Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are entitled to minimum employment rights.

Working hours

Maximum daily and weekly working hours are 8 hours per day and 44 hours per week. Overtime pay is required for hours worked in excess of these limits. These limits may be inapplicable to employees who perform direction and leadership duties, duties of inspection, or provide direct support to the employer, teleworking employees and for other employees who regularly perform their duties away from the workplace , without the immediate control of their manager or performance of work which, by its nature, can only be carried out outside the limits of working hours (ie, employees who may be exempt from a work schedule). The corresponding written agreement, ie, the agreement establishing exemption from work schedule for one of the above mentioned reasons) shall be included in the employee’s individual file. Typically, employees under exemption regime are entitled to an exemption bonus.

Overtime

Overtime may occur with an extraordinary increase in workload, to prevent serious damage or if due to force majeure. It is subject to the following maximum limits: (a) 2 hours per day, (b) 40 hours per month and (c) 200 hours per year.

Each hour of overtime work is compensated with additional payment of up to 30 hours per month, corresponding to 50 percent of the value of the normal working hour. Overtime exceeding that limit is compensated with additional payment of 75 percent for each hour.

For purposes of payment for overtime work:

(a) fractions of time of less than 15 minutes are not considered;

(b) fractions of time between 15 and 44 minutes are considered as half an hour;

(c) fractions of time between 45 and 60 minutes are counted as 1 hour;

(d) work performed on the day or half-day of complementary weekly rest is considered a normal working day.

Employees who perform overtime work that prevents them from taking daily rest are entitled to paid compensatory rest equivalent to the hours of rest missed, to be taken on the following working day. Employees who perform overtime work on a mandatory weekly rest day are entitled to a paid compensatory rest day, to be taken on the following working day.

Wages

The minimum wage is established by Presidential Decree. It is set out as a general minimum wage, but there is also a minimum wage for trade and extractive industry groups, transport services and manufacturing groups and agriculture groups. Under the Decree currently in force, the general minimum wage is AOA32,181.15. The following sector-specific minimum wages also apply:

• Trade and extractive industry groups: AOA48,271.73

• Transport services and manufacturing groups: AOA40,226.44 and

• Agriculture groups: AOA32,181.15.

Vacation

Minimum 22 working days per year, plus 12 public national holidays.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to take off as much time as they need for sick leave. In this case, the employer continues to pay the employee’s salary for a period of 6 months, with the right of reimbursement from Social Security. For fixed-term employees, the obligation to pay salary ceases on the date of expiry of the fixed-term contract if the illness continues after that date.

Employees can take up to 8 paid working days of leave per year to provide unavoidable assistance to members of the family, in case of illness or accident of the spouse, parents and children up to the age of 18.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

A pregnant employee is entitled to a paid maternity leave of 3 months. The amount of the maternity allowance is equal to the average of the 2 best monthly salaries from the 6 months preceding the commencement of the maternity leave. The maternity allowance is paid directly by the employer to the employee and, subsequently, the Social Security services reimburses the employer in full. Fathers are not entitled to any paid leave on the birth of a child; it is only considered as a justifiable reason for absence from work for 1 day. The father is also entitled to an unpaid supplementary leave of 7 consecutive or non-consecutive working days.

Fathers are also entitled to replace the mother of their newborn child while on maternity leave in the event of the mother's proven physical or mental incapacity for the duration of the incapacity or in case of mother's death.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as for their wedding; relatives’ death, fulfillment of legal or military obligations which must be performed within the normal working period; attendance to tests by working students; attendance of training, professional proficiency, professional qualification or job conversion courses authorized by the employer; participation in cultural or sporting activities, either in representation of the country or the company or in official contests; the performance of necessary and urgent action in the exercise of leading tasks in labor unions as a union representative or as a member of the employee’s representative body; or the participation of the employee as a candidate to general or municipal elections approved by the competent authority.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

The Labor Employment Contract Law No. 20,744 (LCL) governs the minimum employment rights in Argentina.

Pursuant to Article 3º of the LCL, the law governs everything related to the validity, rights and obligations of the parties, provided the employment contract is performed in Argentina, even if the contract was entered into abroad.

The LCL applies to "workers," which covers not only employees working under an employment contract, but also other individuals who personally perform work or provide services for the employer.

For this purpose, "work" should be understood as any legitimate activity that is provided in favor of someone who has the power to direct that work, through the payment of remuneration for those activities and/or services rendered.

The main factors that tend to indicate that an individual is an employee rather than a worker or self-employed worker are:

• The employee must be available to work for their employer or
• The employer directs and subordinates the employee, appoints the services and duties required and orders the employee to comply with a schedule.

Courts also consider the extent to which the worker depends economically on the income obtained from the alleged employer.

Working hours

The general maximum number of hours is 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week for all employed workers in public or private enterprises. Each extra hour worked above these limits is deemed overtime.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Article 3° of Law No. 11,544, in its subsections a), b) and c), regulates exceptions to the abovementioned maximum limitation on working hours. The limitations do not apply to employees performing duties under the form of a "job team" – that is, working in a special coordinating rotation system – nor to employees performing duties in high-level positions (eg, main managers or directors).

Overtime

Employees in Argentina are allowed to perform overtime. Overtime is only compulsory in cases of danger, accidents or imminent force majeure, or by exceptional demands of the national economy or the company (Article 203° of the LCL).

Overtime must be paid with a surcharge of 50 percent, calculated using the employee's usual salary if the overtime hours were worked during business days, and 100 percent on Saturday after 1pm, Sunday or holidays. In no event may employees work overtime of more than 3 hours per day, 30 hours per month or 200 hours per calendar year.

Wages

The national minimum wage (NMW) is updated regularly by the National Council of Employment dependent of the Ministry of Work, Employment and Social Security (Ministry). The NMW rate as of February 2023 is ARS67.743 per month (by means of Resolution No. 15/2022 of the Labor Ministry).

Most CBAs also provide for a specific minimum wage applicable to employees subject to the CBA.

Vacation

Employees with less than 5 years seniority are entitled to 14 calendar days after 6 months of work. This increases to 21 calendar days for employees with between 5 and 10 years of seniority, 28 days for employees with between 10 and 20 years of seniority and 35 days for employees with more than 20 years of seniority. For employees with less than 6 months of service, employers must grant 1 day of vacation per worked month. Companies should grant vacation to their employees between October 1 to April 30 of the following year.

Sick leave & pay

Sick or accident leave of up to 3 months per year must be provided to employees with less than 5 years of seniority, while 6 months must be granted to employees with seniority of 5 years or more. For employees with "family dependents" – generally understood to be the immediate family that economically depends on the employee’s wage and labor benefits – these periods are doubled to 6 and 12 months, respectively.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Pregnant employees may take leave of 45 days prior to giving birth and up to 45 days after giving birth. However, the employee may choose to reduce the leave prior to giving birth, as long as it is not less than 30 days, and may add those days to the maternity leave period after the birth of the child. In the event of premature birth, the period of the leave that has not been taken before the birth will be added to the leave period after the childbirth. Further, the employee is entitled to earn her gross remuneration, without any withholding contributions made to the social security system, during maternity leave. The ANSES (as defined below) pays the remuneration of employees during maternity leave.

Fathers are entitled to paid leave of 2 consecutive days for the birth of his child. There is no general regulation providing other parental leave after the birth of a child.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as bereavement or compassionate leave (3 days in case of the death of a spouse, parents or child, and 1 day in case of the death of a sibling), marriage (10 days), and study leave (10 days per year).

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Most employees are covered by federal minimum employment rights; a minority derive minimum rights from state jurisdictions.

Working hours

For full-time employees, 38 hours a week, although an employer may require an employee to work reasonable additional hours.

Overtime

Overtime payment – or overtime loading – may be required under an applicable award or enterprise agreement. Employees not covered by an award or enterprise agreement must be paid at least national minimum wage for all hours worked.

Wages

National minimum wage for a permanent adult employee as of July 1, 2021 is AUD772.60 per week or AUD20.33 per hour. Casual employees are entitled to a “casual loading” on top of this amount. It may be permissible to pay junior employees a lower amount. The national minimum wage is reviewed  annually.

Vacation

Four weeks' paid annual (ie, vacation) leave during each year of service, accruing progressively. In addition, an employee is entitled to be absent from work and receive normal pay on a usual workday that is a public holiday; 8 days in total are observed nationally, with additional public holidays in some states and territories. Untaken annual leave is paid out to the employee on termination of employment. Casual employees are not paid for their vacation or public holidays. To make up for this, they receive extra pay, called casual loading.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to 10 days of paid personal or carer's leave for each year of service, with untaken leave accumulating from year to year. An employee may take the leave if they are not fit for work because of personal illness or injury, or to provide support to a member of the employee's immediate family who requires care or support because of personal illness, injury or an unexpected emergency. Personal or carer’s leave is not paid out on termination of employment. Casual employees are not paid for their sick leave. To make up for this, they receive extra pay, called casual loading.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Each member of an employee couple – not necessarily employed by the same employer – is entitled to be absent from work without pay for separate periods of up to 12 months (with each employee's leave generally to be taken as a single continuous period) in relation to the birth or adoption of a child, subject to certain conditions and exceptions. As a result, the couple may take up to a total of 24 months' leave between them. However, if only 1 person is taking leave as opposed to both members of the couple, or if 1 member of an employee couple wishes to take more than 12 months' leave, the employee may request a longer period from the employer. The period of extension cannot exceed 12 months less any period of parental leave taken, or intended to be taken, by the other member of an employee couple. Any extended period of parental leave taken by the 1 member of the couple reduces the amount of leave available to the other member of the couple by the same amount.

If both members of the couple are taking unpaid leave, the leave entitlement must be used in 2 separate periods. However, there are exceptions of "concurrent leave" and "keeping in touch" days, where the couple is entitled to take up to 8 weeks of unpaid parental leave at the same time.

A separate legislative paid parental leave scheme exists, entitling eligible employees to 18 weeks' pay at the national minimum wage during their parental leave, to be paid by the government via employers.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are entitled to minimum employment rights provided by law. In addition, most employees are entitled to minimum rights provided by the applicable collective bargaining agreement (“Kollektivvertrag”). Since in Austria almost every industry branch has its own collective bargaining agreement, minimum rights may differ (eg, minimum wages, annual leave and working time).

Working hours

In general, normal working time consists of 40 hours a week and 8 hours a day. Most collective bargaining agreements provide for a 38.5-hour week. The maximum working time is 60 hours per week and 12 hours per day, according to applicable law. However, working time may not exceed 48 hours per week on a 17-week average.

Overtime

Working overtime is generally permitted; overtime generally accrues if the normal daily or weekly working time is exceeded. Employers and employees must agree whether the overtime is compensated through payment of a surcharge or compensatory time off in lieu of payment. Individual agreements for all-in salaries are generally possible, depending on the individual status of the employee. For all-in salaries agreed after December 31, 2015, the employer is obligated to declare which amount of the salary is for the normal working time (ie, base salary) and which is deemed as overpayment for overtime work. The base salary must be at least the minimum wage according to the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Wages

Mandatory minimum wages provided in collective bargaining agreements, not by law.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to a paid annual leave of at least 5 weeks per working year (on the basis of a 5-day working week, it would amount to 25 working days for each working year). After completing 25 years of service, the paid leave entitlement increases to 6 weeks per working year (on the basis of a 5-day working week, it would amount to 30 working

days for each working year).

Sick leave & pay

Employers are required to provide payment to an employee on sick leave for 6 weeks if the employment relationship has not yet lasted 1 year; 8 weeks if the employment relationship has lasted 1 year; 10 weeks if it has lasted 15 years; and 12 weeks if it has lasted 25 years without interruption; after that period, there is an obligation to pay 1/2 (50 percent) for another 4 weeks.

In case of a work accident or an occupational disease, the employee is entitled to sick payment for 8 weeks. The entitlement increases to 10 weeks of sick payment if the employment relationship has lasted 15 years without interruption.

Note: Once the employee is not entitled to (full) continued payment by the employer, the employee will receive sick pay ("Krankengeld") from the Austrian Health Insurance Fund ("Österreichische Gesundheitskasse” or “ÖGK"). In cases where the employee is entitled to 50 percent remuneration from the employer, they will receive 50 percent of sick pay from ÖGK.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

In general, minimum maternity leave (“Mutterschutz”) starts at 8 weeks before giving birth, according to the calculated birth date by a physician, and ends at 8 weeks after birth. The mother is paid a portion of her wages from social insurance in that period (maternity allowance – “Wochengeld”). As long as the mother is entitled to the maternity allowance, the continued payment of remuneration by the employer is suspended. If the employee lives with the child in the same household, they may take unpaid parental leave with the right to return to work until the child´s 22^nd month of life. If the parental leave will be shared between the parents, the entitlement to parental leave is extended until the child reaches the 24^th month of life. The employee is also entitled to parental leave until the child reaches the 24^th month of life if the employee is a single parent at the time of notification (eg, there is no other parent, or the other parent does not live in the same household) or the other parent is not entitled to parental leave and the employee notifies the employer of the start of parental leave at the earliest 2 months after the end of the maternity leave.

Within 8 weeks of the birth of their child, fathers are legally entitled to a "daddy month." The daddy month is unpaid by the employer, but the employee receives an allowance (family time allowance - “Familienzeitbonus”) from social insurance.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as adoption and foster leave and caregiver and nursing leave. In addition, educational leave may be agreed upon.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees. Additional rights are also available to minor workers (ie, those under the age of 18) and women.

Working hours

The maximum ordinary working hours is 48 hours per week at the rate of 8 hours per day. During the month of Ramadan, the maximum working hours is 36 hours per week at the rate of 6 hours per day.

Overtime

Not to exceed 2 hours per day.

Wages

At present, pursuant to the National Employment and Training Scheme, Bahraini nationals who hold high school diplomas are entitled to a minimum wage of BHD300 monthly. Bahraini nationals who hold diploma degrees are entitled to a minimum wage of BHD380 monthly, and Bahraini nationals who hold university degrees are entitled to a minimum wage of BHD450.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to 30 days' vacation, where the employee's period of service is at least 1 year accrued at a rate of 2.5 days a month. If an employee's period of service is less than 1 year, leave is calculated on a pro-rated basis.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are not entitled to statutory sick leave until they have completed 3 months' service and provided they have proven their sickness with a certificate from a physician approved by the employer. Employees are entitled to 55 days of sick leave per year of service thereafter (ie, 15 days at full pay, 20 days at half pay and the remaining 20 days without pay). The entitlement of a worker to sick leave on full or half pay may be accumulated for a period not exceeding 240 days.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

60 days' maternity leave at full pay. A female employee may take a further 15 consecutive or non-consecutive days without pay.

A male employee is entitled to 1 day of paternal leave at full pay for the birth of their child.

Other leave/time off work

Employees are also entitled to paid or unpaid leave such as bereavement leave, childcare leave, carer leave for a disabled dependent and emergency leave.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are entitled to minimum employment rights, but some categories of employees are excluded from the scope of the legislation on working time and overtime, such as employees with a managerial position or a position of trust, who are strictly defined by royal decree, sales representatives and home workers.

Working hours

Average of 38 hours per week limit on working time. Deviations based on industry level provided in collective bargaining agreements within the competent joint committees.

Overtime

In principle, only allowed in legally defined circumstances and, in some cases, when specific legally defined formalities are met, which vary depending on the legal reason justifying the performance of overtime.

Overtime can moreover only be performed when instructed by the employer. It should be paid or compensated at 150 percent of the normal rate (200 percent for overtime work on Sunday or a bank holiday).

Wages

The national minimum wage currently stands at EUR 1,994.18 per month (pro-rata in case of part-time work). Nevertheless, nearly all joint committees have a minimum wage at industry level that is higher, and generally depends on both the category of function performed by the worker and their professional experience.

Vacation

30 days per year, which includes 10 public holidays; deviations on industry level possible.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are also entitled to sick leave in case of incapacity of work. Employees are entitled to 30 days’ guaranteed remuneration, paid by the employer:

• If the employee is a white-collar worker: the sick pay in principle covers 30 calendar days and is equal to 100 percent of the employee's remuneration

• If the employee is a blue-collar worker: equal to 100 percent of the remuneration during the 1st 7 days, reduced to 85.88 percent of the remuneration from day 8 until day 14 inclusive, further reduced from day 15 until day 30 inclusive

Afterwards, the employees are entitled to disability allowances paid by the National Health Service. 

Maternity/parental leave & pay

15 weeks of maternity leave with deviations in case of multiple births. During leave, allowances paid by the National Health Service (ie, 82 percent of pay for 1st 30 days, then 75 percent); right to return to work and protection against dismissal.

20 days of paternity leave at birth for a child; right to return to work and protection against dismissal. 4 months of full-time parental leave; possibility to take up part-time parental leave (1/2 or 1/5 of working time); right to return to work; protection against dismissal.

Other leave/time off work

There are extensive family-friendly rights allowing employees to take time off work to care for a child (including in the event of an adoption) or to assist a person in need of palliative care or a family member who is suffering from a serious disease. There is now also a (conditional) right to a temporary change of working hours for family reasons in application of the European Directive 2019/1158. Aside from the various family leave types, each sector of industry may determine its own short-term leave (eg, jury duty, weddings, funerals, Holy Communion) and imperative leave types in a sectorial collective bargaining agreement, concluded at the level of the competent sector of industry.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

As a general rule, full-time employees' working hours cannot exceed 8 hours per day or 44 hours per week. Collective bargaining agreements may provide that the employees subject to them will work fewer than 44 hours per week. Certain types of employees are not subject to control of work hours.

Overtime

Maximum 2 hours per day. Compensation for overtime hours must exceed compensation for normal hours by at least 50 percent. Collective bargaining agreements may provide for higher amounts of overtime compensation. It is not possible to make a fixed payment in lieu of overtime.

Wages

Currently, the national minimum wage for 2024 is BRL1,412 per month. Regional minimum salaries and minimum salaries set out in collective bargaining agreements often apply and may be higher.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to remunerated vacations (30 days) for every 12-month period of work, beginning 12 months after their hiring date. The vacation payment is equivalent to 1 month's wage, plus at least 1/3 of the monthly wage. Granting of vacation is subject to specific terms and conditions set forth by law.

Sick leave & pay

The company must pay wages corresponding to the 1st 15 days of sick leave absence. After the 15th day of absence, the employee will be entitled to social security benefits. Collective bargaining agreements may require payments in addition to the social security benefit for a limited period.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Women are entitled to paid maternity leave of 120 days starting on the date of their child’s birth or 28 days before such event. Adopting mothers have the same right. After the birth of a child, fathers are entitled to a paid 5-day leave.

Collective bargaining agreements may set out additional requirements.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as bereavement, marriage, voting, study/exam, military service, participation as representative of a trade union in official meeting of international organization, blood donation, accompanying spouse or partner for up to 6 medical appointments, or in complementary exams, during pregnancy, cancer preventive medical examinations and attending a hearing/judicial notification.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

In most cases, all employees are subject to minimum labor and employment standards legislation. However, there are a number of common exceptions to some or all of these standards based on the nature of the employee's position or work and the employee's qualifications. For example, professionals (eg, lawyers and doctors) are often exempt from some or all of the minimum standards; supervisors and managers are often exempt from hours of work and overtime rules; and various jurisdictions have exemptions for IT professionals or special rules for particular industries.

Working hours

Daily and weekly maximums vary by jurisdiction. Standard working hours are, on average, 40 hours per week.

Overtime

Overtime rules vary by jurisdiction with some jurisdictions having daily overtime thresholds (often 8 hours) and others having weekly overtime thresholds (often 40 to 44 hours per week). Overtime is generally payable at 1.5 times the employee's regular rate and, in some jurisdictions, after a certain threshold is reached, 2 times the employee's regular rate. Overtime eligibility is not restricted to employees paid on an hourly basis. Salaried employees may also be eligible for overtime.

Wages

Minimum wage varies by jurisdiction. In addition, many jurisdictions have different minimum wages for certain categories of employees, such as food servers and students.

Vacation

Amounts and related requirements vary by jurisdiction. In many jurisdictions, vacation entitlement starts at 2 weeks of vacation time following 12 complete months of service; however, vacation pay (eg, a corresponding 4 percent of wages) begins to accrue immediately upon the commencement of employment. In most jurisdictions, vacation entitlement increases to 3 weeks (and 6 percent vacation pay) after 3 to 5 years of service, depending on the jurisdiction. Many employers provide a greater vacation entitlement and allow vacation to be taken in the first year of employment as the vacation time accrues. "Use it or lose it" policies are not permissible in most jurisdictions.

In addition, paid time off for public/statutory holidays is also required, and certain requirements must be met if employees will work on a public/statutory holiday.

Sick leave & pay

Entitlements vary by jurisdiction but are generally without pay. A notable exception is British Columbia, which provides 5 paid sick days to employees. Quebec also provides 2 days, and Prince Edward Island provides 1 day. Employees in certain federally regulated industries are entitled to 10 paid sick days. In addition, a number of provinces have enacted paid sick days specifically related to individuals impacted by COVID-19.

Employees in most jurisdictions have rights to a certain number of days of statutorily protected but unpaid sick leave. Some jurisdictions require a certain number of sick days to be paid, while the remainder is unpaid.

Although not required to do so, many employers provide additional paid sick days as well as short- and long-term disability benefits. Employees without access to such benefits may have the right to claim Employment Insurance sick leave benefits. A number of jurisdictions also provide employees with a certain number of statutorily protected but unpaid days to deal with responsibilities in relation to a family member. Some jurisdictions require a certain number of these days to be paid, while the remainder is unpaid.

Notwithstanding applicable statutory sick leave and family responsibility entitlements, employers also have a duty to accommodate an employee on the basis of, among other things, disability and family status. Therefore, an employer may be required to permit an employee to be absent without pay for more than their statutory sick leave days.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Entitlements differ slightly by jurisdiction. In most jurisdictions, pregnant employees have the right to take pregnancy (ie, maternity) leave of up to 17 weeks (18 weeks in Quebec and 19 weeks in Saskatchewan) of unpaid time off work.

In addition, in most jurisdictions, new parents – whether by birth or adoption – have the right to take unpaid parental leave of between 59 and 65 weeks, depending on the jurisdiction, when a child is born or comes into their care or control for the first time. Parental leave does not need to be commenced immediately upon the birth of the child or when the child first comes into the employee's care or control, and employees in some jurisdictions have up to 78 weeks to start the leave, while in other jurisdictions, the leave must be completed within 78 weeks. Birth mothers who have taken pregnancy leave must commence parental leave immediately after the end of the pregnancy leave in most jurisdictions, except where the child has not yet come into their care, custody or control.

Employers must generally maintain benefits for the pregnancy or parental leave; however, the employee may usually be required to pay their share of the premiums. Subject to certain narrow exemptions, employees have a right to reinstatement at the end of the leave and continue to earn credit for length of service and seniority during the leave.

An employer cannot penalize an employee in any way because the employee is or will be eligible to take a pregnancy or parental leave, or for taking or planning to take a pregnancy or parental leave.

In Quebec, birth fathers are also eligible for up to 5 weeks of unpaid paternity leave, and all employees are eligible for 5 days – 2 of which are paid days – of leave upon the birth or adoption of a child or the termination of a pregnancy.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as bereavement, domestic or sexual violence, voting, compassionate care/family caregiver, family responsibility, critical illness, death or disappearance of a child, military reservist,  etc. These types of leaves, durations of the leaves, and the criteria to qualify for the leaves vary between jurisdictions.

