Croatia
Increases parental leave benefits
Effective from 1st March 2025, new measures were brought in to increase leave and financial benefits for parents.
The key changes that will impact employers include:
Benefit payment during parental leave increasing from EUR 995 per month to a maximum benefit of EUR 3,000 per month. Secondary parents who take two months of leave will also benefit from this increase. The leave needs to be taken before the child turns eight.
Paternal leave will increase from ten days to twenty days. For multiple births, the increase will be from fifteen days to thirty days. This leave will be paid at full pay and must be taken within six months of birth.
Source: expatincroatia.com
Hungary
Amends employee leave policies
Effective from 1st March 2025, changes have been made to leave policies within Hungary.
The key changes are:
- Paternity leave remains at ten working days, however, leave can now be taken up until the end of the fourth month following birth or the final adoption confirmation, instead of the previous two-month eligibility period. Leave can still be taken in a maximum of two instalments.
- Overtime pay on public holidays must be compensated at 100% of salary and can no longer be substituted with 50% of salary and an additional day off at a later date.
Source: krs.hu
Malta
Increases urgent family leave
Effective from 4th April 2025, the entitlement for urgent family leave will increase.
Previously, employees were entitled to 15 hours of urgent family leave, however, this is changing to an entitlement of 32 hours leave.
16 hours will be deducted from employees’ annual leave entitlement, while the remaining 16 hours will be deducted from sick leave. This is subject to availability of both leave balances.
Source: dier.gov.mt
Thailand
Introduces the Employee Welfare Fund
Effective from 1st October 2025, employers with 10 or more employees will be required to register for the Employee Welfare Fund (EWF).
If the employer provides a provident fund or any other comparable benefit, they may be exempt from the EWF to avoid duplicating coverage. Contributions of at least 2-15% of salary must be paid into the provident fund to fall into the exemption.
For those who are required to register with the fund, contributions will be staggered:
- From October 2025 – September 2030, a 0.25% contribution is required
- From October 2030, a 0.5% contribution is required
Contributions are matched by the employee.
For companies who are non-compliant, a penalty of a 5% surcharge per month on the unpaid amounts will apply. There may also be fines of up to THB 10,000, or up to 6 months in prison for employers who fail to submit the required forms or required changes or provide false information.
Source: omnihr.co
Slovakia
Increases meal allowance amounts
Effective from 1st April 2025, the meal allowances set by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs have increased.
Meal allowances payable when on a business trip have been set as follows:
- EUR 8.80 for trips of 5-12 hours
- EUR 13.10 for trips of 12-18 hours
- EUR 19.50 for trips over 18 hours
The change also affects the amount of the meal allowance provided to employees whilst at their workplace through meal vouchers or a financial allowance.
The minimum value of meal vouchers will increase from EUR 6.23 to EUR 6.60. The new contribution amounts will be:
- a minimum of EUR 3.63 (55% of the minimum value of the meal voucher, which is EUR 6.60)
- a maximum of EUR 4.84 (i.e. 55% of the meal allowance provided for a business trip between 5 and 12 hours)
The contribution made by the employee matches the same amount the employer contributes to employee meals or meal vouchers.
Source: leitnerleitner.sk
Italy
Introduces catastrophic coverage
The 2024 Budget Law (Article 1 para. 101 – 111 of Law n. 213 of 30.12.2013) introduced the obligation for companies within Italy to take out insurance covering damages caused by natural disasters and catastrophic events.
Effective from 31st March 2025, the requirement to establish a plan will depend on the size of the company. For large companies, the deadline to establish a plan remains as 31st March 2025, for medium companies the deadline is 1st October 2025, small and micro companies have a deadline of 1st January 2026.
The coverage must include damages directly caused by earthquakes, floods, landslides, inundations and overflows. The insurance plan will cover land, building and facilities as well as commercial equipment. Specific coverage must be included on the plan and limits will apply.
Source: roedl.com
Minimum wage increases from February 2025:
Belgium
Announced on 27th February, the minimum monthly wage has increased to EUR 2,111.89 per month, which is EUR 12.82 per hour on a 38-hour working week. This was applied from 1st February 2025.
Source: fairworkbelgium.be
Reminders
United Kingdom
Effective from 6th April, Employer National Insurance (NI) rates were updated. Specifically, the Secondary Class 1 NI rate increased from 13.8% to 15%, and the secondary threshold (the point at which employers pay NICs) decreased from GBP 9,100 to GBP 5,000.
Additionally, the Employment Allowance was increased from GBP 5,000 to GBP 10,500 and the threshold for eligibility was removed.
Source: gov.uk
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