarter—from Japan hardwiring flexibility for parents to Poland switching on pay transparency.
🇪🇬 Egypt: Raising the floor on family leave
Egypt’s new Labour Law (No. 14/2025) took effect on 1 September, replacing a framework that had been in place since 2003. The new rules touch everything from contracts and leave to dispute resolution — bringing more clarity and formality for employers.
Here are the headline changes for benefits:
- Maternity leave extended to 120 days (up from 90)
- Paid paternity leave: one day on the day of birth
- Annual leave clarified: 15 days (year one), 21 days (after year one), 30 days (after 10 years)
- Emergency leave increased to 7 days
Ben’s take:
These shifts lift the baseline for family and flexible-work benefits and will influence how employer’s can position top-ups (e.g., extra paid days or remote-work support) to remain competitive.
🇯🇵 Japan: Flex becomes mandatory for parents
From 1 October, employers must offer parents of children from 3 to school entry age at least two flexible working options. That could mean telework minimums, adjusted hours, short-time work, or extra childcare leave.
This is phase two of Japan’s Child Care and Family Care Leave reforms. The aim: make work-life balance more than words on paper.
For employers, that means:
- Reviewing policies and manager training
- Updating scheduling tools so flexibility is real, not theoretical
- Preparing for more concrete employee requests (telework blocks, short-hours, childcare days)
Ben’s take:
This hardwires flexible work into the benefits baseline, so expect more concrete requests for telework blocks, short-hours or extra care days.
🇲🇾 Malaysia: EPF extended to non-citizens
From October, non-Malaysian employees (and their employers) must make mandatory contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). Until now, this contribution has been optional for non-citizens.
This means:
- Both employer and employee must contribute 2% of monthly wages
- First payments are due by 15 November.
Ben’s take:
Extending EPF to non-Malaysian employees gives migrant and mobile workers a baseline of retirement security—an important development in ensuring some support for a diverse workforce.
🇵🇱 Poland: Pay transparency goes live
Poland is the second EU country (after Malta) to adopt nationwide pay-transparency rules under the EU Directive. From 24 December 2025, employers must:
- Disclose proposed pay (range or amount) in job ads
- Use gender-neutral job titles and language
- Stop asking about current or past pay
Ben’s take:
This is a meaningful step toward greater pay transparency and fairer, more comparable offers—and we’ll keep watching as more countries move toward the EU’s 7 June 2026 transposition deadline.
👉 If you’re navigating pay transparency across Europe, see how Ben’s TRS product helps you stay compliant while building trust.
🇺🇸 United States (Nebraska): Paid sick leave joins the map
Nebraska’s Healthy Families and Workplaces Act kicks in 1 October 2025. Employees will accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Annual use is capped at:
- 56 hours (employers with 20+ staff)
- 40 hours (employers with 11–19 staff)
- Small employers (≤10 staff) are exempt
Ben’s take:
A clear statewide floor for sick time makes benefits fairer and more predictable, complementing health cover and wellbeing support. It also helps multi-state employers align PTO and sick-pay design across their workforce.
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