Employers must generally maintain benefits for these leaves as well; however, the employee may usually be required to pay their share of the premiums. Subject to certain narrow exemptions, employees have a right to reinstatement at the end of the leave and continue to earn credit for length of service and seniority during the leave.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Normal working hours cannot exceed 45 hours per week and 10 hours per day. The 45-hour workweek cannot be spread over less than 5 days or more than 6 days. An employee is required to take a 30-minute lunch break, which is not included in working hours. Certain types of employees are not subject to working hour limitations (eg, sales staff that provides services outside the company premises, managers and teleworkers).

However, as of April 26, 2024, the working week may not exceed 44 hours per week. This maximum will decrease to 42 hours in 2026, and 40 hours per week in 2028. 

Overtime

A maximum of 2 hours of overtime is allowed per day. Such overtime must be paid at a rate 50-percent higher than the employee's regular pay. Overtime must be agreed to in writing, and the agreement cannot have a duration that exceeds 3 months.

Wages

CLP460,000 (approximately USD470) is the current statutory minimum salary. Salary is payable on a monthly basis.

Chilean law provides that companies that earn profits in a fiscal year (January 1 to December 31) must share part of such profits with its personnel by distributing 30 percent of net profit, calculated in proportion to the employee's yearly salary. The basis to determine profits is the corporate taxable income, subject to certain adjustments, less 10 percent of net equity. However, the employer may pay a bonus of 25 percent of the yearly salary in lieu of the profit-sharing obligation. In this case, the bonus cannot exceed a maximum of the 4.75 monthly minimum wages (approximately USD2,230) regardless of the level of salary of the employee.

The company and the employees may agree on a different profit-sharing system, provided the payment to the employee is not lower than 1 of the 2 abovementioned alternatives. However, annual performance-based bonuses programs cannot be used to replace this profit-sharing obligation.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to 15 working days (Monday to Friday) paid vacation after 1 year of continuous employment. Employees with 10 or more years of experience receive an additional day of vacation for every subsequent 3 years of service.

Sick leave & pay

There are different regulations for sick leave depending on whether the cause is work related or not.

In work-related sick leave, the remuneration of the employee is paid by the relevant mutual aid fund to which the company is enrolled up to a cap of approximately USD3,170. In such cases, the leave will have the duration prescribed by the relevant physician, up to 52 weeks, which may be extended for another 52 weeks.

In the case of non-work-related sick leave, there is no limit to the number of sick days that employees may take. Employees are paid their normal wage (subject to a cap of approximately USD3,170 per month) through social security subsidies from the 1st day of sickness if the total number of sick days is greater than 10. When the total number of sick days is 10 or fewer, the employee receives subsidies from their 4th day of sickness only. As the subsidies are funded through employee contributions, in order to qualify, the law requires employees (among other requirements) to have paid into the system for a certain amount of time. Sick leave requires a medical certificate.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Mothers receive 210 days of maternity leave paid by a government subsidy. This includes 6 weeks of pre-birth leave, 12 weeks of after-birth leave and either 12 additional weeks of leave or 18 weeks of half-time work. A portion of this final parental leave can be transferred to the other parent.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as death of close relatives (children, parents, siblings), preventive health exams, receiving shots in case of vaccination campaigns, voting, illness of children and volunteering as firefighters, among others.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

40 hours per week and 8 hours per day, except in the case of a flexible working hour system and comprehensive working hour system, which requires approval from the local labor authority.

Overtime

For work in excess of the standard working hours, overtime is due; the amount ranges between 150 and 300 percent of the employee's daily salary rate or hourly salary rate, depending on when the employee carried out the overtime.

Wages

Minimum wage stipulated by local regulations.

Vacation

Employees who have worked for 1 full year or more after graduation are entitled to 5 to 15 days' annual leave with pay. The duration of leave for each employee is determined by reference to their accumulated years of work (with all employers, not just the current employer).

Sick leave & pay

Generally, reduced pay may be paid for sick leave days according to the local standard.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

98 days’ statutory entitlement of maternity leave. Additional maternity leave may apply, depending on location. Employees that experience a difficult childbirth receive 15 extra days. For multiple births (eg, twins or triplets), 15 extra days may be added for each child. After giving birth, female employees are entitled to 1 paid working hour per day for nursing purposes until the baby is 1 year old. Parental leave varies from 7 to 30 days, depending on location.

With the introduction of the 3-child policy and release of the amended national family planning regulations in 2021, more than 20 provinces and cities in China (such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Zhejiang) amended local family planning rules, extending maternity leave, paternity leave and granting new types of family leaves – for example, childcare leave and elderly care leave – to female and/or male employees.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as marriage; work-related injury; voting; attending trade union activities; attending meetings held by the government as an elected representative; or serving as a people's juror, witness or defender in a people's court, among others.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Up to 47 hours a week. Employees must have at least 1 paid day off every 6 days (usually Sundays). The Colombian Labor Code allows employees to work 47 hours per week distributed over 5 days in order to also have all Saturdays as days of rest.

The Colombian Congress approved a bill whereby the weekly working hours will gradually decrease within the next 5 years. The bill gradually reduces the maximum weekly working hours to 42 per week, without reducing salary or affecting employees’ rights. Nevertheless, employers may reduce the weekly working hours before the special shifts are permitted according to the needs of the company.

Overtime

An employee may not be required to work more than 2 hours per day as overtime or more than 12 hours in a given week. The ordinary working day is from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. Overtime during the day is paid at a rate of 25 percent on top of the ordinary hourly rate. The working night is from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am; workers who ordinarily work during these hours must be paid 35 percent on top of the ordinary hourly rate. Overtime pay for night work is equivalent to 75 percent on top of the ordinary hourly rate.

Employers must have a special permit from the Ministry of Labor for overtime work.

Through Resolution 3031 of August 2023, the Ministry of Labor orders Employers to update their overtime work authorization. Such authorization cannot exceed 2 years, and those who fail to update it are subject to sanctions.

Employees who perform functions of direction, trust or management as well as employees who are engaged in intermittent activities or in activities of simple vigilance (e.g., security guards), provided they stay at the workplace, are excluded from the above rules regarding the maximum workday and overtime.

Wages

The minimum wage is determined by the Colombian government every calendar year. The minimum wage for 2024 is COP1,300,000 million (approximately USD338) per month. The minimum wage is increased annually using the Consumer Price Index (IPC) as a reference.

Salaries in Colombia may be agreed under the ordinary or integrated salary scheme.

Employees under the ordinary salary scheme are entitled to the following mandatory fringe benefits and payments in addition to the monthly remuneration:

• Severance aid. Equivalent to 30 days of salary for every year of service, proportionally for fractions of a year.
• Interest on severance. Equivalent to 12 percent of the severance payment per year, proportionally for fractions of a year.
• June and December service bonus. Equivalent to 15 days' salary, payable to the employee every calendar year. The first payment must be made on the last day of June, and the second payment must be made within the first 20 days of December, in proportion to the time worked during the respective calendar semester.
• Vacation. 15 working days of vacation for every year of service.
• Work clothes 3 times a year (ie, April, August and December) to employees who earn less than twice the minimum wage.

• Transportation allowance or connectivity allowance, depending on the work modality (for the year 2024: COP162,000; approximately USD42), for employees who earn less than 2 times the minimum monthly legal wage.

The ordinary salary scheme is mandatory for salaries below 13 times the monthly minimum wage (for the year 2024: COP16,900,000; approximately USD4,390 )If the proposed salary is equal or higher to that amount, an integrated salary scheme may be agreed.

The monthly integrated salary includes the legal, social or fringe benefits provided to employees, except for vacations (employees are entitled to 15 business days of vacation per year). This includes the following:

• Severance aid (auxilio de cesantías)
• Interest on severance aid (intereses a las cesantías)
• Legal service bonuses and extra-legal bonuses
• Any type of surcharge Sunday and holiday surcharge and days off
• Night work surcharge
• Subsidies and in-kind supplies
• Travel allowances, within the Colombian territory or abroad Bonuses of all types and natures
• In general, all benefits that an employee receives in money or in kind, either regularly or sporadically, except for vacation

The minimum monthly integrated salary must be equivalent to at least 13 times the minimum wage.

Vacation

The employee is entitled to 15 business days of vacation per year, proportional to the fraction of a year.

Sick leave & pay

If an employee cannot work due to illness or an accident, a medical authorization from a Colombian Social Security entity must be obtained in order for the employee to get paid for the days during which the employee could not attend work. The employer pays sick leave during the employee's absence (for an indefinite period) but, as from the 3rd day of sick leave, the employer can claim the payment back from the social security system.

Moreover, employees are entitled to paid leave of 10 working days per year to care for minors suffering a terminal illness or condition. The leave must be agreed with the employer and may be taken by the father, mother or whoever has custody and care of the minor. An employer may seek reimbursement for the payment to the employee during leave from the healthcare social security system.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Paid maternity leave for every employed pregnant or adoptive mother in Colombia is granted for 18 weeks. Mothers are entitled to 1 weeks before childbirth and 17 weeks after. For medical reasons the mother can have 2 weeks before childbirth or can have the 2 weeks before childbirth postpartum, which means that the maternity leave will last 18 weeks after childbirth. Adoptive mothers, and fathers in charge of the newborn in case of sickness or death of the mother, are also entitled to this maternity leave.

A male employee is given 2 weeks of paid paternity leave when his spouse or significant other gives birth or he adopts a child. The Law sets forth that for every 1 percentage point that the national unemployment rate decreases, paternity leave will be extended for 1 additional week. The extension of paternity leave will be maximum 5 weeks. The methodology to calculate unemployment rate will be jointly defined and published in December every year by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the Colombian Central Bank, and the National Planning Department.

Shared parental leave: Parents may freely distribute or share between them the last 6 weeks of maternity leave.

Flexible part-time parental leave: Parents may choose to exchange a period of their leave for a part-time work period, equivalent to twice the time corresponding to the chosen period.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as bereavement, domestic calamity, breastfeeding, voting, terminal illness leave (for parents or caretakers of underage kids who have been diagnosed with terminal diseases), among others.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Standard regular working time is 40 hours per week with limited statutory exceptions. Rules on rest breaks, night work and rest periods between shifts apply.

Overtime

Some limits on the extent of overtime to be performed by employees. The employer may request overtime only up to 150 hours per calendar year. Parties may agree to overtime of up to 416 hours per calendar year if the average overtime in 26 consecutive weeks (52 if stipulated in a collective agreement) does not exceed 8 hours per week.

Obligation to provide salary plus premium or time off for overtime. Option to include future overtime in the employee's salary (up to 150 hours per calendar year for regular employees and up to 416 hours per calendar year for managerial employees).

Wages

As of January 1, 2024, the base rate of the minimum wage is CZK18,900 per month, or CZK112.50 an hour.

Vacation

Statutory minimum of 4 weeks per calendar year, excluding public holidays.

Sick leave & pay

Statutory sick leave and pay, subject to participation in the social security scheme and additional obligations. During the first 14 days of sickness, the employee is entitled to salary compensation (60 percent of average earnings with certain reduction factors) from the employer. After this period, sick leave is funded from the social security system.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Maternity leave of 28 weeks (37 weeks for multiple births), paid within the state social security system for the entire duration of maternity leave at the rate of approximately 70 percent of daily salary, subject to certain reduction factors. Protection against termination.

Paternity leave of 2 weeks within 6 weeks after the birth of the child, paid within the state social security system for the entire duration of paternity leave at the rate of approximately 70 percent of daily salary, subject to certain reduction factors. Paternity leave now has the same protection as maternity leave.

Parental leave available for women after the end of maternity leave as well as for men after childbirth, until the child reaches the age of 3 (duration to be determined by employees). Parental pay, as a part of state social security system, available until the child reaches the age of 4 in a total sum of up to CZK350,000, and CZK525,000 for, for example, twins or triplets. Protection against termination.

Other leave/time off work

Various other leaves may be applicable, such as civic duty leave, military service leave, leaves in the public interest (such as for the performance of various functions, trade-union-related leaves, leaves for donor activities, lecturing leave, Mountain Service/Red Cross leave) and leaves for important personal impediments to work (such as care leave, leave for marriage, compassionate leave, examination/treatment leave, moving leave or leave to seek new employment). Leaves may be paid or unpaid, and, in certain cases, financial compensation is provided by the state or other authorities.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Most employment legislation sets out mandatory rules with regard to employment terms which may not be derogated from to the detriment of the employee. Most of these mandatory rules apply to all employees regardless of, for example, length of service.

Working hours

The maximum average working hours according to the Working Time Directive Act are 48 hours per week, which are calculated as an average over any period of 4 months. A general working week for a Danish employee is 5 days, working typically an average of 37.5 hours per week exclusive of a daily lunch break.

The Working Environment Act contains provisions stating that working hours are to be organized to allow a period of rest of at least 11 consecutive hours within every 24-hour period. Furthermore, it provides that employees are to have a weekly 24-hour period off, which must be immediately connected to a daily rest period. The weekly 24-hour period off must, if possible, take place on Sunday.

The Working Time Directive has been implemented into Danish law through the Danish Act on Working Time. On November 8, 2023, the Danish Ministry of Employment submitted a bill on amendments to the Danish Act on Working Time. The bill shall implement the legal position set by the Court of Justice of the European Union in accordance with the Court’s case law, in particular C-55/18 of May 14, 2019 on Deutsche Bank concerning registration of working time. From July 1, 2024, employers must introduce an objective, reliable and available working time recording system that makes it possible to measure the daily working hours of each employee provided that the bill is adopted.

Overtime

Overtime is not regulated by law except as provided by the Working Time Directive. However, overtime and the payment thereof are very often regulated in collective agreements.

Wages

In Denmark, there is no statutory regulation on national or sectoral minimum salary or wages. However, collective agreements often contain several provisions regarding salary or wages.

Vacation

A new Holiday Act came into force on September 1, 2020 with transitional provisions as from 2019.

The new Holiday Act has introduced concurrent holiday, meaning that every employee may take paid holiday as soon as the holiday has been accrued.

The employee accrues 2.08 days of holiday for each month of employment – accordingly, 25 days of paid holiday per year. The holiday year runs from September 1 to August 31 of the following year. The period in which the accrued holiday may be taken is equal to the holiday year plus 4 months (ie, from September 1 to December 31  the following year) – in total, 16 months.

Sick leave & pay

All employees are entitled to absence during sickness. Most collective agreements and the Danish Salaried Employees Act contain provisions ensuring that employees are entitled to full salary during sickness. If an employee is not entitled to receive pay during sickness from the employer, the employer may be obliged to pay compensation equivalent to the authorities' sickness benefits for the first 30 days. After the 30-day period, the authorities continue to pay the sickness benefit.

After a consecutive period of absence of 30 days due to sickness, the employer may be reimbursed for a certain amount of sickness benefits by the authorities if the employer pays salary during an employee's sickness period and the sickness lasts for more than 30 days.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

As a part of the implementation of the Directive (EU) 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and careers as well as the repealing of Council Directive 2010/18/EU, the Danish Parliament has adopted a bill on the amendments of the Danish Act on Parental Leave. The new Danish Act on Parental Leave is applicable for children born on or after August 2, 2022. The Directive is intended to promote equality between men and women in the labor market by granting fathers earmarked parental leave.

A pregnant employee is entitled to absence from work from the beginning of a 4-week period preceding the expected date of birth. After childbirth, the mother is entitled to 24 weeks of leave. The 24 weeks of leave are divided into 2 types of leave: the 10-week leave and the 14-week leave. The mother can transfer 8 weeks from the 10-week leave and 5 weeks from the 14-week leave to the other parent. The remaining 9 weeks of leave is earmarked to the mother and will lapse if the mother chooses not to use this period of leave before the child is 1 year old.

Female employees covered by the Danish Salaried Employees Act are entitled to 50 percent of their salary (including the value of benefits) from the employer for a period from 4 weeks before the expected date of birth until 14 weeks after the actual date of birth. This is the only legal obligation for the employer to pay salary during maternity leave.

It is common in Denmark under collective agreements, and under some individual agreements, that employees are entitled to full pay from the employer for a certain period during maternity leave.

After the child is born, the father/co-mother is entitled to 24 weeks of leave. The 24 weeks of leave is divided into 2 types of leave: the 2-week leave and the 22-week leave. The father/co-mother is unable to transfer the first 2 weeks of leave, but may transfer a total of 13 weeks of leave to the other parent. The remaining 9 weeks is earmarked to the father/co-mother and will lapse if the mother chooses not to use this period of leave before the child is 1 year old. The employer is not required to pay salary, but it is common for collective agreements, and some individual agreements, to provide for full salary for some or all of the paternity leave. The employee may be entitled to a state benefit.

After the 10th week following childbirth, the parents each have a right to parental leave of 32 weeks, which may be extended by up to 14 weeks. The parents may choose whether to take the parental leave at the same time or consecutively until the child reaches the age of 9. In the absence of an agreement with the employer regarding salary during parental leave, employees are entitled to state benefits for a total of 32 weeks.

The same rights (with certain modifications) apply to adoptive parents and same-sex parents. Note, however, that adoptive parents can only take leave if the state decides that 1 or both parents must stay at home to take care of the child.

Other leave/time off work

The Danish Parliament has introduced a right to care leave of 5 days per year per employee. Further, employees may also be entitled to unpaid leave as a result of a relative’s illness or accident.

Great Prayer Day has been abolished as a public holiday and from January 1, 2024, the 4th Friday after Easter (the former Great Prayer Day) is Great Prayer Day as a public holiday will be entitled to a salary supplement of 0.45 percent of the annual salary. The salary supplement can be paid continuously with the salary or with the salary for May and August. Hourly paid employees who work on the former Great Prayer Day will receive their usual hourly rate for the working hours.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are entitled to minimum employment rights under statute. Generally binding CBAs in place across most sectors also specify minimum employment conditions. Employers that do not belong to an employers' association with a CBA must still observe the minimum collective conditions for their sector. In general, managers in leading positions in the company are often excluded from the scope of a CBA, but only the managing directors, as agents of the company, are excluded from the scope of employment laws.

Working hours

Working hours are specified by the Working Time Act or under the relevant CBA. Regular working hours are typically 7.5 or 8 hours per day and 37.5 to 40 hours per week. The Working Time Act and CBAs also allow for different working-hour arrangements and stipulate mandatory rest periods.

Overtime

Employees may work both additional hours and overtime. Overtime requires the employee's separate consent each time. The working time of an employee, including overtime, must not exceed an average of 48 hours per week over a 4-month period.

According to the Working Time Act, overtime is compensated with additional pay unless it is agreed the employee will be compensated with time off. Daily overtime is work that exceeds 8 hours in a day; for daily overtime, the first 2 hours are paid with a 50-percent increase on normal salary and any hours thereafter with a 100-percent increase. Weekly overtime is work done on the employee’s normal day off that exceeds 40 hours in that week; for weekly overtime, all hours are paid with a 50-percent increase on normal salary. CBAs may include different provisions regarding overtime compensation.

Wages

There is no national minimum wage in Finland. Minimum wages are specified in the relevant CBA, if applicable. Otherwise, wages must be "reasonable."

Vacation

An employee who works at least 14 days or 35 hours a month is entitled to paid annual holiday time. An employee is entitled to 2.5 weekdays of holiday for each full holiday credit month. However, the entitlement is 2 weekdays of holiday for each full holiday credit month if the employment relationship has been uninterrupted for a period of less than 1 year by the end of the holiday credit year (the period from April 1 to March inclusive).

When the number of holidays is calculated, any fraction of a day is rounded up to constitute 1 full day of holiday. Full annual holiday entitlement covers 4 weeks of summer holiday and 1 week of winter holiday. CBAs may include more favorable vacation entitlements.

An employee who works less than 14 days or 35 hours a month is not entitled to any holiday for that month. An employee who, in accordance with their contract, works less than 14 days or 35 hours during all calendar months is, during the employment relationship, entitled to 2 weekdays of leave for each calendar month in which the employment relationship has been in force. The employee is entitled to receive as holiday compensation 9 to 11.5 percent of their pay for their time at work during the holiday credit year.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to paid sick leave if they are prevented from performing their work due to an illness or an accident.

The relevant rate of sick pay is specified under the Employment Contracts Act and/or in the relevant CBA. Based on the Employment Contracts Act, employees are entitled to full pay for the period of disability up to the end of the 9th day following the date of falling ill, subject to this entitlement ceasing at the point at which the employee's right to national sickness allowance under the Sickness Insurance Act comes into effect. In employment relationships that have continued for less than 1 month, employees are correspondingly entitled to 50 percent of their pay. CBAs typically include more agreeable sick pay entitlements.

Family leave & pay

Family leave reforms came into force on August 1, 2022. The reforms gave both parents a quota of 160 daily allowance days. Parents are allowed to transfer up to 63 daily allowance days of their own quota to the other parent, the other custodian, their spouse or the spouse of the other parent. For the last stage of pregnancy, there is a pregnancy allowance period of 40 daily allowance days. There are 6 daily allowance days per week. Altogether, daily allowance days amount to more than 14 months. Single parents have the right to use the quotas of both parents. Twins, triplets and other multiple births are an exception to the model; the quota of daily allowance days for such parents is increased by 84 daily allowance days per 2nd child and every child thereafter. Parents in employment relationships have the right to split the leave up to 4 parts. Only pregnancy allowance days have to be used in a single continuous period, starting 14 to 30 days before the estimated due date. An employer is not required to pay the employee salary during family leave unless otherwise agreed. Employees who adopt a child are entitled to the same leave as parents of a biological child with minor adjustments.

Other leave/time off work

In connection of the family leave reform of 2022, all employees were given a right to take leave from work to provide personal assistance or support to a family member or a person the employee has a relationship with and who lives in the same household as the employee. Informal care leave can be taken for a maximum of 5 days during the calendar year.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Legal working time is 35 hours per week. Other working-time schemes available depending upon the terms of the CBA.

Employees may be entitled to RTT or resting days to compensate for days worked above the legal working time, under the conditions set by CBAs.

Overtime

Overtime is compensated with increased rest or by an equivalent rate. Annual threshold of 220 hours, unless otherwise provided by an applicable company agreement or CBAs.

Wages

The minimum wage for 2024 is EUR1,766.92 gross per month for a 35-hour week. In addition, minimum (higher) salaries may be provided by applicable CBAs.

Vacation

Subject to more favorable terms specified in a CBA, employees are entitled to 5 weeks paid holiday per year (ie, 25 working days, if working Monday through Friday, or 30 working days, if working Monday through Saturday).

Additional RTT or resting days may apply (see above).

Sick leave & pay

Subject to more favorable terms specified in a CBA, daily indemnity is paid by the Social Security Authorities as of the 4th day of absence. In case of sick leave due to an occupational accident or a professional sickness, the payment will begin on the 1st day of absence.

For employees with at least 1 year of seniority within the company, social security indemnity is to be supplemented with an employer-paid indemnity, depending on certain conditions and within certain limits, as of the 8th day of absence (the 1st day in case of occupational accident or sickness). In the absence of any more favorable provisions of the CBA, the legal amount of the employer-paid-indemnity is:

• 90 percent of the employee's gross compensation for the first 30 days of absence

• 2/3 of such compensation for the next 30 days, with each 30-day period increased by 10 days per full period of 5 additional years' seniority, up to 90 days for each compensation period

Maternity/parental leave & pay

The following provisions apply in the absence of more favorable provisions of the CBA.

• Maternity leave: The duration differs in function of the number of children expected during the pregnancy and the number of children already being taken care of by the employee.The duration of maternity leave is 16 weeks for an employee expecting a single birth and provided that she does not have another child.

• Maternity insurance: Daily indemnity paid by the Social Security Authorities under certain conditions.

The employer must ensure that the employee takes at least 2 weeks of leave before the birth and 6 weeks after the birth. The employer is not required by law to maintain the employee's salary in whole or in part but is often required to do so by the applicable CBA or common practice

• Paternity leave: up to 25 consecutive days (32 days in case of multiple births) to be taken in principle within 6 months of the birthdate and 3 days as a birth leave. The employer must ensure that the employee takes at least 4 days of leave.

• Parental leave: upon the expiry of the maternity leave. 1 year to be extended up to 3 years. Full-time leave or part-time work permissible during the leave period. Employees who have adopted a child under the age of 16 years old are eligible.

Other leave/time off work

A variety of specific leave are provided for under French Law. Thus, specific days of leave are granted to the employee in case of extraordinary family circumstances, as, for example, his wedding (4 days), the announcement of his child’s disability (5 days) or the bereavement of his child (14 days if he is under 25 years old, otherwise 12 days). French law also provides for a family solidarity leave if an employee wants to support a family member who suffers from a life-threating illness (3 months).

Sabbatical leave, from 6 months to 11 months can also be taken by an employee. He can also take a one-year leave extended by up to 1 year if he wants to create a business. Finally, for employees between 18 and 25 years old, a paid day leave is granted to them to ensure their participation to the defense and citizenship day.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

An average of 48 working hours per week. Working hours can be extended up to 10 hours a day (working time on a workday may not exceed 10 hours) if the average working day does not exceed 8 hours over a period of 6 months. Uninterrupted minimum break of 11 hours after every workday. Work on Sundays and official holidays requires special permission. Working hours must be recorded by the employer – it is to be expected that a regulation will be passed in this regard in the course of 2024.

Overtime

No overtime rate set forth by statute – instead, subject to contractual agreement, which is largely regulated by standard contract term provisions. The agreement must be fair; any provision incorporating overtime into overall wages must be related to a defined amount of overtime.

Wages

As of January 1, 2024, the legal minimum wage is EUR12.41 gross per working hour (as of January 1, 2025, the legal minimum wage will be raised to EUR12.82). Generally, these rules also apply to trainees, except those undergoing compulsory practical training. A few more exceptions are made for arrangements regarding apprentices, volunteers and former long-term unemployed workers. Furthermore, there are also industry-specific minimum wages (eg, in the construction sector). Minimum wage violations can be sanctioned with a fine of up to EUR500,000.

Vacation

20 vacation days based on a 5-day week plus local public holidays (between 10 and 12 days, depending on the state). Additional vacation entitlements beyond the legal minimum vacation entitlement may be agreed in the employment contract or collective agreement.

Sick leave & pay

Statutory sick leave and pay provisions allow for up to 6 weeks of employer-paid sick leave, followed by 72 weeks of sick allowance paid through the public health fund (for the same disease). Sick allowance is based on the earned income within the previous 12 months and amounts to 70 percent of such. It is calculated per calendar day and is limited to the statutory maximum of EUR 120.75 per day (year 2024).

Maternity/parental leave & pay

In Germany, a distinction must be made between maternity protection and parental leave. Maternity protection serves to protect the mother from health risks in connection with childbirth. Parental leave, on the other hand, is available to both parents. The maternity protection period is 6 weeks before birth and 8 weeks after the birth. During these periods, employment is prohibited. The mother can only waive the periods of protection before childbirth. Parental leave paid by the state for 12 months – 14 months if the other parent takes at least 2 months – with a 65-100 percent net payment rate depending on the amount of income before birth (ie, Basic Parental Allowance). Further 24 months of unpaid parental leave are possible with full protection within the workplace and the right to return to work. Parental Allowance Plus is available for twice as long as Basic Parental Allowance. The employee can choose either 1 month in which the employee receives Basic Parental Allowance or 2 months in which the employee receives Parental Allowance Plus. If the employee does not work after their child’s birth, Parental Allowance Plus is half the amount of Basic Parental Allowance.

Other leave/time off work

According to the German Civil Code, employees may also be entitled to temporary leave for other purposes, such as the death of close relatives, a doctor’s visit, or illness and care of family members, among others.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

The EO applies to every employee engaged under a contract of employment, to any employer of such employee and to any contract of employment between such parties. Employees to whom the EO applies are entitled to basic protections including payment of wages, restrictions on wage deductions, the granting of statutory holidays (albeit not necessarily paid) and employment protection in respect to unlawful dismissal. Employees who are employed under a continuous contract (ie, for 18 hours a week for 4 consecutive weeks or where the parties agree that the employee will be continuously employed, known as continuous employment) are entitled to further benefits such as rest days, paid annual leave, sickness allowance, paid statutory holidays, maternity leave, paternity leave, severance payments and long-service payments.

Working hours

Currently no restrictions, except for young employees who are between the ages of 15 and 18 and are employed in an industrial undertaking.

The Labour Department has been engaging its 11 industry-based tripartite committees – comprising representatives of the Labour Department, employers and employees – to formulate non-binding, sector-specific working-hour guidelines for 11 industries.

Overtime

No obligation to provide pay for overtime worked.

Wages

Statutory minimum wage is currently set at HKD40 per hour.

Vacation

Between 7 and 14 days, depending on length of service. In addition, there are 14 statutory holidays. The number of statutory holidays will progressively increase to 17 days by 2030, with 1 additional statutory holiday to be added every 2 years. The next statutory holiday to be added will be in 2026, being the Easter Monday. Banks, educational institutions, governmental departments and many private employers also elect to observe general holidays in addition to the minimum 14 statutory holidays. General holidays are declared to be every Sunday as well as on 17 additional days, a number that includes the 14 statutory holidays. 

Sick leave & pay

Employees in continuous employment accrue paid sickness allowance at a rate of 2 paid sickness days for each completed month of service in the 1st year of employment and 4 paid sickness days for each completed month of service thereafter, up to a maximum accrual of 120 sickness days. Sickness allowance is paid by the employer, and payment is only due for sickness days taken by an employee if the employee has taken 4 or more consecutive sickness days off. Once the employee is off for at least 4 sickness days, each sickness day is deemed subject to be paid the sickness allowance, including the first 3 days, up to the maximum accrual; however, this 4-consecutive-day requirement does not apply to any day off taken by a female employee for her pregnancy checkups, post-confinement medical treatment or miscarriage. Sick leave must also be supported by a valid medical certificate (or certificate of attendance for medical examination in relation to pregnancy). Sickness allowance is paid at a daily rate equivalent to 4/5 of the daily average of wages earned by the employee during the period of 12 months immediately before the sickness day or the 1st sickness day, as appropriate – or, if the employee has been employed by the employer for a period shorter than 12 months immediately before the sickness day, the shorter period. From June 17, 2022 onwards, a day on which an employee is absent from work due to compliance with certain anti-epidemic requirements imposed by the government could be deemed as a sickness day, entitling the employee to statutory sickness allowance provided that the other relevant conditions are satisfied.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

14 weeks' maternity leave. This is paid at 4/5 of the employee's average daily wages, subject to a cap of HKD80,000 for the last 4 weeks of the 14-week maternity leave, if the employee has been in continuous employment for no less than 40 weeks at the commencement of maternity leave. For employees without 40 weeks' continuous employment, maternity leave is unpaid. Employers, after payment of all maternity leave pay on the normal payday, may apply to the government for reimbursement of the last 4 weeks’ maternity leave pay payable and paid under the EO. Where an employee gives birth later than expected, the employee may extend the period of maternity leave by the number of days between the expected date of birth and the actual date of birth. This period is unpaid.

Finally, an employee may take a further period of up to 4 weeks for illness or disability arising out of the pregnancy or childbirth. This period is unpaid and is in addition to sickness allowance. The EO grants 5 days' paternity leave to male employees who are employed under a continuous contract in Hong Kong in respect of the birth of each child of which he is the father. Provided the employee has been in continuous employment for no less than 40 weeks at the commencement of the paternity leave, the paternity leave is paid at 4/5 of the employee's average daily wages. For employees without 40 weeks' continuous employment, the paternity leave is unpaid.

Other leave/time off work

N/A.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are entitled to minimum employment rights.

Working hours

Normal working time for full-time employees is 8 hours per day. The parties may stipulate shorter or, in specific cases (eg, standby duty or those working in a family business), longer working hours for full-time employment. Rules apply in relation to rest breaks and rest periods between working days.

Overtime

Overtime worked must not breach the daily and weekly maximum working time, which, including overtime, in a single working day must not exceed 12 hours and must not exceed 48 hours per working week.

The annual maximum overtime limit is generally 250 hours, or is up to 300 hours if provided by a collective agreement. However, by written agreement of the employer and the employees, the employer may require 150 hours (or 100 hours, if the annual maximum overtime limit is already raised to 300 hours by collective agreement) of additional overtime annually from employees subject to the agreement.

An employee is entitled to a wage supplement for overtime, which is 50 percent of the employee’s base salary in case of overtime beyond the regular daily working time. A wage supplement must also be paid in return for any "extraordinary" work completed on weekly rest days or public holidays (ie, 50 percent plus a day off or 100 percent).

Wages

The mandatory minimum wage is HUF266,800 from December 1, 2023. From December 1, 2023 the higher minimum wage – the so-called guaranteed wage minimum – of HUF326,000, which applies to jobs requiring higher education (eg, a secondary school or vocational training).

Vacation

The amount of paid basic holiday is 20 days per year, which is increased according to the age of the employee, up to 30 days for employees over 45 years of age.

Also, special holiday entitlements apply (eg, for employees with children).

Sick leave and pay

Employees are entitled to 15 days of sick leave per year, during which they receive 70 percent of their salary by way of an absence fee, which is entirely borne by the employer. After the first 15 days of sick leave in a calendar year, social security takes over payment of sick pay; however, 1/3 of the cost is borne by the employer.

Maternity/parental leave and pay

Maternity leave entitlement is 24 weeks during the pregnancy period and after giving birth. Leave should be scheduled by the employer so that a maximum of 4 weeks' leave is taken before the planned date of childbirth. If eligible, from 1 July 2021, employees receive 100 percent of their average salary for this period, which is covered by the social security system.

A father is entitled to paternity leave which is 10 days off within the 2-month period following the date of his child's birth.

Employees are entitled to parental leave without pay until the child reaches the age of 3 in order to care for the child at home, but this is longer for disabled or sick children. During this period, the employee receives child care pay from the social security system amounting to 70 percent of the employee’s average salary until the child reaches 2 years of age, and the minimum amount of old-age pension after the child’s 2nd birthday until they reach 3 years of age.

Employees are entitled to childcare leave without pay until the child reaches the age of 3 in order to care for the child at home, but this is longer for disabled or sick children. During this period, the employee receives child care pay from the social security system amounting to 70 percent of the employee’s average salary until the child reaches 2 years of age, and the minimum amount of old-age pension after the child’s 2nd birthday until they reach 3 years of age.

Moreover, on January 1, 2023, parents are entitled to a total of 44 days of parental leave until the child reaches the age of 3, provided that their employment has existed for at least 1 year.

Special rules apply for both paternity leave and parental leave, as follows:

• Reduced compensation applies

• Entitlement can be transferred to another year and

• Upon termination of the employment, the employer is not obliged to pay compensation for unused leave days.

Other leave/time off work

Other leave rights may apply. For example, an employee who personally cares for a relative with serious illness may take caretakers’ leave. The existence of a serious medical reason must be certified by the doctor responsible for the treatment of the relative. Caretakers are exempted from the obligation to work for a maximum of 5 working days per year. This form of leave of absence is unpaid.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

An employee’s rights depend on the category of employee and other factors, including remuneration, location of employee and type of industry. However, pursuant to various labor statutes that govern the workforce, an employee is at a minimum entitled to minimum wages as framed by the relevant state government. Additionally, an employee is entitled to a statutory bonus, provident fund contributions, insurance coverage, maternity benefits and severance dues, if they meet the eligibility norms as set out under these statutes.

Working hours

Working hours are governed by a variety of statutes depending on the nature of the activity undertaken by the establishment and the location of the establishment.

Working hours are governed either by the Factories Act 1948 (Factories Act) or the relevant State specific S&E Act, depending on the nature of the activity undertaken by the establishment. For example, if the establishment is a factory, the Factories Act applies, and if the establishment is involved in a commercial activity, then the local S&E Act applicable in the region in which the establishment is located applies. Generally, these statutes provide for working hour limits both on a daily and weekly basis. The normal daily hour limits range from between 8 and 9 hours, and the usual weekly limit is 48 hours. Under the Factories Act, the daily limit cannot be exceeded without the prior permission of the authorities. The Factories Act will be subsumed under the OSH Code when it comes into force. Under the OSH Code, the daily working hours have been reduced from 9 hours to 8 hours per day. Under the local S&E Act, the normal working hour limits may only be exceeded up to certain prescribed limits.

Some local S&E Acts exempt certain categories of employees (such as managerial employees) or certain establishments (such as establishments involved in information technology) from all or some of the provisions of the statute.

State-specific S&E Acts generally prohibit women employees from working at night. However, certain states have permitted women employees, working in certain industries or across the board, to be employed during the night, subject to the employer adhering to certain requirements, such as ensuring safety and wellbeing of the women employees and providing them adequate facilities, including safe transportation. The OSH Code also allows women to work at night – that is, beyond 7:00pm and before 6:00am, subject to adhering to the conditions relating to safety, holidays, working hours and their consent.

Overtime

If employees are required to work more than the prescribed minimum working hours, they are normally required to be paid at a prescribed overtime rate. Overtime wages are generally calculated at the rate of twice the employee’s ordinary rate of pay.

Wages

India follows the standard of a ''minimum wage'' as opposed to living wage. State government under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 fixes minimum wages for time work, piece work and overtime work. The minimum wage to which an employee is entitled is dictated by a variety of factors, including:

• The nature of employment
• The industry in which the employee works and
• The geographic location where the employee works.

The Wage Code introduces a new concept of “floor wages” which is to be determined by the central government after taking into consideration the minimum living standards of a worker. Floor wages are the minimum wages below which state governments cannot fix their state-level minimum wages.

The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (PWA) provides that wages should be paid at intervals of no longer than a month. Consequently, it is the duty of every employer to ensure that wages are paid to its employees on a monthly basis, the prescribed registers are maintained and that the prescribed notices are displayed on the premises. The statute also regulates the scope and extent of deductions an employer may make from wages. This statute is currently applicable to employees whose monthly wages do not exceed INR 24,000. However, the Wage Code does not prescribe a threshold of wages for applicability of provisions of the PWA to the employees. The eligibility threshold prescribed under the PWA will be obsolete once the Wage Code comes into effect. Some local S&E Acts provide for similar restrictions in relation to permissible deductions that may be made from wages. Additionally, the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (ERA) lays down provisions relating to equal remuneration to be payable to both men and women workers and prevention of discrimination based on gender in matters of employment. The Wage Code, when in force, will replace the ERA.

Vacation, holidays and time off

Generally, all employees are entitled to a weekly day off.

Leave entitlement is generally covered by the employment contract. However, where the employer is involved in a commercial activity, the local S&E Acts will apply and determine the minimum thresholds concerning holiday entitlement. The thresholds usually range from 12 to 18 days' holiday per year.

The Factories Act provides that every adult worker who has worked in a factory for at least 240 days in a calendar year is entitled to 1 day's leave with wages for every 20 days of work. Furthermore, under the OSH Code, the number of days an adult worker is required to work in a calendar year to be eligible for annual leave with wages has been reduced from 240 days to 180 days.

Sick leave & pay

Sick leave varies from state to state. Certain local S&E Acts contain provisions concerning sick leave and casual leave, which generally range from 12 to 24 days. In addition, the SO Act, if applicable, may contain sick leave provisions. Generally, an employee is entitled to the most beneficial leave entitlement provisions that are provided under the SO Act or S&E Act or the employer’s service rules.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Indian law provides for maternity and associated leave for female employees. The law does not provide for paternity or parental leave for male employees, and such leave, if provided, would be in accordance with any contractual arrangement entered into with the employer.

Maternity leave is governed by the Maternity Benefits Act of 1961 (MB Act) and Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 (ESI Act). The ESI Act currently applies to employees whose monthly salary does not exceed INR 21,000; employees who are not covered by the ESI Act receive their maternity benefits in accordance with the MBA.

Under the MB Act, women employees with fewer than 2 surviving children are entitled to maternity leave of 26 weeks. Women with 2 or more surviving children are entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave. Further, the MB Act provides 12 weeks leave to women employees who legally adopt a child of less than 3 months of age and to commissioning mothers (i.e., employees who have children through surrogacy).

A pregnant woman suffering from an illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth of child, miscarriage, medical termination of pregnancy or tubectomy operation is entitled to leave with payment of maternity benefit for an additional period of 1 month.

A female employee is also entitled to leave with maternity benefit for 6 weeks in the case of miscarriage or medical termination of the pregnancy, and for 2 weeks with payment of maternity leave for a tubectomy operation.

The MBA also provides for nursing breaks and a medical bonus of INR 3,500 to the employee where the employer does not provide for post-natal confinement and post-natal care.

Amendments to the MBA require employers with 50 or more employees in their establishment to provide crèche facilities for their female employees. The crèche must be within a distance prescribed by the government, and female employees must be allowed 4 visits to the crèche each day, including their rest break. If the work assigned to a female employee is such that she can work from home then, after maternity leave, she and the employer may mutually agree to terms and conditions for her to work from home.

Other leave/time off work

Employees are entitled to leave to allow them to cast their vote during national and state elections.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All, with certain exceptions in respect to expatriate employees.

Working hours

Limit of 7 hours a day, or 40 hours a week, in a 6-day week; or 8 hours a day, or 40 hours a week, in a 5-day week. In this case, the employees will be entitled to 1 day of weekly rest if the employees work for 6 days a week, and to 2 days of weekly rest if the employees work for 5 days a week.

These working hours do not apply in certain sectors or types of work, which may be shorter or longer than the above working hours and must regulated in the employment agreement, the company regulations, or the collective labor agreement.

In relation to the above, companies which apply shorter working hours have the following characteristics:

a. completion of work is less than 7 hours in 1 day and less than 35 hours in 1 week;

b. flexible working hours; or

c. work may be performed outside of work location.

Certain sectors or types of work that apply longer working hours than as set forth above will be regulated further under minister regulations, but no new ministerial regulations have been issued to date regarding this matter after the enactment of the Job Creation law.

Overtime

An employer who employs workers in excess of the standard work hours is obliged to pay overtime, with limited exceptions. Under current regulations, an employer is not obliged to pay overtime to those in certain positions of  responsibility which must be expressly regulated. Under the Manpower Law, the overtime payment rate depends on how many hours are worked overtime and the timing of such overtime work. Except for certain sectors of business or work, overtime may be performed for up to 4 hours a day or up to 18 hours a week, and an employer that employs workers beyond their working hours is required to pay overtime wages with the following conditions:

1. for the first hour of overtime work, 1.5 times the hourly wage; and
2. for each subsequent hour of overtime work, 2 times the hourly wage.

If the overtime work is carried out on weekly rest days and/or official holidays for 6 (six) working days and 40 (forty) hours a week, then:

1. Calculation of overtime pay for the first hour up to the seventh hour, paid 2 times the hourly wage; eighth hour, paid 3 times the hourly wage; and the ninth hour, tenth hour, and eleventh hour, paid 4 times the hourly wage;
2. If the official holiday falls on the shortest working day, the calculation of the overtime wage is carried out as follows: the first hour up to the fifth hour, paid 2 times the hourly wage; the sixth hour, paid 3 times the hourly wage; and the seventh hour, the eighth hour, and the ninth hour, are paid 4 times the hourly wage.

If overtime work is carried out on weekly rest days and/or official holidays for 5 working days and 40 hours a week, then: calculation of overtime wages for the first hour up to the eighth hour, paid 2 times wage hourly; the ninth hour, paid 3 times the hourly wage; and the tenth hour, the eleventh hour, and the twelfth hour, are paid 4 times the hourly wage.

Wages

Wages are established based on a certain period or unit of return. There is no national minimum wage. Provinces or regencies/cities settle their own minimum wage every year.  The minimum wage is intended to cover employees working a 40-hour week in the formal sector – that is, any job sector or industry that is recognized, monitored and regulated by the government. The minimum wage does not apply to micro- and small businesses.

Vacation

Minimum of 12 days of paid vacation or annual leave per year after 12 months of uninterrupted service.

Muslim employees may take special leave in order to fulfill religious duties (ie, a pilgrimage to Mecca). In practice, this entitlement only applies once after the employee has worked for a certain period in accordance with the company regulations or collective labor agreement. In practice, pilgrimage leave is usually up to 40 days.

Sick leave & pay

Sick leave is not recognized under the Indonesian Manpower Law and by regulation. When sick, employees are   entitled to rest while receiving their usual pay, and the number of paid sick days is not limited.

The employee receives 100 percent of their salary for the first 4 months of the sickness; the percentage of pay decreases thereafter. If the sickness continues after 12 consecutive months, the employee may be terminated with severance payment. Female employees are additionally entitled to 2 days of menstrual leave during the first and second day of menstruation if they do not feel well. Female employees generally do not take such leave.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Pregnant employees are entitled to 3 months of fully paid maternity leave (rest), of which 1.5 months is to be taken in the prenatal period and the remaining 1.5 months in the post-natal period. The timing of maternity leave is often flexible in practice. A period of 1.5 months of fully paid rest must be given to those who have miscarried.

A male worker is entitled to 2 days of paid paternity leave if his wife gives birth or miscarries.

An employee is entitled to 2 days of paid leave for their child's wedding, circumcision, baptism or death.

Other leave/time off work

An employee is entitled to paid leave in other circumstances, such as if:

1. the employee is getting married
2. the wife or husband or children or children-in-law(s) or parent or parent-in-law(s) of the employee or a member of the employee’s household dies
3. the employee is performing religious obligations ordered by their religion
4. the employee is exercising their right to take a rest and
5. the employee is undergoing an education program required by their employer.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Working hours

Working time is limited to 48 hours per week calculated over a 4-month period, subject to certain exceptions. Rules on rest breaks, night work and rest periods between shifts also apply. Zero-hour contracts have recently been prohibited in most circumstances, and banded-hours contracts have been introduced for employees whose actual hours do not reflect their contracted hours.

Overtime

As long as overall pay does not fall below the statutory minimum, there is no obligation to provide pay for overtime worked. A premium must be paid for Sunday work, unless the fact that the individual must work on a Sunday has already been taken into account in determining pay.

Wages

The National Minimum Wage increased from EUR11.30 per hour to EUR12.70 per hour from January 1, 2024. 19 year olds are entitled to EUR11.43, 18 year olds are entitled to EUR10.16 and those under 18 are entitled to EUR8.89.

Vacation

There are 10 public holidays. Employees are further entitled to:

Annual leave entitlement is based on hours worked:

• 4 working weeks in a leave year in which the employee works at least 1,365 hours or
• 1/3 of a working week for each month in the leave year in which the employee works at least 117 hours or
• 8 percent of the hours the employee wok in a leave year (subject to a maximum of 4 weeks). 

Sick leave & pay

Employees with at least 13 weeks’ service are entitled to 5 days’ sick pay a year. The number of statutory sick days available to employees will increase incrementally to 10 by 2026. Sick pay is paid by the employer at 70 percent of the employee’s normal pay, up to a maximum of EUR110 a day.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave, during which the employee may be entitled to maternity benefit from the state, plus 16 additional weeks during which no state benefit is payable. General right to return to work.

24 weeks’ ordinary adoptive leave, during which the employee may be entitled to adoptive benefit from the state, plus 16 additional weeks during which no state benefit is payable. General right to return to work.

26 weeks’ unpaid parental leave to be taken before the child reaches the age of 12.

2 weeks’ paternity leave, during which the employee may be entitled to paternity benefit from the state. This entitlement applies to any parent who is a "relevant parent" – the child's father; the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the child's mother; or adopting mother or sole male adopter, as well as parents of a donor-conceived child. Same-sex couples jointly adopting a child must choose 1 parent to be the "relevant parent."

7 weeks’ paid parent’s leave for a child born or adopted on or after July 1, 2022, which will increase to from 9 weeks in August 2024. May only be taken within 2 years of the birth of the child or in the 1st 2 years of adoption.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for jury service, carer’s leave, force majeure leave, medical care and domestic violence leave. 

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Up to 42 hours a week for full-time employees with a 5-day work week, reducing the length of one particular work day (typically 9 hours per day) each week by 1 hour, with such a day to be decided by the employer. The total number of working hours per month is 182 hours for full-time employees.

Overtime

Up to 3 hours per day and a maximum of 16 hours per week. Pay of 125 percent of the base hourly wage for the first 2 hours of overtime per day, 150 percent of the base hourly wage for any additional overtime hours. Special rates for weekend and night work.

Wages

The minimum wage is ILS30.61 per hour, which corresponds to a monthly salary of ILS5,571.75 for a full-time position. It is anticipated that the minimum wage will be increased as of April 1, 2024, to  ILS32.30 per hour, which corresponds to a monthly salary of ILS5,880.

Vacation

Based on seniority. Assuming a 5-day work week, the annual minimum vacation entitlement is 12 business days – 0 to 5 years of employment; 17 business days – 6 to 8 years of employment;  23 business days – 9 or more years of employment. In addition, employees are entitled to 9 days of public holidays per year.

Sick leave & pay

Under law, employees are entitled to 1.5 sick days per month of employment (18 days per year). Sick leave can be accumulated up to a maximum of 90 days. The employer is not required to pay for the first day of sick leave but it may be deducted from the annual sick leave entitlement. On the 2nd and 3rd sick days an employee will be paid 50 percent of their salary, and beginning on the 4th day of sick leave, the employee will be paid their full salary until accrued sick days are fully used. During sick leave, benefits are paid in the same ratio as salary. Special rules apply with respect to sick leave due to the illness of a child under the age of 16, a parent or a disabled child. In practice, many companies in Israel pay full salary from the first sick day.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

In general, up to 26 weeks' maternity leave (may be extended to up to 1 year, based on seniority with employer), paid for up to 15 weeks by the National Insurance Institute; right to return to work for at least 60 days. Men can take what remains of the mother's leave as paternity leave (after the first 7 weeks of maternity leave which is reserved for the mother) but only if mother returns to work during her maternity leave period. In addition, a man may take 1 day leave on the day his partner/spouse gives birth and up to 5 days leave following the day his spouse/partner gave birth, without the need for employer's consent. Generally these rules also apply to adoptions, and special rules also apply with respect to multiple births. An employee may elect to commence maternity leave prior to giving birth.

Other leave/time off work

Statutory rights to leave (or leave at the expense of accrued sick leave) apply in different situations, such as bereavement, fertility or medical treatments, or care of dependents, in certain circumstances.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All, with distinctions based on the employee level pursuant to the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Working hours

48-hour-per-week limit on working time. Daily statutory rest: 11 hours. Weekly statutory rest: 24 hours.

Overtime

Statutory limits to overtime depending on the industry sector and the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Wages

Minimum rates are set in the applicable collective bargaining agreement and depend on the category of employee and enrollment level. Under Italian law, there are 4 categories of employees: workers/blue collar employees (operai), white-collar employees (impiegati), middle managers (quadri) and executives (dirigenti). Collective bargaining agreements set sub-levels within the category of white-collar employees. The applicable collective bargaining agreement may require 13th or 14th salaries.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks (excluding public holidays) of paid vacation for each year of service. At least 2 weeks of vacation must be taken during the entitlement year. Vacations cannot be replaced by monetary compensation before the employment is terminated. Collective bargaining agreements may provide additional holidays. In addition, Italian law provides for the following public holidays: January 1, January 6, Easter Monday, April 25, May 1, June 2, August 15, November 1, December 8, December 25, December 26 and the day of the patron saint of the place of work.

Sick leave & pay

In case of illness or accident, employees cannot be dismissed before a period of time determined by law or by the time the applicable collective bargaining agreement has expired. The entitlement to sick pay depends on the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Pregnant employees must not work for 2 months before and 3 months after childbirth. Subject to certain conditions, the leave may be taken earlier or later. Female employees cannot be dismissed from the 1st day of pregnancy until the child is 1 year old, except in certain circumstances (eg, shutting down of the company or just cause). During maternity leave, employees receive an allowance from the social security body (INPS). Certain collective bargaining agreements provide for a maternity supplement to be paid by the company. Subject to and conditional on a specialist doctor's opinion, mothers may be allowed to work until the 9th month of pregnancy. In these circumstances, mothers therefore take the entire 5 months' period of maternity leave after childbirth. Since 2022, fathers are obliged to take 10 days off within 5 months of their child's birth. They may also take 1 additional optional day as an alternative to 1 day of the mother's maternity leave. Collective bargaining agreements may contain requirements for company-paid leave. Parental leaves may be taken by the parents until the child is 12 years old.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, including death and serious illness of a close family member, disability, marriage leave (15 paid calendar days), childcare; blood donation (1 day of paid leave for the whole day on which the blood donation is made), bone marrow donation (day of paid leave for bone marrow donation, plus additional days of paid leave for performing pre-donation acts and convalescence days), study and for social, political and trade union offices.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Generally applicable to all employees.

Working hours

Employers cannot require employees to work for more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week unless they enter into a labor management agreement with either a labor union or a representative of the majority of employees in the workplace. The agreement must set out the maximum hours of overtime work (currently 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year, unless the agreement includes a special clause allowing for additional overtime in exceptional circumstances).

Overtime

Subject to certain limited exemptions which have been interpreted by the Japanese courts and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare narrowly (eg, persons who are considered managers may be exempted in some cases), employers must pay minimum overtime rates as follows:

*Employers are required to grant at least 1 day off per week or 4 days every 4 weeks. This rest day is known as a “statutory holiday”.

**Small to mid-sized companies are currently exempted from the additional rate, but, from April 1, 2023, it will also be applicable to small to mid-sized companies.

Since April 1, 2019 (or since April 1, 2020 for small to mid-sized companies), caps have been placed on overtime. Overtime cannot exceed 100 hours in any single month or 80 hours on average for any 2 months over any 6-month period. Overtime also cannot exceed 720 hours in a year.

Wages

Minimum wages are set by prefecture. In addition, certain industries have minimum wages that apply to employees working in that industry.

Vacation

Where an employee has been continuously employed for 6 months and has attendance of at least 80 percent of the total number of working days during that period, they are entitled to a minimum of 10 days' paid annual leave on the day after completing 6 months of employment. This annual leave entitlement then increases annually as follows:

Employees are entitled to carry over unused annual leave for 1 year. There are several national holidays in Japan, and, while not legally required, most employers recognize the national holidays or provide additional holiday pay for workers who are required to work on national holidays. From April 1, 2019, employers are obliged to ensure that employers who have 10 or more annual leave days take at least 5 of those days within a year of the leave being given.

Sick leave & pay

No statutory right to paid sick leave unless the work rules or employment contract provide otherwise.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

A pregnant employee is entitled to maternity leave for a period of 6 weeks before the expected date of birth and 8 weeks after the birth. An employee who lives with and is raising a child up to 1 year of age (and in some cases, up to 2 years of age) is eligible for childcare leave. From October 2022, a new type of childcare leave was implemented for fathers of newborn children in order to encourage male employees’ participation in childcare.  Fathers generally can take up to 4 weeks’ leave within 8 weeks after the child is born. In addition, employees are eligible for family care leave of up to 93 days (up to 3 times from January 2017) to care for a family member. These absences are unpaid unless otherwise provided in the work rules or the employment contract. An employee generally receives an allowance equivalent to a certain percentage of their salary under the national unemployment insurance scheme. From April 1, 2023, employers who retain 1,000 or more workers on a regular basis are legally required to publicize certain statistical data regarding employees taking various forms of childcare leave.

Other leave/time off work

Employees are entitled to leave for other purposes, such as menstruation, care for others, care for a sick child, and visiting the doctor before and after giving birth. Employers are also required to let their employees exercise their civil rights, so leave or partial time off must be granted for such as voting or lay judge duties.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

A normal working week should consist of no more than 52 hours of work spread over 6 days of the week as well as 1 full rest day.

Overtime

Overtime is paid at the rate of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate and at the rate of twice the basic hourly rate on a rest day or public holiday.

Wages

In most cases, wages are contractually agreed by the parties. However, for low-skilled employees, the minimum wages are set out in the Regulation of Wages General Order and revised each year by the government.

Vacation

Statutory minimum of 21 working days' vacation with full pay for each completed year of service, in addition to all Gazetted public holidays in Kenya.

Sick leave & pay

After 2 consecutive months of service, an employee is entitled to sick leave of no less than 7 days with full pay and, thereafter, to sick leave of 7 days with half pay, in each period of 12 consecutive months of service.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Female employees are entitled to 3 months' maternity leave with full pay (no forfeiture of annual leave on account of maternity).

Male employees are entitled to 2 weeks' paternity leave with full pay.

Pre-adoptive leave

Where a child is placed in the continuous care and control of an applicant who is an employee, the employee is entitled to 1 month's pre-adoptive leave with full pay from the date of the placement of the child.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may be entitled to compassionate leave to tend to misfortunes such as the death of a relative.

Employees may also be entitled to leave of absence, upon request to the employer, for a period of time depending on the policies in place in the organization.

Employers may also impose compulsory leave which is normally required to pave way for investigations into possible employment offenses that may ultimately lead to disciplinary proceedings.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All. Additional rights are also available to young workers (ie, those under 18) and women.

Working hours

8 hours per day or 6 hours during Ramadan. This equates to a 48-hour maximum for a 6-day working week, Saturday to Thursday (inclusive) for construction, blue-collar, and retail jobs among others; or 36 hours for a 6-day week during Ramadan. Over a shorter 5-day working week, the standard amounts to 9.5 hours. The working-hour provisions presume that the employee is working a 6-day week.

Overtime

Not exceeding 2 hours per day or 180 hours per year unless the work is essential for preventing the occurrence of a dangerous accident, repairing any breakdown or avoiding a substantial loss. Additional work periods should also not be required more than 3 times per week or 90 days per year.

There is no carve-out in the Labor Law for senior executive managerial or supervisory positions in respect of the working hours and overtime provisions, although we understand that, in practice, professional employees are often exempted from overtime provisions.

Wages

As of March 2024, Kuwait's minimum wage is KD75 per month, which is applicable in most sectors.

Vacation

All employees are entitled to fully paid leave for 30 working days in each year of service; the Labor Law has recently been amended to expressly state that annual leave is based on working days. In the 1st year of service, employees are not entitled to take their leave until they have been in the service of the employer for at least 6 months.

Sick leave & pay

An employee is entitled, after completing probation, to up to 75 days' sick leave per annum, payable as follows:

• First 15 days on full salary
• Next 10 days on 3/4 salary
• Next 10 days on 1/2 salary
• Next 10 days on 1/4 salary
• Thereafter, leave without pay for up to 30 days

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Female employees are entitled to maternity leave with full pay for a period of 70 days. Employees are also entitled to leave without pay for a maximum period of 4 months, to be granted upon request.

There is no legal requirement to provide paternity, adoptive or parental leave in Kuwait.

An employer is not permitted to terminate the employment of an employee or give the employee notice of termination while the worker is on any of the leaves permitted by the Labor Law.

Other leave/time off work

Subject to prescribed criteria, employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as bereavement, education leave or Hajj.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

The standard number of working hours for employees is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

However, the maximum number of working hours cannot exceed 10 hours per day or 48 hours per week.

Overtime

As a principle, overtime is compensated either with time off equivalent to the excess hours worked (for each overtime hour, 1.5 hours' time off or allocated to a time saving account) or with a supplementary payment of 140 percent of regular wages. Overtime payment is not required for senior executives.

For companies who apply reference periods, overtime is performed:

• When the hours worked during the reference period exceed the average of 40 hours a week and/or
• when the hours worked exceed a certain threshold:
  • Any hour exceeding 20 percent beyond the normal working hours (ie, 48 hours a week or 192 hours a month) over a reference period of up to 1 month
  • Any hour exceeding 12.5 percent beyond the normal working hours (ie, 45 hours a week or 180 hours a month) over a reference period of over 1 month and less than 3 months or
  • Any hour exceeding 10 percent beyond the normal working hours (44 hours a week and 176 hours a month) over a reference period of exceeding 3 months and up to 4 months.

Wages

EUR2,570.93 minimum wage per month for unqualified employees and EUR3,085.11 per month for qualified employees (index 944,43). A "qualified employee" is an employee who exercises a profession comprising a professional qualification normally acquired by means of education or training attested by an official certificate recognized by the Luxembourg State.

A “qualified employee” is one who holds:

• An official certificate at least equivalent to a vocational skills certificate
• A vocational diploma
• A manual skills certificate
• A certificate of vocational ability and has at least 2 years' practical experience
• A vocational initiation certificate and has at least 5 years' practical experience

Certain other employees may also be categorized as "qualified" even if they have no official certificate, subject to having accrued sufficient years of practical professional experience.

Vacation

26 days per year, plus 11 days of public holidays.

Sick leave & pay

An employer must continue to pay the employee in case of sickness leave due to illness or an occupational accident and must do so until the end of the month during which the 77th day of sickness leave occurs, over a reference period of 18 successive months. As from the month following the 77th day of sickness leave, the National Health Fund (Caisse Nationale de Santé or CNS) takes over payment of sickness benefits to the employee on sickness leave.

However, during the sick leave, the CNS may make a "refusal decision" pursuant to which the employee's entitlement to full salary ceases. In such cases, the employer must abide by the refusal decision once the period of 40 days allowed to lodge an appeal against the decision expires.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Maternity leave starts 8 weeks before the expected date of birth and continues for 12 weeks after the actual date of birth.

During maternity leave, the employee is paid by the National Health Fund (Caisse Nationale de Sante or CNS).

Maternity allowances cannot be lower than the social minimum wage (gross amount of EUR2,570.93 per month as of September 1, 2023) and may not exceed an amount equal to 5 times the social minimum wage (gross amount of EUR12,854.65 per month as of September 1, 2023).

Parental leave has been recently reformed. There are 2 types of parental leave:

• First parental leave directly following the maternity leave and
• Second parental leave to be taken before the 6th birthday of the child (or the 12th birthday in case of adoption).

The amount of parental leave allowance is linked to the employee's income and replaces, proportionately, the income lost by the employee taking parental leave. The allowance will be set between EUR2,570.93 and EUR4,284.88 per month and will be paid by the Children's Future Fund (Caisse pour l’avenir des enfants). An employee earning less than EUR4,284.88 per month is entitled to an equivalent amount to replace their salary. An employee earning more than EUR4,284.88 per month is entitled to that amount as a maximum.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to paid or unpaid leave for other purposes, such as bereavement, parental representation leave (ie, member of the national school commission), athletics, emergency service volunteering, training, social mandate and Luxembourgish language learning.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

The EA sets out mandatory terms and conditions related to minimum employment rights for all employees. The mandatory terms and conditions include the following:

Working hours

Employees (with some exceptions) cannot be required to work:

• More than 5 consecutive hours without a period of leisure of not less than 30 minutes
• More than 8 hours in 1 day
• In excess of a spread-over period of 10 hours in 1 day
• More than 45 hours in 1 week

Overtime

Employees earning up to RM4,000/month are entitled to overtime benefits for any work carried out in excess of the normal hours of work per day at a rate not less than 1.5 times the hourly rate of pay.

Wages

Statutory minimum wage of RM1,500 per month.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to a paid holiday on 11 of the gazetted public holidays and on any public holiday under the Holidays Act 1951. Employees are also entitled to the following minimum paid annual leave entitlements:

• 8 days for every 12 months of continuous service with the same employer if the employee has been employed by that employer for a period of less than 2 years
• 12 days for every 12 months of continuous service with the same employer if the employee has been employed by that employer for a period of 2 years or more but less than 5 years
• 16 days for every 12 months of continuous service with the same employer if the employee has been employed by that employer for a period of 5 years or more

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to the following sick leave:

• Where no hospitalization is necessary:
  • 14 days in the aggregate in each calendar year if the employee has been employed for less than 2 years
  • 18 days in the aggregate in each calendar year if the employee has been employed for 2 years or more but less than 5 years
  • 22 days in the aggregate in each calendar year if the employee has been employed for 5 years or more
  • An additional 60 days in the aggregate in each calendar year if hospitalization is necessary, as may be certified by such registered medical practitioner or medical officer

Maternity/parental leave & pay

All employees are statutorily entitled to paid maternity leave of not less than 98 consecutive days. All employees are entitled to paid paternity leave of not less than 7 consecutive days.

Other leave/time off work

Although not legally required, it is market practice, particularly among multinational employers, to grant employees leave for other purposes, such as bereavement, marriage, adoption or voting, among others.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Up to 48 hours a week for workday shifts, 42 hours a week for night shifts and 45 hours a week for mixed shifts. Employees must have at least 1 paid day off every 6 days. It is common business practice for employees to work 48 hours per week distributed among 5 days.

Overtime

An employee may not be required to work more than 3 hours greater than the number of hours in the statutory workday during a given shift, or more than 9 hours in a given week. An employee working overtime on a given day is entitled to double compensation for each hour of overtime. In the event the employee works more than 9 hours overtime in a given week, the employee is entitled to triple the applicable hourly wage for each hour of overtime.

Wages

Minimum wage is established by geographical areas and/or for specific professions or specific professional fields. There are currently 2 geographical areas for the purposes of determining minimum wage. The minimum wage in 2024 for 43 counties in the Northern Border is MXN374.98 per day. The general minimum wage for the rest of the country is MXN374.89 per day. Minimum wage is set up every year by the National Commission of Minimum Wages. Before the new administration took office in 2018, the minimum generally increased annually in accordance with the National Consumer Price Index (INPC).

Vacation

An employee who has worked for more than 1 year is entitled to at least 12 days of paid vacation. The number of mandatory vacation days increases by 2 working days for each following year until it reaches 20 vacation days.

Thereafter, the vacation period increases by 2 days for every 5 years of service.

Sick leave & pay

If an employee cannot work due to illness or an accident, they must obtain a medical authorization from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in order to receive pay for the days on which the employee could not attend work.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Women have the right to 6 weeks of paid leave prior to the birth of a child and 6 weeks following the birth of a child. Women may allocate up to 4 of the 6 weeks of the pre-birth leave to the post-birth leave period. If a child is born with disabilities or requires medical attention, the post-birth paid leave may be extended by up to 2 additional weeks.

In case of adoption, female employees are entitled to 6 weeks of paid leave following placement of the child.

A male employee is given 5 business days of paid paternity leave when his spouse gives birth or when he adopts a child.

Other leave/time off work

Employees with children aged up to 16 years old who have been diagnosed with cancer are entitled to an unpaid leave of absence for medical care where there is a need for critical treatment or hospitalization. The leave amounts to a period of 1 to 28 days and may be extended as necessary for a period of 3 years up to 364 days of leave of absence. Employees must submit the Leave Certificate issued by the IMSS.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

There is a 44-hour limit on working time per week. There are additional rules regarding rest breaks, night work and rest periods between shifts.

Overtime

Mandatorily paid at the rate of 25 percent if the work is performed between 6am and 9pm, and 50 percent if the work is performed between 9pm and 6am.

Payment of double wage if the employee works on a public holiday.

Wages

Minimum wage: MAD2,828.71 (approximately EUR250) per month; MAD14.81 per hour.

Vacation

After 6 months of service in the company, 1.5 days' vacation per month of service. An employee who has worked 12 months in the company is entitled to 18 days' vacation.

Sick leave & pay

Sick leave is not paid; social security pays 2/3 of the salary starting from the 4th day of absence up to 185 days in each 365-day period.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Maternity leave of 14 weeks. Social security pays 100 percent of the employee’s salary. Paternity leave of 3 days. The employer pays 100 percent of salary.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as bereavement, marriage, surgery of a spouse or a child, etc.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees.

Working hours

Normal working hours shall not exceed 48 hours per week and 8 hours per day. 6-day work weeks are common in some sectors such as oil and gas. It is permissible to extend the daily working hours to 9 hours per day, provided that the employee is given an extra half day of rest per week aside from the weekly day of rest.

Exceptionally, instruments of collective labor regulation may increase the normal working hours by up to a maximum of 4 hours, provided that weekly working time does not exceed 56 hours.

Overtime

Overtime is work performed over the normal daily working hours (ie, over 8 hours per day). Overtime may only be performed when:

• Employers are faced with workload increases that do not justify the recruitment of employees under fixed-term contracts or indeterminate period contracts or
• There are other compelling reasons.

Employees may perform up to 96 hours of overtime per quarter, but no employee shall perform more than 8 hours of overtime per week nor exceed 200 hours per year. It is mandatory to record overtime in a specific book. Overtime performed until 8 pm shall be paid at the normal wage rate plus 50% (150% in total), and overtime performed between 8 pm and the start of the normal working hours of the following day shall be paid at the normal wage rate plus 100% (200% in total).

Wages

The minimum salary is approved annually by a tripartite committee involving representatives of both employers and employees and the Ministry of Labor (Comissão Consultiva de Trabalho or CTT). The minimum salary is approved by sectors, and there are 8 sectors of activity:

Revised minimum salary rates are announced around April each year but backdated to January.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to:

• 1 day of leave for every month in the 1st year of service
• 2 days of leave per month in the 2nd year of service and
• 30 days of leave from the 3rd year onwards.

Fixed-term employment contracts with a duration of more than 3 months but less than 1 year must provide for leave of 1 day for every month of service.

Sick leave & pay

The Labor Law does not provide for sick leave. Sick leave is considered justified absence provided that a valid medical certificate is provided by the employee. The employer is not required to pay for these days. The employee must claim sick leave payments from the National Social Security Institute. It is permissible to include periods of paid sick leave in internal policies. If the employee exhausts their paid sick leave by law, they are allowed additional absences due to sickness, but those will not be paid. If the employee is often absent due to illness, the employer may refer them to the Medical Board to assess their capacity to work. Absences due to illness must be justified by appropriate medical certificates.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Female employees are entitled to maternity leave of 60 consecutive days, which may commence 20 days prior to the expected delivery date and may be taken consecutively with annual leave. The employer is not required to pay the employee during the period of maternity leave as social security pays for the 60-day leave period at 100 percent of salary based on the salary payable in the last 6 months. Nevertheless, the employer may decide to pay for this period. The father is entitled to 1 day of paid paternity leave for each 2 years of service.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees, whether full-time, part-time or on a ''casual'' basis.  

Working hours

The maximum number of working hours is 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week (44 in factories).

Overtime

Hours worked exceeding 8 hours per day are considered overtime work. Overtime with the employee's consent is permissible, but is restricted to no more than 12 hours per week. In the event of a special occasion, overtime can be a maximum of 16 hours in a week. Employees should not work or be allowed to work after midnight. 

For factories, overtime of more than 16 hours in any week is prohibited, and no more than 12 hours per week is allowed in factories where a continuous process is carried out. Factory managers must obtain the approval of the Factories and General Labor Laws Inspection Department for proposed overtime work and payment.  

Wages

Wages must be paid at the end of every month in factories and establishments where fewer than 100 people are employed, and within 5 days after the end of the month in all other cases. Wages following termination of employment must be paid within 2 days following the date of termination. All payments of wages must be made on a working day.

All wage payments shall be paid in Kyat or any foreign currency recognized by the Central Bank of Myanmar. Payment may be made either by cash or check, or transferred into the employee's bank account, if the employer and employee both agree. Overtime payment must be paid at twice the rate of ordinary wages.

The Minimum Wages Law 2013 stipulates that an employee's wage must not be lower than the minimum wage provided by the government. 

In March 2018, the National Minimum Wage Committee set a new minimum wage of MMK 4,800 per day (approximately US$3.10 per day). This wage does not apply to small businesses with fewer than 10 workers, and family businesses.

Vacation

Every employee who has completed a period of 12 months of continuous service must be granted annual leave of 10 days remunerated with average wages. From the commencement of employment, employees also have an annual entitlement to 6 days of paid casual leave. The casual leave does not carry over if not taken in 1 year. Employees can take casual leave of up to 3 days at a time, except that more days are allowed for religious or social activities. Casual leave is not allowed to be combined with any other types of leave.

Sick leave & pay

Employees with at least 6 months' continuous service are eligible for 30 days' medical leave per year with full pay, provided a medical certificate is given to the employer upon the employee's return to work. If not in service for at least 6 months, an employee is entitled to 30 days' sick leave without pay.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Maternity leave shall be allowed for 6 weeks before confinement and 8 weeks after confinement with wages or pay. Maternity leave may be granted in continuation of medical leave. If an employee is covered by the Social Security Law 2012, he/she has the right to enjoy benefits in accordance with the Social Security Law.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

A full-time working week usually consists of 40 hours. Collective agreements (CLAs) might set different full-time working hours (eg, 36 or 38 hours per week).

Overtime

No statutory obligation to provide pay for overtime worked as long as pay overall does not fall below the statutory minimum. Collective employment agreements might set different obligations.

Wages

Depends on the employee's age. As of January 1, 2024, the minimum wage for employees of the age of 21 years and older is EUR13.27 per hour and EUR2,317.83 per month, based on a full-time working week (40 hours).

Under the Minimum Wage Act, it is mandatory to pay a holiday allowance of 8 percent of the yearly salary, unless an employee earns more than 3 times the minimum wage and the parties have explicitly agreed in writing to exclude the 8-percent holiday allowance.

Vacation

Based on a full-time week (40 hours): 20 days per year, excluding public holidays, is the statutory required minimum. It is common practice to give between 24 and 28 days per year. CLAs may contain a higher number of holidays and/or so-called working time reduction (ADV) days.

Sick leave & pay

In case of occupational disability, an employer must pay at least 70 percent of the most recent gross salary plus holiday allowance to the employee for a maximum period of 104 weeks. The salary is capped at 70 percent of the "maximum daily wage" (ie, EUR274.44 per day and EUR5,969 per month as of January 1, 2024) and must, during the first 52 weeks of illness, not be below the statutory minimum wage rate. It is common practice (and, as such, is set out in most CLAs) to pay 100 percent of the full salary during the first 52 weeks of illness and 70 percent of full salary during the second 52 weeks.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

16 weeks’ maternity leave and, after that, a right to return to the employee’s own position. During maternity leave, the employee is entitled to a maternity allowance. The employer continues to pay the full salary of the employee. However, the Employee Insurance Agency reimburses a part of the regular salary to the employer, capped at the maximum daily wage. Statutory possibility of unpaid parental leave during a part of the working week over a certain amount of time before the youngest child turns 8 years old.

An employee who becomes a father is entitled to 5 days of paid paternity leave. In addition, in the first 6 months after birth, there is an additional leave entitlement of 5 weeks in case of a full-time employee (ie, additional paternity leave or partner leave). This is not paid by the employer. An employee who takes additional leave is eligible for state benefits of up to 70 percent of the daily wage.

Employees with a child up to the age of 8 years are entitled to parental leave (both in case of childbirth and adoption). An employee may take at most 26 times of his/her contractual hours per week as leave. Since August 2, 2022, parents are entitled to 9 weeks of partially paid parental leave during the 1st year after welcoming a child. Payment for this is provided by the government, and the employee will receive 70 percent of his/her last earned wage, capped at 70 percent of the “maximum daily wage.” The remainder of the parental leave is unpaid.

Other leave/time off work

Employees are also entitled to other forms of statutory leave such as care leave, emergency leave, adoption and foster leave as mentioned in the Work and Care Act. Other forms of leave may be arranged in any applicable CLA. For example, employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as marriage of family members, bereavement, moving or to carry out a legal or government-enforced rule.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are entitled to minimum employment rights under the Employment Relations Act 2000, Holidays Act 2003, Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, Minimum Wage Act 1983, Wages Protection Act 1983 and Equal Pay Act 1972.

Working hours

Standard working hours are 40 hours per week, although employers may require an employee to work reasonable additional hours.

Overtime

Overtime payment may be provided for in individual or collective employment agreements but is not required. If no overtime is payable for a salaried employee, the employment agreement should explicitly state that remuneration covers both payment for any additional hours and the employee's availability to work those additional hours.

Wages

The national adult minimum wage rate for employees aged 16 years or older is NZD22.70 per hour before tax.

Vacation

4 weeks paid annual leave per year after 12 months of continuous employment.

Sick leave and pay

As of July 24, 2021, employees are entitled to 10 days' sick leave per year after 6 months of continuous employment Employees may carry over accrued sick leave up to a total of 20 days.

Family violence leave

Employees are entitled to up to 10 paid days off a year due to family violence. The employee can also ask for flexible work arrangements for up to 2 months.

Bereavement leave

After 6 months of continuous employment, an employee is entitled to 3 days of bereavement leave where a member of their immediate family dies, they have a miscarriage or stillbirth, or another person has a miscarriage or stillbirth, and they are either the partner (former or current) of that person or had agreed to be the primary carer or partner of the primary carer of the baby. An employee receives 1 day of bereavement leave if another person dies and the employer accepts the employee has suffered a bereavement.

Parental leave and pay

Eligible primary carers are entitled to:

• 26 weeks of paid parental leave. This leave is paid for employees and self-employed individuals. Payment is made by the government, not by employers.
• 52 weeks of extended leave (unpaid) in total (includes paid parental leave) 10 days of special leave (unpaid).
• 2 weeks of partners' leave (unpaid)

Other leave/time off work

Employees are legally required to attend jury service when called, and their job is protected while they attend. Employers are not required to pay employees on jury service leave. If an employee's absence causes significant difficulty for an employer, an employer may support an application to have an employee excused or their jury service deferred.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights under the Labour Act

Manual and clerical workers. Other employees are not subject to the minimum employment rights prescribed by the Labour Act but such employment rights are generally stated in the employee’s contract of employment and company policies.

Working hours

Normal hours of work are fixed either by mutual agreement, by collective bargaining within the organization or by an industrial wages board. There is no statutory limit on working time. The usual industry practice is that an employee works for 40 hours in a week.

Overtime

Overtime must be paid for, but the rate to be paid is not specified by law.

Wages

An employer is required to pay wages to an employee at the end of the period during which the contract exists or as may be agreed upon. However, every employer is legally mandated to pay a wage not less than the National Minimum Wage of NGN30,000 per month. The National Minimum Wage was reviewed upwards in 2020 by the federal government following negotiation with organized labor.

Vacation

A manual or clerical worker is entitled to a minimum of 6 working days' leave after 12 months' continuous service. In practice, employees are usually granted between 2 and 6 weeks' vacation for every 12-month period.

Sick leave & pay

A manual or clerical worker is eligible to be paid wages up to 12 days in a calendar year during absence from work caused by illness certified by a registered medical practitioner. The period of eligibility for sick leave is contractual and therefore subject to the provisions of the applicable agreement governing the employment relationship.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Under the Labour Act, a pregnant female employee is entitled to maternity leave for 6 weeks before delivery and 6 weeks after delivery and shall be paid not less than 50 percent of her salary if she has worked continuously for a period of 6 months or more. Although this statutory protection mainly covers workers under the Labour Act, it is a standard practice in Nigeria for all categories of employees to enjoy 12 weeks maternity leave. Many female employees opt to commence their maternity leave 1 or 2 weeks before their due date.

The Labour Act only provides for maternity leave, any other parental leave (such as paternity leave) is not statutorily guaranteed and may be subject to the agreed terms of employment.

Paternity/parental leave & pay

In 2021, paternity leave of up to 14 days was approved by the federal government of Nigeria for male employees in the federal public civil service. This is not standard practice in the private sector; however, parties are at liberty to mutually agree on terms for same, including pay requirements. It is becoming common for male employees in the private sector to be granted some days or weeks as paternity leave.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as compassionate, relief, examination/study, bereavement, casual, etc. Some employers are known to include compulsory leave, without pay, which is applied during extraordinary circumstances, as part of their standard terms of employment.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All. For provisions regarding working hours, exceptions apply for employees in senior and particularly independent positions.

Working hours

Ordinary working hours must not exceed 9 hours per day and 40 hours per week. Specific rules apply for daily and weekly off-duty time, rest breaks, night work and work on Sundays.

Overtime

The employer must pay an overtime supplement of at least 40 percent of salary for work in excess of agreed working hours (ie, 9 hours per day and 40 hours per week).

Wages

No statutory minimum wage. In some sectors, collective bargaining agreements that have been made generally applicable stipulate minimum wages.

Vacation

25 working days (including Saturdays) per year, in addition to public holidays. Employees who are turning 60 during the same year have a right to 6 additional holidays.

Sick leave & pay

Statutory right to take time off for sick leave. Employees are entitled to receive sick pay for 1 year. Sick pay is provided by the employer for the first 16 days at basic salary rate and thereafter by the national insurance.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Parents have a general shared right to leave of absence for a total of 12 months, or longer if entitled to parental benefits. 15 weeks are reserved for the father, and 15 weeks are reserved for the mother. Allowance from the government is paid either for a period of 49 weeks at a full daily rate or 59 weeks at a reduced daily rate (ie, 80  percent). Collective bargaining agreements and individual contracts of employment may contain special regulations. In addition, parents have a right to unpaid leave for up to 12 months for each child.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as educational leave, leave in connection with military services or attendance in public bodies.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All. Additional rights are also available to young workers (ie, those under the age of 18) and women.

Working hours

The Labor Law currently guarantees workers 2 days off per week. To achieve this, the maximum number of the actual working hours was reduced from 45 hours per week to 40 per week, spread over 5 days. In addition, the rest period increased to a minimum of 1 hour instead of 30 minutes in the previous law.

During Ramadan, the maximum number of working hours per week for Muslim employees is 30, spread over a 5-day working week.

Overtime

8-hour maximum working day. As no more than 12 hours in total may be worked on a particular day, this means that overtime is capped at 4 hours per day.

An employee who works overtime is entitled to basic salary per hour plus:

• 25 percent for extra hours worked during the working day and
• 50 percent for extra hours at night or time off equal to the amount of overtime worked.

Wages

The minimum-wage provisions apply only to Omani workers and are regulated by ministerial decisions.

Vacation

30 days' annual leave fully paid after completion of 6 months' service.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to 182 calendar days' sick leave per year of service. 

The sick leave entitlements are as follows:

- From day 1 to day 21: Employees are eligible for 100 percent of their gross salary.

- From day 22 to day 35: Employees are eligible for 75 percent of their gross salary.

- From day 36 to day 70: Employees are eligible for 50 percent of their gross salary.

- From day 71 to day 182: Employees are eligible for 35 percent of their gross salary.

Termination during sick leave is not permitted.

Maternity leave 

Female employees are entitled to 90 calendar days' maternity leave at full pay for a maximum of 3 times during their employment.

There is no concept of parental leave or pay in Oman.

Special leave

Special leave will be granted to all employees in the following circumstances:

a) Up to 15 days of leave to accompany a sick family member, provided that they have a marital relationship or a relationship to the second degree;

b)10 days of leave in the event of the death of their wife, children, or daughters;

c) 3 days for marriage of an employee;

d) 3 days for the death of father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother or sister;

e) 2 days for the death of a direct uncle or aunt;

f) 130 days for a Muslim female employee and 14 days for a non-Muslim female employee in the case of death of her husband;

g) 15 days of examination leave only for Omanis who study at school, college or university; or

h) 7 days paternity leave, if the child is born alive and the leave does not exceed 98 days from the date of birth.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All. Part-time employees must receive the proportional part.

Working hours

The employer has the right to set working hours. Employees are allowed to work a maximum of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Some employees are legally exempt from these limits.

Employees who work continuously are entitled to take at least a 45-minute lunch break. This period is not part of the working hours, unless agreed otherwise.

Employees must have a day of weekly rest, usually on Sundays.

Overtime

Any additional working hours over regular working time or hours over agreed hours are considered overtime. Overtime is paid at a rate of 1.25 for each of the first 2 hours and at 1.35 for each additional hour per day. Alternatively, the company and the employee may agree to compensate overtime work with rest time.

Telework

A new telework law establishes the right to digital disconnection, economic compensation for providing personal means for teleworking (such as laptop, internet or electricity), the minimum content of the telework agreements and other important changes to the current rules on telework. This law applies to telework within Peruvian territory and abroad.

Wages

Employees who work full-time are entitled to receive the minimum wage, which is currently PEN1025 per month (about USD270). For certain activities, the minimum salary is higher (eg, mining). If the employee works on night shifts (from 10:00pm to 6:00am), they should receive a salary increase equivalent to 35 percent of the minimum wage.

Vacation

Employees working a minimum of 4 hours per day and who have accomplished a minimum number of days worked within the year – which depends on the duration of the working week – are entitled to 30 calendar days of vacation per full year of service. The number of days may be reduced in writing to a minimum of 15 calendar days, but the employer must compensate for the additional vacation days with an additional payment to the employee.

The employee may request in writing to split the 30 vacation days into 15 calendar days, which must be used in periods of 7 and 8 consecutive days; the remaining 15 calendar days may be used in periods of between 1 and 7 calendar days.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to up to 20 days’ sick leave per year fully compensated by the company if they have the proper medical certificate. After the 20th day, the Public Health Insurance (EsSalud) pays the employee a sickness allowance equal to the amount of the employee’s salary.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Maternity leave: A female employee is entitled to 49 days paid leave prior to giving birth and 49 days of paid leave postpartum.

It is possible for the employee to postpone the leave prior to giving birth and use the accrued days postpartum. In such cases, the employee must notify the employer within 2 months before the expected birthdate and prove with a medical report that postponing the leave prior to giving birth will not prejudice the employee or the child.

Paternity leave: An employee who becomes a father is entitled to up to 10 consecutive working days of paid leave.

The 10-day period may start between the birthdate of the new child and the date when the mother and the child leave the hospital.

To enjoy this benefit, the employee must notify the employer within 15 days before the expected date of birth.

Adoption leave: The employee requesting the adoption is entitled to 30 calendar days’ paid leave. To enjoy this benefit, the employee must notify the employer within 15 days before the expected date of the baby’s arrival.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes depending on the circumstances, such as bereavement; to care for an immediate family member who is seriously/terminally ill or who has suffered a serious accident; for medical care and rehabilitation therapy for people with disabilities; to care for a patient with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias; to continue treatment for tuberculosis; to donate blood, solid organs and bone marrow; to complete military service; and to vote. Women may also be entitled to leave to undergo breast and cervical oncological preventive examinations and for breastfeeding.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees.

Working hours

The total number of working hours must not exceed 8 hours daily. Normal workdays per week are 6 days.

A Compressed Work Week (CWW) scheme is recognized by law where the normal work week is reduced to 5 days, but the total work hours remain at 48 hours. Hours for a normal work day are not more than 12 hours, without the corresponding overtime pay. However, this scheme must be voluntarily agreed to by both the employer and the employees and must be reported to DOLE.

Employees are entitled to a 1-hour meal break, which is not compensated. It is the duty of the employer to provide each of its employees a rest period of not less than 24 consecutive hours after every 6 consecutive normal work days. If an employee is required to work on their rest day, the employee shall be entitled to an additional pay of 30 percent regular hourly pay.

Overtime

Any work in excess of 8 hours in a day is considered overtime work.

Wages

Basic wage means all the remuneration or earnings paid by an employer to a worker for services rendered on normal working days and hours excluding cost-of-living allowances, profit-sharing payments, premium payments, 13th-month pay or other monetary benefits which are not considered part of or integrated into the regular salary of workers. Wages must first comply with the minimum wage rates prescribed by Philippine law on a regional basis.

Vacation

Entitlement to a 5-day leave with pay for every employee who has rendered at least 1 year of service, known as Service Incentive Leave (SIL). At the employee's choice, SIL is commutable to its money equivalent if not used or exhausted at the end of the year based on the salary rate at the date of commutation.

Sick leave & pay

There is no minimum required by law apart from the SIL.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Maternity leave

A female employee who has paid at least 3 monthly contributions to the Social Security System (SSS) in the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of her childbirth, miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy shall be granted full pay for 105 days regardless of whether she gave birth via caesarean section or natural delivery. The SSS shall reimburse the employer of the applicable SSS maternity benefit. Any difference between the employee’s actual salary and the applicable SSS maternity benefit shall be borne by the employer.

Paternity leave

A married male employee, regardless of his employment status, is permitted not to report for work for 7 days but to continue to earn his gross monthly compensation on the condition that his spouse has delivered a child or suffered a miscarriage for the purpose of lending support to his partner during her period of recovery and/or in nursing of the newly born child.

Parental leave or solo parent leave

A solo parent employee who has rendered service of at least 1 year is entitled to a parental leave or solo parental leave of not more than 7 working days every year.

Leave for victims of violence against women and children

An employee who is a victim of violence (ie, physical, sexual or psychological) is entitled to a paid leave of up to 10 days.

Special leave benefit for women

A female employee is entitled to 2 months with full pay from her employer based on her gross monthly compensation following surgery caused by gynecological disorders, provided that she has rendered continuous aggregate employment service of at least 6 months over the last 12 months.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes if it is granted by the employer under a company policy or employment contract.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees.

Working hours

Standard (ie, basic) working time may not exceed 8 hours per day and an average of 40 hours over an average 5 day working week within the adopted settlement period not exceeding 4 months. It is also possible for an employer to introduce a 12-month settlement period for each working time system it uses if this is justified by objective or technical reasons and the organization of working processes. Polish labor law additionally provides for other systems of working time where the daily and weekly standards are different from the basic working time system. The Polish Labor Code allows the introduction of "flexible working hours.'' An employer may specify different times for the working day to start or may allow the employee decide – within the confines of a period indicated by the employer – what time they begin work. An employee's weekly working time, together with overtime work, cannot exceed an average of 48 hours in a given settlement period. In general, an employee must be granted at least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest each day and 35 hours of uninterrupted rest per week. Work on Sundays and public holidays is permissible only in the cases enumerated in the Polish Labor Code.

Overtime

Statutory restrictions on the permissible number of hours of overtime work. An employer cannot instruct some groups of employees to work overtime (eg, pregnant employees). In addition, a request to work overtime by an employee raising a child under 8 years of age is only possible with the employee's consent.

The overtime work may be compensated by paying an allowance – in addition to a standard remuneration – in the amount specified by the Polish Labor Code (ie, 50 percent or 100 percent of remuneration) or granting time off from work.

Wages

Employees and some civil law contractors have the right to be paid no less than the statutory minimum wage. The amount of the minimum wage is established each year - for the 1st half of 2024 it is PLN 4,242 (approx. EUR 970) and PLN 27.70 (approx. EUR 6) per hour for individuals employed under a contract of mandate/a contract to provide services which are civil law agreements, and for the second half of 2024 these amounts are, respectively, PLN 4,300 (approx. EUR 980) and PLN 28.10 (approx. EUR 6.4) per hour. As a general rule, the minimum wage is increased every year.

Vacation

Entitlement to 20 days of holiday leave. Entitlement to 26 days after 10 years of total years of service, which includes all previous employments and years of education, ending with graduation, specified under statutory law. Special rules apply to an employee beginning work for the 1st time. In addition, an employee is entitled to 13 public holidays.

Sick leave & pay

In general, for a total period of incapacity to work due to illness of 33 days (14 days in case of employees over 50 years of age) in a calendar year, an employee is entitled to sick pay from their employer in the amount of 80 percent of remuneration. Starting from the 34th (15th for employees over 50 years of age) day of incapacity to work, an employee is entitled to sickness benefit paid by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). If an employer employs at least 21 insured individuals on November 30 of a given calendar year, in the next calendar year, the obligation to pay benefits rests with the employer. The sum of social insurance contributions to be paid is then reduced by the sum of the sickness benefits paid by the employer. In principle, sickness benefit amounts to 80 percent of the employee's remuneration.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Special protection against dismissal of pregnant employees and employees using maternity, paternity, parental or childcare leave.

Basic maternity leave for a female employee is 20 to 37 weeks, depending on the number of children born. An employee-father is entitled to 2 weeks of paternity leave, to be used before the child reaches 12 months. Employees may apply for 41 weeks' parental leave – or 43 weeks in the case of a multiple births. A non-transferable, 9-week part of this leave will be introduced for each parent. If one parent does not take the 9-week leave, it will be forfeited (it will not be transferable to the other parent). The remainder of the leave is transferable between parents. This leave may be used by both parents at the same time and can be divided into no more than 5 parts.

The list of individuals entitled to take maternity or parental leave was extended in September 2019. Aside from parents (ie, adoptive or foster parents), employees who are immediate family members, such as a grandmother, grandfather, sister or brother, are now entitled to benefit from this leave. However, such immediate family members may only take this leave in specific situations (eg, where the mother’s maternity leave is disrupted by her being in hospital or where she is unable to take care of the child personally due to her own ill health). An employee engaged for at least 6 months is entitled to childcare leave of up to 36 months to be used before the child reaches 6 years of age. Each parent has the exclusive right to 1 month's childcare leave; this right cannot be transferred. Childcare leave may be combined with employment or training by the current or another employer; parents may use the childcare leave at the same time and/or divide the leave in 5 parts. Alternatively, an employee may file a request to reduce their working time to no less than 1/2 of the full amount of working time within the time during which they could have benefited from such leave.

For the period of the maternity leave (basic and additional), the paternity leave and the parental leave, an employee is entitled to a maternity benefit paid by ZUS. In general, no benefits or salary are granted to an employee using childcare leave.

Other leave/time off work

Polish law specifies other situations in which an employee's absence from work is justified due to special events in their life such as marriage; birth of child; and death and funeral of a spouse, child, father, mother, step-father, or step-mother. Further, there are specific regulations on the employee's right to time off due to performing a given function (eg, for trade union leaders for time on the trade union's board or for the performance of ad hoc trade union activity which cannot be performed outside working hours, time attending court as a witness in proceedings).

Employees are entitled to a new type of leave (care leave) of 5 days per calendar year to provide care to a person who is a family member (son, daughter, mother, father or spouse) or a person living in the same household who requires care or support for serious medical reasons.

Employees are also entitled to force majeure leave for urgent family matters caused by illness or accident if an employee's immediate attendance is necessary. This leave is for 2 days or 16 hours; during this leave, the employee retain the right to 50 percent of his/her remuneration.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are entitled to minimum employment rights.

Working hours

Maximum daily and weekly working hours are 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. If the employee has a managerial position or a job of trust, or usually performs their work outside the company's premises, an exemption regime may be agreed upon by the parties, in which case those limits shall not apply. Typically, employees under the exemption regime are entitled to an exemption bonus.

Overtime

Overtime is allowed to deal with an extraordinary increase in workload, or to prevent serious damage, or if due to force majeure. It is subject to maximum limits: 2 hours when performed on a normal working day, the equivalent to the normal daily working period when performed on a rest day or on a public holiday, and 150 (for medium-sized and large-sized companies) or 175 (for small-sized companies) hours per year.

Overtime must be compensated with additional payment (increase of hourly rates). Work on normal working days leads to a 25-percent increase for the 1st hour and 37.5-percent increase for additional hours; work on public holidays and on rest days leads to a 50-percent increase. In case overtime exceeds 100 hours in a civil year, those rates are doubled. Overtime on the normal rest days (typically, Sunday) also entitles the employee to time off equivalent to 1 day.

CBAs may establish more beneficial treatment for employees.

Wages

The minimum wage is fixed by the Portuguese government each year.

CBAs usually establish salary charts with higher minimum wages.

Vacation

Minimum 22 working days per year, plus 13 public holidays. CBAs may establish a longer vacation period.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to take off as much time as they need for sick leave. Payment during sick leave is not due from the employer. The Portuguese social security pays sick pay – roughly, between 55 percent and 75 percent of the average last remuneration – for up to 3 years.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

120 to 150 days (with deviations in case of multiple births) of initial parental paid leave. It may be shared between the mother and father, but the mother must take at least 6 weeks after birth. In case of shared parental leave, the leave may be extended for 30 more days. The mother may take a part of the parental leave before birth, up to a maximum of 30 days. The pay is borne by the Portuguese social security; it currently varies between 80 percent and 100 percent of the average last remuneration.

The father must take paid parental leave of 28 days after birth, and subsequently may take an additional 7 days in addition to the parental paid leave, which must be taken simultaneously with the mother’s parental leave. The pay is borne by the Portuguese social security.

Parents may take other non-paid leave and work part time.

All parental leave is unpaid by the employer.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to paid or unpaid leave for other purposes, such as bereavement, family restructuring, domestic violence and child care, among others.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All. Additional rights are also available to young workers (those under the age of 18) and women.

Working hours

Maximum ordinary working hours = 48 hour per week at the rate of 8 hours per day. During the month of Ramadan, maximum working hours = 36 hours per week at the rate of 6 hours per day.

Overtime

The maximum working hours specified above must not exceed 2 hours per day, unless the work is essential for preventing a substantial loss or serious accident or for eliminating or relieving the impact of a serious accident.

The overtime and maximum working time provisions in the Labor Law do not apply to a number of prescribed categories of employees primarily, employees holding senior executive managerial or supervisory positions.

Wages

The minimum wage in Qatar is QAR1,000 per month. An employer must also provide its employees with suitable accommodation and meals. If the employer does not, then it must provide a monthly accommodation allowance of QAR500 and a monthly food allowance of QAR300.

Vacation

A minimum of 3 weeks' vacation per year, where the employee's period of service is less than 5 years, and a minimum of 4 weeks' vacation where the employee's period of service is 5 years or more.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to 12 weeks of sick leave per year of service (2 weeks at full pay, 4 weeks at half pay and the remaining 6 weeks without pay). Employees are not entitled to statutory sick leave until they have completed 3 months' service and unless they provide a sickness certificate from a physician approved by the employer.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

After 1 year's continuous service − 50 calendar days' maternity leave at full pay. An employee can take a further 60 consecutive or non-consecutive days (unpaid) if the employee falls ill as a result of her pregnancy or the delivery of her baby.

There is no concept of parental leave or pay in Qatar.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as Hajj leave.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All, in line with the Romanian labor legislation.

Working hours

Weekly working time for full-time employees is 40 hours per week. As a rule, this is evenly distributed, amounting to 8 hours per day for 5 days (generally Monday to Friday). Weekly rest is 48 consecutive hours, usually Saturday and Sunday. By law, maximum working time cannot exceed 48 hours per week, including overtime. No opt-out is possible; however, there are certain exceptions under which the working time may exceed 48 hours per week.

There are specific rules on rest breaks, weekly rest, night work and rest periods between shifts.

Overtime

Work performed outside of normal working time is considered overtime. Overtime performed in normal working days must be compensated with:

• Paid time off granted within 90 calendar days after the overtime has been performed or
• If paid time off is not possible within this legal deadline, payment of additional monetary compensation (in addition to the monthly salary due for the respective month) of at least 75 percent of the hourly base salary for each overtime hour

If overtime is performed during weekly rest periods and/or days of legal/public holiday, additional compensation must be paid on top of the overtime compensation.

Wages

From January 1, 2022, employees can only be paid the minimum gross base salary for a maximum of 24 months. When this period expires, employers will be required to pay the respective employees a higher salary. These provisions are also applicable for individual employment agreements entered into prior to January 1, 2022. The maximum 24 month period is calculated as of January 1, 2022, so the 1st increase should have taken place as of January 1, 2024.

As of October 1, 2023, the generally applicable minimum gross base monthly salary at the national level is set at RON 3,300 (approximately EUR670) for employees working full-time hours.

Exceptionally, for the construction sector, the minimum base monthly gross salary at the national level is RON4,582 (approximately EUR920). Also, for the agricultural sector and food industry, the minimum gross base salary is established at RON3,436 (EUR690).

Vacation

The minimum vacation is 20 working days; in practice, based on the old legislation, employees’ expectation is 21 working days. This does not include the 17 public holidays. Employees who practice Christianity benefit from the following public holidays, which are included within the 17 public holidays: Good Friday (the last day of Friday before Easter), the 1st and 2nd day of Easter, and the 1st and 2nd day of Pentecost. Time off occurs on the date when these are celebrated according to the worship they belong to, and employees recover the extra days off based on a schedule established by their employer.

Sick leave & pay

Generally, employees may take sick leave up to 183 days per year, based on a medical certificate and for the duration specified in the certificate, depending on the type of illness. As a rule, the first 5 days of sick leave are covered by the employer, and the following days are paid from the health insurance budget. Sick pay generally is 75 percent of the average salary of the employee for the last 6 months out of a 12-month representative insurance period. The basis for calculating the contribution is capped at the threshold of 12 minimum monthly gross salaries established at national level, which is currently approximately EUR8,000.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Female employees benefit from 126 days of maternity leave, which may be split equally or otherwise between the pre- and post-birth period (subject to a minimum 42 calendar days' leave which must be taken after the birth). 

Male employees benefit from 10 working days of paternal leave, to be taken in the first 8 weeks after the child's birth, to enable effective participation in the care of the newborn. This may be extended to a total of 15 working days, subject to certain conditions, if the father has undertaken a childcare course (irrespective of when this was completed).

In addition, either parent is entitled to take child-raising leave up until the child is 2 years old (or 3 years old in the case of a child with disabilities), subject to the requirement that at least 2 months of the leave must be taken by the other parent.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may be entitled to other types of leaves or time off, such as (i) vocational training leave, (ii) leave for taking care of a sick child, (iii) leave for caring of an oncologic patient, (iv) carers’ leave for providing care or personal support to a relative or to an individual living in the same household as a result of a severe medical condition, (v) special absence from work in case of unforeseen situations determined by a family emergency situation in case of illness or accident, making the employee’s immediate presence indispensable, or (vi) time off for blood donation, among others.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

A standard working week is 40 hours. In some exceptional cases, this is decreased by the Labor Code.

Overtime

In general, any time worked over the standard working hours (eg, 40 hours per week) is classed as overtime.

No more than 120 hours of overtime a year and no more than 4 hours of overtime in any 2 consecutive days are  permitted. In most cases, overtime is only permitted with the employee's prior written consent.

Overtime must be paid at a rate of 150 percent of the regular hourly rate for the first 2 hours of overtime worked in a single day, and at a rate of 200 percent of the regular hourly rate thereafter. Upon an employee's written request, the employer must compensate overtime work by granting the employee additional time off in lieu of payment, which should be no less than the overtime worked.

Certain limitations regarding overtime apply to protected employee categories, which include employees under the age of 18, pregnant women, women with children under the age of 3, disabled employees and certain other categories defined by federal law.

The employee may follow a non-standard working hours regime under the employment contract, which means that they occasionally can be involved in the performance of job functions outside regular working hours (ie, employees with a non-standard working day). Work under a non-standard working day is not considered overtime.

Wages

The law sets minimum monthly earnings, which may be different depending on the region. As of January 1, 2024, the federal minimum monthly wage is RUB19,242; in Moscow, it is RUB29,389.

Vacation

At least 28 calendar days per year of employment. For certain categories of employees, this statutory minimum may be extended (eg, employees with a non-standard working day are entitled to 3 calendar days in addition to the standard annual vacation).

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to receive statutory sick leave compensation. This is covered by the Russian State Social Fund, which in turn is funded by the employer's mandatory contributions paid as a percentage of its employees' salaries. The amount of sick leave compensation varies according to the grounds for the sick leave. In cases of a labor-related injury or occupational illness, the amount of sick leave compensation is 100 percent of the employee's average earnings. However, sick leave compensation may not exceed the maximum established by federal law, which is subject to annual review. Employees are required to obtain a medical certificate in electronic form for their absence. Generally, an employer cannot terminate an employee's employment while an employee is on sick leave.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Paid pregnancy leave generally begins to accrue no later than 70 calendar days prior to the birth and continues for 70 calendar days thereafter, although the period may be extended in the event of multiple births and/or complications during the birth. The amount of pregnancy leave allowance is established by federal law and is subject to annual review. The allowance shall be paid by the Russian State Social Fund.

A person caring for a child, be it the child's mother, father or any relative who is raising them, may request to take childcare leave until the child is 3 years old (childcare leave). The amount of child leave allowance is established by federal law and is subject to annual review. The allowance shall be paid by the Russian State Social Fund.

The employee retains the right to return to work during the entire period of the pregnancy or childcare leave.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Employees may be required to work a maximum of 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week. There are exceptions for those employed in trade, hotels, catering, security and similar jobs where the working hours may be increased to a maximum of 9 hours per day. For Muslims, the workday during Ramadan cannot exceed 6 hours per day, or the work week cannot exceed 36 hours. There are particular requirements in relation to the hours that women can work and the industries they can work in. For example, women cannot work at night for a period exceeding 11 hours (unless the work is performed in certain sectors, eg, health, air transport etc, or carried out in certain circumstances, eg, where the employee occupies a senior or leadership role) or be made to undertake dangerous work roles.

Overtime

Overtime is to be paid at the rate of the employee's wage plus 50 percent of their basic wage for an hour. Employees who hold a senior, supervisory or managerial position are not entitled to paid overtime.

Wages

There is generally no minimum wage for Saudi employees; however, in order to fulfill the Saudization requirements, a Saudi employee will be fully counted if their wage is SAR4,000 per month or above; otherwise, the employee will be counted as less than 1 full employee. Further, there are specific Saudized jobs and professions for which HRSD has set a minimum wage for Saudi nationals, such as engineering and accounting roles.

Vacation

An employee is entitled to 21 days of annual leave. Salaries must be paid prior to the employee taking their vacation. After 5 years of employment, the employee is entitled to 30 days of annual leave per year.

Sick leave & pay

An employee with a proven illness which requires the submission of satisfactory medical evidence shall be paid in full for sick leave for the first 30 days, then 75 percent of wages for the next 60 days. The employer is not required to pay the employee after 90 days of absence.

Where sickness is due to work conditions, an employee cannot be terminated within a year from the diagnosis and is to be paid fully for the first 60 days and then 75 percent for the remainder of the year, in addition to having all medical expenses funded by the employer.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Women are entitled to fully paid maternity leave of 10 weeks commencing a maximum of 4 weeks before giving birth and 6 weeks thereafter. Paternal leave is 3 days, fully paid.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may be entitled to paid or unpaid leave for other purposes, including marriage, bereavement, paternity, exams and to perform Hajj.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Employees' rights under law depend on whether they are EA Employees or Part IV EA Employees.

Generally, the minimum entitlements under the EA apply to EA Employees. However, matters such as hours of work, overtime and rest days are statutorily prescribed for Part IV EA Employees only.  Employers are free to provide better contractual terms – above and beyond these minimum obligations – to their employees. However, terms which are worse than the minimum obligations stipulated under the EA for the EA Employees will be invalid and unenforceable.

Working hours

Rules relating to working hours only apply to Part IV EA Employees, regardless of whether the employees are shift or non-shift workers.

For shift workers, the hours of work must not exceed an average of 44 hours per week over any continuous period of 3 weeks, subject to a maximum of 12 hours per day.

For non-shift workers working more than 5 days per week, the hours of work should generally not exceed more than 8 hours per day or 44 hours per week. Where a non-shift worker works 5 days or less per week, the agreed hours of work must not exceed 9 hours per day or 44 hours per week. A non-shift worker may work up to 12 hours a days (and not exceeding an average of 44 hours over any 3 continuous weeks) if they agree to do so in writing, have the relevant provisions of the EA explained and are informed of their daily working hours, number of working days in each week and weekly rest day.

For other working arrangements – for example, if a Part IV EA Employee works less than 44 hours every alternate week – the hours of work are up to 48 hours a week, but capped at 88 hours in any continuous 2-week period.

A Part IV EA Employee is not allowed to work for more than 12 hours in a day, inclusive of overtime work, except in prescribed circumstances.

Overtime

With some exceptions, all work done in excess of the normal hours of work, excluding breaks (ie, 8 hours in 1 day or 44 hours per week), is considered overtime, for which a Part IV EA Employee must be paid at least 1.5 times their basic hourly rate. Unless employers successfully apply for and obtain an exemption for more than 72 hours of overtime work by employees in a month, the maximum permitted overtime is 72 hours per month. Rules relating to overtime only apply to Part IV EA Employees.

In terms of overtime pay, where a Part IV EA Employee is required to work on a rest day, the calculation of the overtime pay varies depending on the exact period of work on that rest day and whether the work is done at the employer's or employee's request. For example, where the work is done at the employer's request and the period of work exceeds the employee's normal working hours, they must be paid:

• The basic rate of pay for 2 days' work; and
• Not less than 1.5 times the hourly basic rate of pay for each hour or part thereof that exceeds their normal working hours.

In the event an EA Employee is required to work on any public holiday, they must be paid an extra day's salary at the basic rate of pay in addition to the gross rate of pay for that day, or alternatively, by mutual agreement, an EA Employee may be granted a public holiday in lieu or, for non-Part IV EA Employees, time off in lieu.

Wages

Singapore law does not generally have a minimum wage stipulation. Wages are a matter to be agreed between the parties. However, the Singaporean government has introduced a mandatory Progressive Wage Model (PWM) to help uplift low-wage workers in certain sectors. The PWM covers both full-time and part-time Singaporeans and Singapore permanent residents in certain sectors, such as the cleaning, security, landscape,, retail, food services and waste management sectors. Employers in these sectors are also encouraged to use these principles of progressive wage for their foreign employees.

In 2022, the Singapore Government accepted all 18 recommendations by the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers of 30 August 2021. These include expanding the Progressive Wage approach and coverage to uplift more local lower-wage workers, including: expanding the PWM to the food services and waste management sectors from March 1, 2023 and July 1, 2023 respectively; introducing an occupational progressive wage for administrators and drivers (regardless of sector) from March 1, 2023; and introducing a new requirement where firms employing foreign workers have to pay at least the relevant sectoral or occupational progressive wages to local workers in applicable job roles and at least the Local Qualifying Salary to all other local workers.

The wages of EA Employees may only be deducted for specific reasons as set out under the EA. In particular, deductions (subject to a maximum amount) may be made with an EA Employee's consent, although consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Vacation

An EA Employee who has worked for their employer for at least 3 months is entitled to 7 days' paid annual leave for the first year of service. An additional day of leave for every subsequent 12 months of service will be provided, up to a maximum of 14 days. If the EA Employee has worked for their employer for at least 3 months but has not completed 12 months of continuous service in any year, the annual leave entitlement for that year is pro-rated based on the number of full months the EA Employee has worked in that year. This entitlement applies even if the EA Employee is still on probation, so long as they have worked for their employer for more than 3 months. Further, every employee in Singapore is entitled to be paid for each public holiday. There are presently 11 public holidays in Singapore each year, although additional public holidays may be gazetted.

Sick leave & pay

An EA Employee who has worked for their employer for at least 3 months is entitled to paid sick leave if the EA Employee has informed or tried to inform their employer within 48 hours of their absence, and if the sick leave is certified by a medical practitioner or a medical officer as required under the EA. The number of days of sick leave is subject to the employee's service period.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Under the Child Development Co-Savings Act 2001 of Singapore (CDCSA), any female employee in Singapore is entitled to government-paid maternity leave benefits if:

• The child is a Singapore citizen at the time of delivery and
• The employee has worked for the employer for at least 3 months immediately before the day of birth.

If the child is not a Singapore citizen at the time of delivery, a female employee may still qualify for government-paid maternity leave if she meets the eligibility criteria within 12 months of the child’s birth and she will (among other things) be eligible for the remaining maternity leave from the date she meets all criteria.

Eligible female employees are entitled to 16 weeks' government-paid maternity leave. The 16 weeks of government-paid maternity leave may be consumed as a single continuous block, and mothers may start taking maternity leave up to 4 weeks before the date of delivery. Further, while the first 8 weeks must be taken as a continuous block, the last 8 weeks (9th to 16th week) of government-paid maternity leave may also be taken flexibly over a period of 12 months from the date of confinement, subject to mutual agreement between the employer and employee.

For the 1st and 2nd confinements, employers must pay for the first 8 weeks and may be reimbursed by the government for the remaining 8 weeks. The full 16 weeks' entitlement will be government-paid from the 3rd confinement onwards. Government-paid maternity leave paid by the Singapore government is capped at SGD10,000 per 4 weeks, including employer's central provident fund (CPF) contributions.

Female EA Employees who do not qualify for maternity leave under the CDCSA may be entitled to maternity benefits under the EA instead, provided the eligibility criteria is met. An eligible female EA Employee is entitled to up to a total of 12 weeks' maternity leave. Of the 12 weeks, generally, the female EA employee is only entitled to 8 weeks' paid maternity leave if she has fewer than 2 children of her own and if she has served her employer for at least 3 months before the estimated delivery date. The remaining 4 weeks of maternity leave is unpaid. If the female EA employee has 2 or more living children at the time of birth, she is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave.

For both government-paid maternity leave under the CDCSA and maternity leave under the EA, the female employee must also comply with the requisite notice requirements. Failure to provide such notice without sufficient cause will entitle an employer to pay the employee only half her salary during the leave.

Working fathers (including adoptive fathers and those who are self-employed) are entitled to 2 weeks of government-paid paternity leave (GPPL) for all births. The GPPL will be doubled from 2 to 4 weeks for eligible fathers of children born from anuary 1, 2024 onwards. Employers can grant the additional 2 weeks of GPPL on a voluntary basis, which will be reimbursed by the Government.

The GPPL must be used within 16 weeks commencing on the date of the child’s birth, provided the employee meets certain criteria. If needed, they may also work out an agreement with their employer to take the leave flexibly within 12 months from the birth of the child for 1 or more than 1 period, all of which in aggregate are equal in duration to twice the employee’s weekly index (as prescribed within the CDCSA) or 12 days, whichever is lower. Subject to certain eligibility criteria, a working father, including one who is self-employed, is entitled to share up to 4 weeks of his wife’s 16 weeks of government-paid maternity leave, subject to his wife's agreement.

Under the CDCSA, all employees, including fathers, employed for at least 3 months (including non-EA Employees) are generally entitled to up to 6 days of paid childcare leave per year where the child is a Singaporean citizen and below the age of 7. The first 3 days are paid by the employer, and the remaining 3 days of leave are paid by the Singapore government. Payments are capped at SGD500 per day, including CPF contributions. An EA Employee whose child is not a Singaporean citizen is entitled to 2 days of childcare leave under the EA.

The CDCSA also provides for adoption leave, extended childcare leave and unpaid infant care leave, if certain eligibility criteria are met.

Other leave/time off work

Singapore law does not provide employees with additional leave entitlements for the purposes of caring for dependent relatives other than children. However, members of the Singapore civil service enjoy 2 days of eldercare leave, entitling them to take time off to care for their parents or parents-in-law. Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes (eg, sickness, military service).

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Working time during any 24-hour period must not exceed 8 hours. Working time should not exceed 40 hours per week.

Once a week, an employee must have uninterrupted rest time of 2 consecutive days, which must fall on Saturday and Sunday or Sunday and Monday, if possible taking into account the nature of the employer’s operations.

Overtime

Average weekly working time, including any overtime work, must not exceed 48 hours.

Overtime work must not exceed on average 8 hours per week within a period of not more than 4 consecutive months, unless the employer agrees with the employee representatives on a longer period, which must not exceed 12 consecutive months.

Wages

Wages cannot be lower than the minimum wage set forth by a special regulation.

The minimum wage rate for a role is partly based on the degree of difficulty of work. Different roles attract different minimum wage coefficients.

For hourly paid employees, the minimum wage rate is calculated as 1/174 from the minimum wage entitlement calculated for employees remunerated with monthly wage.

For monthly paid employees, the calculation of minimum wage in 2024 results in the increase of the minimum wage by EUR50 for each degree of difficulty of work.

In 2024, the minimum hourly wage is EUR4.310 per hour. The minimum monthly wage is EUR750 per calendar month.

Vacation

4 weeks' vacation per year. 5 weeks per year for any employee who reaches the age of 33 years before the end of the given calendar year or for any employee who cares for a child on a permanent basis.

Sick leave & pay

Maximum number of sick leave days is up to 7 days per calendar year.

Statutory sick leave and pay provisions allow for up to 10 days of employer-paid sick leave (ie, 0 to 3 days: paid at 25 percent of the daily assessment base; 4 to 10 days: paid at 55 percent of the daily assessment base) followed by sick allowance paid by the social insurance company (55 percent of the daily assessment base, paid from the 11th day until the 52nd week of illness).

Maternity/paternity/parental leave & pay

An employee is entitled to maternity or parental leave until the time the child reaches the age of 3, or the age of 6 if the  child has a long-term adverse health condition.

A female employee is entitled to paid maternity leave of 34 weeks; 37 weeks for a single parent; and 43 weeks if the female employee gives birth to or takes care of 2 or more children at the same time.

A male employee is entitled to paid paternity leave of 28 weeks.; 31 weeks for a single parent; and 37 weeks if the male employee takes care of 2 or more children at the same time.

Fathers can take 2 weeks of paid leave within 6 weeks as of the child's birth, even if the mother receives maternity or parental allowance at the same time.

Maternity leave usually begins around 6 weeks before the expected date of birth but no earlier than 8 weeks prior to the childbirth.

From the beginning of maternity or parental leave, the social insurance company pays maternity or parental premium if the conditions for entitlement have been fulfilled by the employee.

Other leave/time off work

Employees are entitled to leave with wage compensation – for instance:

• to attend recovery stays and mandatory medical examinations
• for blood donations, apheresis and the donation of other biological materials
• for examination or treatment at a healthcare facility for a necessary period of not more than 7 days per calendar year, provided the examination or treatment could not have been undertaken during non-working time
• for the time necessary for preventive medical examinations associated with pregnancy, provided the examination or treatment could not have been undertaken during non-working time
• in case of childbirth and for the time necessary to transport the child’s mother to and from the healthcare facility
• for 1 day to participate in the employee's own wedding
• to accompany a family member to a healthcare facility for an examination or treatment in the case of sudden sickness or injury or for a scheduled examination, treatment or therapy (up to maximum 7 days per calendar year, insofar as the accompanying was necessary and the activity could not have been undertaken during non-working time)
• to accompany a disabled child to a social care facility or special school or
• in case of death of a family member.

The employer shall grant leave without any wage compensation if the activity cannot be performed outside working hours – for instance:

• for performance of public functions, civic duties and other activities in the general interest
• to participate in the wedding of the employee's child or parent or
• for voluntary military training upon agreement.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Independent contractors are excluded from all employment protection provided that they are part of genuine independent contractor relationships, failing which there may be a misclassification risk. Specific categories of employees may further be excluded from some legislative protections – for instance, employees working less than 24 hours per month are excluded from minimum employment terms under the BCEA, and employees earning above the BCEA threshold are not entitled to overtime payments unless their contracts of employment provide otherwise.

Working hours

Employees who earn below the BCEA threshold may work a maximum of 45 ordinary hours a week (ie, 8 hours per day for employees who work a 6-day week and 9 hours per day for employees who work a 5-day week), subject to the exemptions identified in the BCEA. Employees who earn below the BCEA threshold may be required to work up to 10 hours' overtime per week provided that they are only required to work a maximum of 12 hours in any day. Employees earning above the BCEA threshold, senior managerial employees and employees engaged as sales staff who travel to the premises of customers and who regulate their own hours of work may be required to work all reasonable hours necessary to efficiently perform their duties and responsibilities, including on weekends and public holidays, without any additional pay. Rules on rest breaks, night work and rest periods between shifts apply. Agreements on compressed work weeks and averaging of work hours may impact maximum work hours.

Overtime

Overtime may be worked if agreed between the employer and employee. An agreement to work overtime concluded in the first 3 months of employment is only valid for 12 months. Limitations on maximum overtime apply (ie, 10 hours per week, or 15 hours in terms of a collective agreement), but agreements on compressing work weeks and averaging of work hours may alleviate limitations. Compensation for overtime is payable to employees earning below the BCEA threshold, but higher-earning employees are excluded from overtime payment unless the employment contract provides for it. Minimum statutory overtime rates are either 1.5 times the normal rate or 2 times the normal rate, with the highest rate being payable if the overtime is worked on a Sunday or public holiday and the employee is not normally required to work on Sundays and/or public holidays. Time off may be given in lieu of paying overtime by agreement.

Wages

The National Minimum Wage Act, 2018 provides for a minimum wage of ZAR25.42per hour with effect from March 1, 2023. The minimum wage is also ZAR25.42 per hour for the farming sector and the domestic worker sector with effect from March 1, 2023. The minimum wage will increase to R27,58 per hour effective from March 1, 2024. This new rate will also be applicable to farm- and domestic workers.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to a minimum of 21 consecutive days' paid annual leave per annum on full remuneration in addition to official public holidays.

Sick leave & pay

All employees are statutorily entitled to paid sick leave equal to the number of days that the employee would work during a 6-week period per every 36-month employment cycle. Payment is based on basic wages the employee would have received for work on that day, not full remuneration. Pro-rated leave entitlements may apply for shorter periods of employment and, in the first 6 months of employment, an employee is only entitled to 1 day's sick leave for every 26 days worked.

Maternity/adoption/commissioning parental/parental leave and pay

Currently a minimum of 4 consecutive months of unpaid maternity leave. Employees may claim partial remuneration through the Unemployment Insurance Fund. An employee who adopts a child under the age of 2 is entitled to 10 consecutive weeks' unpaid adoption leave, provided that, if the adoption order is in respect of 2 adoptive parents, then only 1 adoptive parent may apply for adoption leave and the other adoptive parent may apply for parental leave. An employee who is a commissioning parent in a surrogate motherhood agreement is entitled to 10 consecutive weeks' unpaid commissioning parental leave upon the birth of a child as a result of a surrogate motherhood agreement, provided that, if a surrogate motherhood agreement has 2 commissioning parents, only 1 commissioning parent may apply for commissioning parental leave and the other may apply for parental leave.

Employees who are not eligible for maternity leave, adoption leave or commissioning parental leave are eligible for 10 consecutive days' unpaid parental leave in the event of the birth or adoption of a child. While the abovementioned leave is unpaid, employees may claim benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

These leave types may be amended in view of a recent judgment in South Africa holding that these provisions are unconstitutional insofar as they unfairly discriminate between mothers and fathers and between one set of parents and another on the basis of whether the children were born of the mother, conceived by surrogacy or adopted. The Constitutional Court has not confirmed the judgment.  

Employees are also entitled to 3 days' paid family responsibility leave to be used when an employee's child is sick or in the event of the death of a close family member.

Other leave/time off work

None.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Generally all. Employees and dispatched workers are entitled to statutory employment rights, such as statutory severance pay and annual paid leave, while other types of workers, such as independent contractors, are not.

Working hours

Statutory limit is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. Employees in managerial or supervisory positions and employees handling confidential information are not subject to the statutory limits on working hours. As of January 2020, the 52-hour work week system has been implemented to all businesses with 5 or more employees.

Overtime

Limited to 12 hours per week, to be paid at 150 percent of the ordinary wage. However, overtime work performed on a holiday for 8 hours or less shall be paid at 150 percent of the ordinary wage. Overtime work performed on a holiday for more than 8 hours shall be paid at 200 percent of the ordinary wage.

Wages

The Minimum Wage Act (MWA) provides for minimum wage levels. The minimum wage may be fixed on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. The hourly minimum wage rate in effect for 2023 is KRW9,620. The minimum wage is calculated by adding fixed allowances to basic pay, although it excludes other compensation, such as discretionary bonuses, overtime pay and fringe benefits.

Vacation

Employees must be given a minimum of 15 days' paid annual leave if they meet the overall yearly requirement of at least 80 percent attendance during the previous year, while employees who do not meet the attendance requirement must be afforded at least 1 day of paid annual leave for each full month of attendance. New employees who started work after May 30, 2017 and have worked for less than 1 year must be given at least 1 day of paid annual leave for each full month of service, up to 11 days. Thus, new employees will be able to receive up to 26 days of paid annual leave during the first 2 years of employment (up to 11 days in the 1st year of employment and 15 days in the second year of employment). Following completion of the 1st year of service, this entitlement increases by 1 day after each 2 years of service, up to a maximum of 25 days.

Sick leave & pay

There is no legal requirement for employers to provide leave to employees for non-work-related illnesses or injuries. It is not uncommon, however, for companies to provide paid sick leave whether or not an injury or illness is work related. Employees generally use their annual paid leave as personal sick days if paid sick leave is not available. Employers are required under the LSA to provide paid leave for work-related illnesses or injuries.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Employers must grant pregnant female employees 90 days (120 days in case of multiple births) of paid maternity leave, which can be used before or after childbirth. Compensation for the 1st 60 days (75 days in case of multiple births) is paid by the employer, while the remaining days are paid from the Employment Insurance Fund, a state-run fund established by the Ministry of Employment and Labor under the Employment Insurance Act. The statutory 90/120 days' maternity leave includes holidays and Sundays. At least 45 days (60 days in case of multiple births) must be used after childbirth so that, even where more than 45 days (60 days in case of multiple births) were used before childbirth, an employer must allow 45 days (60 days in case of multiple births) of maternity leave after childbirth.

Male employees are entitled to 10 days' paid leave, which can be taken at the employer's discretion within 90 days of the child's birth. The leave may be divided into 2 periods of leave.

Employees with children 8 years of age or under or in the 2nd year or lower of elementary education have an entitlement to unpaid childcare leave of up to 1 year. A recent amendment to the Equal Opportunity Act regarding use of childcare leave allows for the yearly childcare leave allotment to be divided into up to 3 periods of leave (from the previous 2 periods) beginning from December 8, 2020. This entitlement is applicable to both fathers and mothers. The employee must have worked for the same employer for at least 6 continuous months.

As of November 19, 2021, childcare leave is also available for pregnant female employees before childbirth. While the overall period of childcare leave is limited to 1 year, childcare leave during pregnancy will not be deducted from the allowed number of split uses.

The employer is not obliged to pay wages during childcare leave; however, employees are instead paid under the employment insurance system:

• For the 1st 12 months of childcare leave, employees may receive 80 percent of their ordinary wage, up to KRW1.5 million.

• 25 percent of the above amount is payable 6 months after the employee's return to work.

• The MOEL released the plan to improve childcare leave in 2022 as follows:

If an employee requests leave to receive medical fertility treatments, employers are required to approve such leave request up to 3 days per year, with the 1st day of the leave being paid leave; the other 2 days are unpaid leave days. Nonetheless, if granting the leave on the requested date(s) would cause significant hindrance to the normal operations of the business, an employer may consult with the employee and change the date(s) of the leave.

Employers are legally required to treat May 1 (ie, Labor Day) as a mandatory paid holiday for employees. As of January 1, 2022, companies with 5 or more employees are required to guarantee holidays designated by the Presidential Decree as paid holidays.

With the enactment of the Public Holidays Act, starting May  4, 2023, employers must grant the next business day as a substitute holiday in cases where a national holiday (Independence Movement Day (March 1), Independence Day (August 15), National Foundation Day (October 3) and Hangul Proclamation Day (October 9) or Children’s Day (May 5), Buddha’s Birthday (April 8 in the lunar calendar), and Christmas (December 25) falls on a Saturday or Sunday. The substitute holidays must be treated as paid holidays. However, substitute holidays will not be granted for New Year’s Day (January 1), Memorial Day (June 6), even if such public holidays fall on Saturday or Sunday.

Other leave/time off work

Employees are also entitled to family-care leave to take care of family members on account of their illness, accident or old age, among others, as well as fertility treatment leave to receive medical fertility treatments, such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization (IVF). An employer must, upon request, grant 1 day of menstrual leave per month.  In addition to legally mandated paid leave, many employers in Korea voluntarily provide other compensated leave, including marriage leave, bereavement leave and leave for academic pursuits.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees, except employees subject to special employment regulation of senior management (Royal Decree 1382/1985) who are not subject to the minimum employment rights established by the Workers' Statute, unless otherwise agreed. In addition, most CBAs exclude senior managers from their scope.

Working hours

As a general rule, there is a 40-hour-per-week limit on working time. CBAs may establish reduced working hours. All companies should have a working time register in order to keep a record of the employees’ workdays, and any employee, representative or labor inspector may access the register at any time in the workplace.

Overtime

Only with employee consent, except in cases of force majeure. Overtime must be compensated in cash (with a value at least equivalent to an ordinary hour’s work) or time off in the following 4 months. CBAs may establish more beneficial treatment for the employee.

Wages

The national minimum wage for full-time positions in 2024 is EUR37.8 gross per day, or EUR1,134 gross per month (14 payments, 12 monthly payments and 2 extraordinary payments in July and December).

The applicable CBA also may set out a salary chart with a higher minimum wage.

Vacation

30 calendar days' vacation per year plus 14 public holidays. CBAs may establish longer vacation periods.

Sick leave & pay

Employees are entitled to take time off for sick leave, usually up to 18 months. There is mandatory sick pay, which is borne by the Social Security Scheme. CBAs may require the employer to improve upon the mandatory social security benefits.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

16 weeks' paid maternity leave and, from 2021, 16 weeks' paid paternity leave. The first six weeks of the 16-week leave are mandatory for the employees and must be taken immediately after the birth of the child.  In both cases, the pay is borne by the Social Security Scheme and is equivalent to 100 percent of the regulatory base (that is, the employee's salary determined pursuant to a specific formula over which public benefits are calculated). Employees have a right to return to work. CBAs may require the employer to improve social security benefits. In some cases, the father may take a part of the maternity leave days.

Parental leave for breastfeeding

Employees are entitled to a daily one-hour leave from work, which may be divided into two periods, to breastfeed a child until the child reaches the age of nine months. It is also possible to accumulate the hours of this leave into full working days that can be taken.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may be entitled to leave for other reasons, such as paid days for the death, accident, severe illness, hospitalization, or major surgery of family up to 2nd degree kinship; marriage; birth of a child; moving; public or personal duties; trade union functions; and prenatal examinations and preparation for childbirth. In addition, all employees with at least 1 year of service are entitled to 20 hours paid leave per year to pursue professional training related to the employer's activity. Duration of time off work under these situations is provided for in any applicable CBA. CBAs may improve employee’s time-off rights.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

Standard working hours are 40 hours per week. Working time in excess of such standard working hours is deemed as overtime. The employer may require employees to work overtime for up to 48 hours over a period of 4 weeks, or 50 hours in 1 calendar month, subject to a maximum of 200 hours per calendar year (ie, general overtime). An employer may require – provided that there are special reasons and the situation cannot be resolved in any other way – overtime in addition to general overtime, subject to a maximum of 150 hours per calendar year (ie, additional overtime). Apart from keeping a record of overtime, on-call working hours (Sw: jourtid), and additional working time (Sw: mertid)), there is currently no explicit legal obligation that requires the employer to generally keep records of the employees' standard working hours.  All employees must have at least 11 hours of uninterrupted leave in each period of 24 hours (daily rest). Exceptions can be made on a temporary basis, if this is due to special circumstances which could not be foreseen by the employer, provided that the employee is given equivalent compensatory leave. The daily rest period must include the period between midnight and 5 am. Exceptions may be made if, in view of the nature of the work, the needs of the public or other special circumstances, the work must be carried out between midnight and 5 am. Employees must also receive at least 36 hours of consecutive leave in each period of 7 days (weekly rest), however, exceptions may be made temporarily if due to special circumstances which could not be foreseen by the employer.

Overtime

There is no statutory right to overtime payments. However, collective bargaining agreements typically include a right to overtime payments for employees. The rate payable for overtime depends on the business and any applicable collective bargaining agreements. Moreover, it is common to compensate for overtime by offering 5 additional paid holidays instead.

Wages

There are no statutory regulations on minimum wages in Sweden other than for employees on work permits. However, collective bargaining agreements typically include provisions regarding minimum wage and salary. Thus, subject to any collective bargaining agreements and non-discrimination laws, an employer and employee may freely agree upon the level of salary to be paid as well as any future salary increases.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to a minimum of 25 days of paid holiday – public holidays excluded – per holiday year after the 1st holiday year of employment (ie, qualifying year), pursuant to the Swedish Holiday Act. For white-collar employees and professionals, 30 days of annual holiday is common (as compensation for no overtime payment), either by individual contract or by a collective bargaining agreement.

Sick leave & pay

Pursuant to the rules in the Swedish Sick Pay Act, an employee is entitled to sick pay from the employer in case of absence due to illness. An employee is entitled to sick pay from the 1st day of illness for a maximum period of 14 days. Sick pay amounts to 80 percent of the salary the employee loses due to illness, and a salary deduction is then made from the sick pay, which corresponds to 20 percent of an average week's pay (karensavdrag).

After the first 14 days, the Social Insurance Agency takes over the responsibility to pay. Other benefits may be paid in accordance with the individual employment agreement or a collective bargaining agreement.

If an employee is expected to be on sick leave for more than 60 days, their employer must make a plan for how the employee will return to work. The plan should be made within 30 days of the 1st day of sickness.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Employees are entitled to parental leave under the Parental Leave Act. The mother is entitled to 7 weeks before birth as well as 7 weeks after birth (both included in the 480 days mentioned below), of which 2 weeks before or after the birth are mandatory. The father is entitled to 10 days in connection with the birth to be taken at the same time as the mother. Parents are also entitled to full parental leave until the child has reached the age of 18 months or, provided that the parent is still in receipt of a full parental allowance, for a period of time after the child has reached 18 months of age. As of  July 1, 2024, new rules will enter into force in the Parental Leave Act which will allow parents to take parental allowance on the same day for a total of 60 days during the first 15 months after the child's birth. Also, parents having joint custody will be entitled to transfer 45 days of parental allowance to another person to allow for more flexible parenthood, and for parents having single custody, the transfer entitlement will be 90 days.

The employer is not required to pay the employee any salary during the time they are on parental leave, although the employee will accrue holiday during the parental leave as if the employee had worked for up to 120 days or, in case of a sole parent, up to 180 days. Instead, an employee is entitled to a parental allowance from the government. Parental leave is closely related to the right to parental allowance. Parental allowance is paid by the Swedish state for, at most, 480 days, until the child has reached 12 years of age (8 years for children born before 2014). For children born January 1, 2014 and after, parental allowance is paid for, at most, 96 days when the child is between the ages of 4 and 12. Similar rights to parental leave are also available to employees adopting a child. Of the 480 days, a number of days are reserved for each parent respectively: 60 days if the child is born prior to 2016, and 90 days if the child is born in 2016 or later.

Other leave/time off work

Employees are entitled to take up to 120 days' leave to provide temporary care for a child under the age of 12 in the event of sickness. Employees are also entitled to take unpaid emergency leave in the event of a family member's illness, accident or death requiring the employee's immediate presence. There is no statutory limit on the number of days of emergency leave (although the issue may be regulated by collective agreements).

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All, except that top managers are not subject to a specific maximum work duration.

Working hours

There is a limit of 45 hours per week for most workers (ie, workers employed in industrial enterprises, as well as for clerical, technical and other employees, including sales staff of large retail trade enterprises); supplementary time is possible within appropriate limits (eg, in case of emergency, and generally for a maximum of 2 hours a day and 170 hours a year). There is a limit of 50 hours per week for other workers; supplementary time is possible within appropriate limits (eg, in case of emergency, and generally for a maximum of 2 hours a day and 140 hours a year). Generally, working hours of employees should be recorded.

Overtime

Overtime must be compensated at 125 percent. The employee can consent to compensation by time off. As long as overtime is not over the maximum legal duration, the employer and the employee can have a written agreement providing for other compensation (eg, at 100 percent instead of 125 percent), or even no additional compensation at all, when the agreed salary arguably compensates the overtime and overtime is not much more than what could be expected when signing the contract.

Wages

No general legal minimum wage, except in the Neuchatel canton (minimum CHF21.09 per hour, adapted every year to the consumer price index), in the Jura canton (minimum CHF20.60 per hour, adapted every year to the consumer price index), in the Geneva canton (minimum CHF24.32 per hour, adapted every year to the consumer price index), in the Ticino canton (minimum CHF19.50 per hour, adapted every year to the consumer price index) and in the Basel-City canton (CHF21.70, adapted every year to the consumer price index). Minimum wages are sometimes stated in specific collective bargaining agreements and specific standard employment agreements.

Vacation

At least 4 weeks' vacation per year (5 weeks for employees under 20 years old), and generally 9 public holidays (depending on the canton).

Sick leave & pay

Sick leave is paid in proportion to increasing seniority. Companies and employees can opt for a derogatory scheme (eg, loss of earning insurance providing for 80 percent of salary, up to 720 daily indemnities).

Maternity/parental leave & pay

16 weeks' maternity leave after childbirth (14 weeks paid by the federal insurance and 2 additional weeks in the Geneva canton).2 weeks' leave for the other parent to be taken within the 1st 6 months following childbirth, paid by the federal insurance.

In the case of death of a parent shortly after the birth of the child, the other parent is entitled to longer maternity or paternity leave, paid by the federal insurance.

Employees who adopt a child under the age of 4 have a statutory right to 2-weeks' leave, paid by the federal insurance.

Other leave/time off work

Employees are entitled to short-term leaves for up to 3 days per case and 10 days in total per year to take care of a family member or partner with a health impairment. An employee who has a minor child whose health is seriously impaired due to illness or an accident is entitled to a care leave of up to 14 weeks.

Employees under the age of 30 are entitled to the equivalent of 1 week of unpaid leave per year for the purpose of carrying out unpaid leadership, care or advisory activities in connection with extracurricular youth work for cultural or social organizations and for related initial and ongoing training.

Other additional leaves (eg, wedding, funerals) may be stated in collective bargaining agreement or in an employment agreement.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, with 2 days off each week. A worker may only work overtime on 1 of the 2 days off. Depending on the industry, and with approval from a labor-management conference, employers may adopt various types of flexi-time schedules. The 2-week flexible schedule allows a worker to distribute up to 2 working hours to other days, with a limit of not more than 48 hours a week. For a 4-week schedule, a worker may distribute working hours within 4 weeks, but the distribution must not exceed 2 hours a day, and there must be at least 2 days off in a span of 2 weeks. The LSA also allows for a redistribution of hours over 8 weeks, provided that regular working time is no more than 8 hours per day and not over 48 hours per week.

Overtime

Total working time (ie, normal hours plus overtime) cannot exceed 12 hours per day. Overtime pay is 1/3 of the normal hourly rate for less than 2 hours overtime, 2/3 of the rate for 2 to 4 hours of overtime and double pay during national emergencies. Working on a 6th day in 1 week is considered entirely overtime, and the overtime pay is calculated according to number of hours worked.

Wages

Starting January 1, 2023, the minimum wage is TWD26,400 a month and TWD176 an hour.

Vacation

3 paid days' vacation leave after working for 6 months; 7 days of paid vacation leave after 1 year; 10 days after 2 years; 14 days after 3 years; 15 days after 5 years; and, after 10 years, 1 additional day per year until 30 days. 12 days off for public holidays, with varying dates.

Sick leave & pay

30 days of paid sick leave per year. Employees receive 1/2 pay from their employer when on sick leave. In addition, any person who receives a quarantine or isolation notice by the health authorities must be granted quarantine leave. An employer is not allowed to treat this as an absence from work or force the employee to use their own personal leave. Additionally, if the employee is not afforded pay for the duration of his leave, they are entitled to apply for compensation from the Taiwan health authorities. Employers who pay their employees for such leave may be entitled to tax breaks.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

8 weeks of maternity leave at full pay (1/2 for employees who have worked less than 6 months). Those suffering a miscarriage are also entitled to take leave. Male employees may take 7 days of paid paternity leave which can be used for both paternity days and accompanying their spouses for prenatal checks. Unpaid parental leave is granted for up to 2 years for each child under 3 years old.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to other types of leave (e.g., marriage leave; natural disaster leave; funeral leave; menstruation leave; and, for males only, military leave). Aborigines from one of Taiwan’s 16 recognized tribes are entitled to aboriginal ceremony leave. Starting in 2023, employers must give employees paid leave to attend citizen judge duties.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Employees employed under a hire of services (including agency workers), whether under open-ended, fixed-term, full-time or part-time employment, are entitled to minimum employment rights.

Working hours

Must not exceed 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week with a rest period of at least 1 hour for every 5 consecutive hours worked. The rest period may be split into intervals of not less than 20 minutes or taken at one time, although an employee may agree not to have a rest period if the work necessitates continuous performance and stopping may damage the work or the work is urgent. An employee is also entitled to at least 1 day off per week, and the interval between days off shall be no longer than 6 days.

Work which may be harmful to the health or safety of the employees as prescribed by Ministerial Regulations shall not exceed 7 hours per day and 42 hours per week.

Overtime

No employer shall be permitted to require an employee to work overtime on a working day except with prior consent of the employee on a case-by-case basis. Where the nature or type of work necessitates continuous performance and stoppage may damage the work, or where the work is urgent (or in other circumstances prescribed in the Ministerial Regulations), the employer may require the employee to work overtime as deemed necessary.

An employer is strictly prohibited from requiring an employee to work overtime on a working day if the employee is under 18 years of age or the work may be harmful to the health or safety of the employees as prescribed by Ministerial Regulations.

Where the overtime work is for more than 2 hours, the employer shall arrange for the employee to have a rest period for not less than 20 minutes before the employee commences the overtime work.

Where an employer requires an employee to work overtime on a working day, the employer must pay overtime pay to the employee at a rate of not less than 1.5 times the hourly wage rate for the number of hours worked or, where an employee receives wages on a piece rate, not less than 1.5 times the piece rate for work done.

Where an employer requires an employee to work overtime on a holiday, the employer must pay holiday overtime pay to the employee at the rate of not less than 3 times the hourly wage rate for the number of hours worked; or, where an employee receives wages on a piece rate, at not less than 3 times the piece rate for work done.

Where an employer requires an employee to work on a holiday (ie, a weekly holiday, public holiday or annual holiday), the employer must pay holiday pay to the employee at the following rates:

• For an employee who is entitled to wages on holidays, payment in addition to wages at a rate at least equal to the hourly wage rate for the number of hours worked; or, where an employee receives wages on a piece rate, not less than 1 payment at the piece rate for work done
• For an employee who is not entitled to wages on holidays, the payment shall be not less than 2 times the hourly wage rate for the number of hours worked; or, where an employee receives wages on a piece rate, not less than 2 times the piece rate for work done

The hours of overtime work and the hours of holiday work in total must not exceed 36 hours per week.

Wages

Minimum wage of THB328 to THB354 per day, depending on the province where the work is performed (eg,THB353 in Bangkok). The minimum rates for skilled workers are THB350 to THB900 per day, depending on the employees’ roles.

Vacation

An employee who has worked consecutively for 1 full year is entitled to an annual holiday with pay of not less than 6 working days during the following year, which shall be fixed in advance by the employer or fixed as agreed by the employer and employee. In the following year, the employer may grant additional vacation beyond the minimum 6-day entitlement. The employer and the employee may agree in advance to accumulate and postpone any annual holiday that has not yet been taken in a year, to be included in the following years. For an employee who has not completed 1 year of service, the employer may set annual holidays for the employee on a pro rata basis.

In addition, employees are entitled to at least 13 public holidays per year, including the National Labor Day, as prescribed and announced in advance by the employer.

Sick leave & pay

An employee is entitled to sick leave for as many days as the employee is ill. The employee is entitled to payment of their ordinary wages for up to 30 days. Where the employee takes 3 consecutive days' sick leave, the employer may require the employee to present a medical certificate issued by a First Class medical practitioner or by a government clinic or hospital.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

A female employee who is pregnant is entitled to a period of 98 days' maternity leave. The leave includes check-ups before delivery, during which she will be entitled to payment of her ordinary wages for 45 days.

There is currently no statutory paternity leave provided for the private sector. Paternity leave of 15 days may be given (with payment equal to 15 days' salary) to public servants.

There are other leaves to which the employee is entitled, namely sterilization leave, business leave, military service leave, and training and development leave.

Other leaves

There are other leaves to which the employee is entitled, namely sterilization leave, business leave, military service leave, and training and development leave.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are covered by certain rules, including those related to working time and minimum wage, health in the workplace, non-discrimination and equality and compensation for work-related accidents and diseases.

Working hours

Tunisian labor law contains provisions for maximum weekly working hours (regime of 40 or 48 hours per week) and special circumstances that permit derogation from these provisions. In general, a regular work regime cannot exceed 48 hours in a week, or an equivalent number of hours established for a period of time other than a week as long as the duration of that period is no longer than a year. In agricultural work, hours are limited to 2,700 hours over 300 effective working days.

Overtime

Employees are allowed to work overtime, but overtime and make-up hours cannot cause the working week to exceed 60 hours except when there is urgent work needed to prevent imminent accidents or to organize lifesaving measures. Compensation for overtime in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors is regulated by Articles 90 through 94 of the Labor Code or by collective bargaining agreements (CBA).

Wages

Minimum wages are set by decree on a sector-by-sector basis or by amendment of CBAs for specific sectors.

Vacation

In the non-agricultural sector, and for sectors not covered by a sectoral collective agreement, all workers who have worked for the same employer for a period equivalent to at least one month, and are engaged in effective work, have the right to one day per month of vacation up to a period of 15 days, comprising 12 business days. This allowance is doubled for a worker under 18 years old, regardless of length of service. Workers between the ages of 18 and 20 are entitled to 1.5 days per month of vacation up to a maximum of 22 days comprising 18 business days, regardless of length of service. The monthly leave allocation is increased by one day for those who have worked at the same company for at least five years, as long as the leave does not exceed a total of 18 days.

Workers are normally granted annual leave between June 1 and October 31 of each year. All workers are covered by the annual leave provisions, though the manner in which annual leave is granted differs by age and by sector. Paid annual leave cannot be contracted out of by agreement, even if it comes with compensatory payment.

For sectors covered by a CBA, vacation is determined by the agreement.

Sick leave & pay

Sickness suspends the labor contract but does not constitute cause for terminating the contract unless it is sufficiently serious, prolonged and if the needs of the company require it to replace the sick employee. Sick days cannot be deducted from annual leave. There are no restrictions on the number of days' sick leave that an employee can take. Sick pay is typically at two-thirds of the employee’s daily rate, paid by the social security fund from the 6th day.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Women are entitled to 30 days of paid maternity leave in the private sector. Men are currently only entitled to 2 days of paternity leave in the private sector. Maternity leave is not required to be paid to the employee by the employer. It is supported by social security.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to paid or unpaid leave for other reasons such as birth of a child, compulsory pre-military training and service in the armed forces, bereavement and marriage.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

There is a limit of 45 hours a week on working time, and working time cannot exceed 11 hours daily.

Overtime

Overtime work is any work performed beyond 45 hours in a week (or the shorter duration as designated under the relevant employment contract). Employee consent is required for overtime work. Employers are required to obtain employees' written consent to work overtime either in the employment contract or whenever it is necessary. Employees have the right to withdraw such consent by providing 30 days' prior written notice to the employer.

Wages

Minimum monthly gross wage is TRY20,002.50 for 2024.

Vacation

14 days' paid leave for 1 to 5 years (including 5th year) of employment; 20 days' paid leave for more than 5 but less than 15 years of employment; 26 days' paid leave for 15 years of employment and more (including 15th year). For employees below the age of 18 and above 50, the length of annual paid leave with pay shall not be less than 20 days. These periods are the minimum and may be increased by the mutual agreement of the parties. Unused annual leave days must be paid to the employee upon termination if claimed within the 5 years' statute of limitations after termination.

Sick leave & pay

If an employee is medically certified as being unable to work, the employer is obliged to pay the employee wages for the first 2 days of absence. From the 3rd day of absence, under the Social Security and General Health Insurance Law, temporary disability allowance (ie, sickness allowance) shall be paid for each day of temporary incapacity to insured persons who have paid sickness insurance contributions for a certain time determined under this law. The temporary disability allowance paid by the Social Security Institution may be deducted from the wage paid to a salaried employee on a monthly basis. If an employee is absent from work owing to illness or injury for more than a certain period between 8 and 14 weeks, the employer is entitled to terminate the employee's contract without notice.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

As a rule, an employee receives a disability allowance for the maternity leave period from the Social Security Institution (SSI), which will be calculated as 2/3 of the employee's income notified to SSI. In practice, employers continue to pay employees' salary during the maternity leave at their own discretion and recoup the disability allowance paid by SSI to the employee. However, this is not mandatory, and employers are not obligated to pay employees' salary during the maternity leave period.

Employees have the right to work part time – that is, up to 2/3 of the total weekly working time – following completion of statutory maternity leave. An employee wishing to work part time may make such a request at any time from the end of the statutory maternity leave until the child's compulsory elementary education age. The request for part-time work may be made either by the mother or father, but such leave may be used by only one of them.

On the request of a female employee, an employer must give unpaid leave of up to half the weekly working time following the end of statutory maternity leave for 60 days for the 1st birth, 120 for the second birth and 180 for the 3rd birth.

A male employee whose spouse has given birth is entitled to 5 days of paid leave.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as public holidays, adoption, marriage, bereavement, sickness of child or searching for a new job (if the employment contract is terminated with notice).

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

A limit of 48 hours a week. An employer may agree with an employee to work in excess of 48 hours, but work should not exceed 10 hours per day or 56 hours per week, except for shift workers, for whom it is permissible that the average number of hours over a period of 3 weeks does not exceed 10 hours per day or 56 hours per week.

Overtime

In the absence of a written agreement, there is a statutory overtime rate of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate if overtime is on normal working days, and 2 times the hourly rate where overtime is worked on gazetted public holidays.

Wages

The 1984 Minimum wage of UGX6,000 is still in force as the Minimum Wages Act of 2019 did not receive presidential assent.

Vacation

Employees are entitled to a minimum of 21 days' annual leave every calendar year. There are also 14 gazetted public holidays. These are:

• New Year's Day: January 1
• NRM Victory Day: January 26
• Bishop Janan Luwum Day: February 26
• International Women's Day: March 8
• Good Friday: determined yearly
• Easter Monday: determined yearly
• Labor Day: May 1
• Eid al Adha: determined yearly
• Martyrs' Day: June 3
• National Heroes Day: June 9
• Eid al-Fitr: determined yearly
• Independence Day: October 9
• Christmas Day: December 25
• Boxing Day: December 26

Sick leave & pay

Statutory sick leave and pay provisions allow for employees who have been in employment with the employer for at least 1 month up to 2 months sick leave, with the employee entitled to full wages in the first month only. The employer may terminate the employment agreement on account of illness only after an absence of 2 consecutive months.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

60 working days of fully paid maternity leave, of which at least 4 weeks shall follow childbirth or miscarriage. The employer funds the paid maternity leave. Male employees are entitled to a paternity leave of 4 working days, fully funded by the employer.

There is no legal provision for adoption or surrogacy leave, carer leave emergency or ad-hoc family-related leave.

A female employee's pregnancy or any reasons connected to her pregnancy and the fact that an employee took or proposed to take leave to which they are entitled under contract or law would constitute unfair reasons for dismissal.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees are entitled to the minimum statutory employment rights. Terms and conditions of employment agreements that do not meet Ukrainian labor law requirements are invalid.

Working hours

Standard working hours must not exceed 40 hours per week. If an employee's work regime differs from the standard one (ie, 5 working days per week and 8 working hours per day), the calculation of maximum working hours per respective period is performed using a specific methodology. For instance, in certain cases, the working time may be calculated not on a weekly basis but based on another period (eg, month or half a year). In such cases, the working hours are considered overtime only if the number of hours of the relevant employee exceed the normal number of working hours for the relevant period.

For certain categories of employees (eg, those working under hazardous conditions or underage employees), the maximum number of working hours per week is less than 40 hours.

Some categories of employees (eg, pregnant women or women who have children under 14 years old) may request the employer to establish a decreased number of working hours.

Public holidays are not observed during periods of martial law. Normal working hours during martial law may be increased to 60 hours per week for employees working in critical infrastructure projects (eg, in the defense sector and public services). Other special terms apply during periods of martial law.

Overtime

As a general rule, all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week (and/or in excess of the number of working hours per day established by the employment agreement, internal regulations or collective agreement – usually 8 hours per day for a 5-day working week) are treated as overtime, with the exception of special work regimes and non-standard working regimes. Overtime is allowed only under the following exceptional circumstances defined in the Labor Code:

• Performance of work necessary for country defense or prevention of natural or civil disasters or industrial accidents as well as elimination of consequences of such accidents

• Performance of socially important work necessary for renewal of community facilities, which are disrupted due to unexpected or accidental circumstances

• Performance of work which was commenced but cannot be finished within normal working hours due to unexpected accidents or delays, if such work is needed to prevent damage or loss of property

• Performance of work necessary for urgent renovation of machines, if malfunctions of such machines results in the work stoppage for significant number of workers

• Performance of urgent cargo-handling operations for avoidance or prevention of demurrage of transport or accumulation of cargo in departure and destination points and

• Work continuation, if the employee who starts their shift is absent, when work cannot be interrupted. In this case, the employer shall immediately take actions to replace such employee who continues to work after their shift has ended.

Under normal circumstances, the maximum limit of overtime work is 120 hours per year and 4 hours over 2 consecutive days for the same employee. However, this limitation was lifted during martial law.

Overtime must be compensated at double the regular rate. Employers cannot compensate overtime with time off.

Some categories of employees may not be required to work overtime (eg, pregnant women or employees under 18) or may only be engaged in overtime work with their consent (eg, women who have children of the age from 3 to 14 years old or individuals with disabilities).

Wages

Statutory minimum wages are established by law on a yearly basis. As of January 1, 2024, the minimum wage is approximately USD181 (UAH7,100) per month for full-time employment or USD1.108 (UAH42.6) per hour. Effective, April 1, 2024, the minimum wage is increased to approximately USD204 (UAH8,000) per month for full-time employment or USD1.22 (UAH48) per hour.

Vacation

The general statutory minimum annual vacation is 24 calendar days. Special categories of employees (eg, employees under 18 years old or some categories of individuals with disabilities) and/or employees working under specific positions, regimes or conditions of work (eg, employees working under a non-standard working hours regime) are entitled to additional vacation days. There are additional statutory paid and non-paid social vacation days. For instance, women who have 2 or more children under 15 years old or have a child with disabilities are entitled to 10 calendar days of paid social vacation per year.

During martial law, among other things, the following peculiarities are established regarding vacations:

• An employee's annual main vacation may be limited to 24 calendar days for the current working year by the employer's decision. At the employer's decision, unused days of annual main vacation may be granted without pay.
• If the duration of an employee's annual main vacation is more than 24 calendar days, the days of such vacation not used during the period of martial law shall be postponed to the period after the termination or cancellation of martial law. A similar approach has been established for other statutory leaves, except for pregnancy and childbirth leave and adoption leave.

• At the request of an employee, an employer may grant unpaid leave without any time limit, without including the time of the leave in the period of service that gives the right to annual main leave.
• At the request of an employee who has left the territory of Ukraine or has acquired the status of an internally displaced person, the employer must grant him / her an unpaid leave for the duration specified in the application, but not more than 90 calendar days, without including the time of the leave in the period of service that gives the right to annual main leave.

Sick leave & pay

The compensation of the first 5 days of the sick leave must be paid at the expense of employer. A portion of the employee’s compensation starting from the 6th day of the sick leave and for the entire period until the restoration of ability to work or until the establishment of disability by the medical and social expert commission (ie, state commission responsible for determining disability) will be paid at the expense of the Pension Fund of Ukraine by the employer.

In general, employers cannot dismiss employees during the sick leave period. Ukrainian laws allow employers to dismiss an employee if their sick leave exceeds 4 continuous months, except for the leave for pregnancy and birth, unless a longer period of retention of a position is established by law for particular illnesses. Positions of employees who became temporarily disabled due to an occupational injury or a professional illness must be retained until restoration of working capacity or establishment of disability.

During martial law, an employee may be dismissed when on leave, including sick leave (except for maternity leave and childcare leave until the child reaches the age of 3), indicating the date of dismissal, which is the 1st working day following the day the leave ends.

As of now, Ukraine operates a sick-leave e-certificate system. Accordingly, employers may view information on an employee’s illness in the e-certificate electronic register. At the end of the sick leave, employees are not required to present employers with a paper certificate from a medical institution as proof, except for the cases prescribed by the law.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Women are generally entitled to a maternity leave of 126 calendar days (ie, 70 calendar days prior to childbirth and 56 afterwards), or 140 calendar days (ie, 70 calendar days prior to childbirth and 70 afterwards) in the case of the birth of 2 or more children or complications in childbirth. Women who suffered from the Chernobyl disaster are entitled to 180 calendar days of leave (90 calendar days to be used prior to the childbirth and 90 calendar days after). At the request of the woman and in the absence of medical contraindications, part of the leave provided for before childbirth may be transferred and used by the woman partially or fully after childbirth, starting from the day of childbirth. In this case, the total duration of the leave remains unchanged.

The amount of compensation depends on the employee's salary as well as continuity of their work during the last 12 months prior to the maternity leave. The law sets maximum and minimum amounts of maternity leave compensation. Compensation for maternity leave is paid by the employer at the expense of funds provided by the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

After maternity leave, the mother or father is entitled to childcare leave until the child is 3 years old (in some cases, 6 years old – for instance, if a child requires home care). This leave can also be used in full or in part by grandparents or other relatives who actually care for the child, or by a person who adopted or took custody of the child.

An employee may not be terminated by the employer during maternity or childcare leave and may start or stop childcare leave at any time before the child turns 3 (or, in certain cases, 6) years old.

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to leave for other purposes, such as additional annual paid leave, different types of social leave, educational leave, creative leave, leave related to preparation for competitions, additional leave for certain categories of employees (eg, war veterans) and donor leave.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All. Additional rights are also available to young workers (ie, those aged 15 to 18) and women.

Working hours

Eight hours per day or 6 hours during Ramadan. This equates to a 48-hour maximum working week, Monday to Friday (inclusive), or 36 hours during Ramadan. An employee may not work for more than 5 consecutive hours without a break or breaks of not less than an hour in total.

For employees in the DIFC or ADGM, their working time shall not exceed an average or 48 hours for each 7-day period. During Ramadan, in the DIFC a Muslim employee shall not be required to work in excess of 6 hours a day, and, in the ADGM, a Muslim employee who observes the fast shall have their normal working hours reduced by 2 hours each day.

Overtime

An employer may instruct an employee to work overtime over the normal working hours provided it does not exceed 2 hours per day, unless the work is essential for preventing a substantial loss or serious accident or for eliminating or relieving the impact of a serious accident. Employees that carry out overtime are entitled to be paid their normal pay plus a premium as provided for within the Labor Law. In any case, the total working hours must not exceed 144 every 3 weeks. Different increments apply depending on when the overtime occurs.

The rules on overtiming and working hours will not apply to exempt employees as set out in the implementing regulations to the Labor Law. For example, overtime does not apply to employees holding senior executive managerial or supervisory positions.

Young Workers (individuals aged 15 - 17) are also subject to working restrictions under the Labor Law. Their working hours must not exceed 6 hours and must include 1 or more rest breaks, totaling a minimum of 1 hour. Further, an employer cannot require a young person to carry out any overtime or stay on the employer's premises beyond their fixed hours of work, or work on weekends or official holidays. In addition to this, they must also not be employed at night (between 7 pm to 7 am) or employed in a dangerous or arduous job which could cause harm to his or her health, safety or morals.

The working hours of employees in the DIFC must not exceed an average of 48 hours over a 7 day period, unless the employer has first obtained the employee's consent in writing. Further, the employer must not require or allow the employee to work excessive hours or hours detrimental to the employee's health and safety. In the ADGM, employees may not work in excess of 48 hours per each seven day period; however, unlike in the DIFC, an employee may not opt out through written consent.

Wages

At present, there is no minimum wage for employees in the UAE save in respect of Emirati employees, where a low minimum threshold of AED5,000 per month applies for employees (ie, degree holders) to count for Emiratisation purposes. Presently, employees must earn at least AED4,000 per month or AED3,000 per month plus accommodation in order to sponsor dependents on their visas.

Vacation

Under the Labor Law, the minimum is 2 calendar days per month where the employee's period of service is more than 6 months but less than 1 year; 30 calendar days per year where the employee's period of service is more than 1 year. This equates to 22 working days.

In the DIFC and ADGM, an employer shall give an employee a minimum paid leave of 20 business days per year. For the employee's 1st year of service, they are entitled to a pro rata amount relative to their length of service after 90 days and the law specifically provides that it is to be calculated at a rate of 1/12th of the 20-day entitlement, per month.

Sick leave & pay

Under the Labor Law, an employee is not entitled to statutory sick leave during the probationary period; however, employers often provide leave. Employees are entitled to 90 calendar days' sick leave (consecutive or otherwise) per year of service thereafter (15 days at full pay, 30 days at half pay and the remaining days without pay).

In the DIFC and ADGM, an employee is entitled to 60 consecutive or intermittent working days of sick leave in a 12-month period (10 working days at full pay, 20 working days at half pay and the remaining days without pay). However, the employer may agree to more favourable pay terms.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Under the Labor Law, a female employee is entitled to 60 calendar days' maternity, with the first 45 days at full pay and the remaining 15 at half pay, irrespective of length of service. A pregnant employee may take a further 45 consecutive or non-consecutive days of unpaid leave if the employee falls ill as a result of her pregnancy or the delivery of her baby.

Male and female employees are entitled to a further 5 working days of paid leave to be taken within 6 months of the birth of the child.

In the DIFC and ADGM, a female employee is entitled to up to 65 calendar days’ maternity leave, with the first 33 days at full pay and the remaining 32 days at half pay, provided she has been continuously employed for at least 12 months, preceding the expected or actual week of childbirth (or date of adoption) and has complied with the evidential and notification requirements.

Other leave/time off work

Under the Labor Law, employees may be entitled to leave for other purposes such as bereavement leave, study leave and/or a sabbatical.

In the DIFC and ADGM, employees may be entitled to Hajj leave, paternity leave and time off for ante-natal care and adoption leave.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

48 hours per week limit on working time; opt-out possible. Rules on rest breaks, night work and rest periods between shifts.

Overtime

No obligation to provide pay for overtime worked as long as pay overall does not fall below the statutory minimum.

Wages

Vacation

5.6 weeks' vacation per year (which includes 8 public holidays). There was an additional 9th public holiday in 2023.

Sick leave & pay

No right to take time off for sick leave, but most contracts allow this. Employees are entitled to receive 28 weeks' statutory sick pay at GBP109.40 per week, which will rise to GBP116.75 in April 2024 and is generally funded by the employer.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

52 weeks of maternity leave, paid for 39 weeks (ie, 90 percent of pay for first 6 weeks, then the statutory rate of GBP172.48 per week, rising to GBP184.03 in April 2024), and right to return to work. 2 weeks of paternity leave at birth, paid at the statutory rate subject to eligibility requirements. Parents may take 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave at any time until the child is 18. Same rights for adopting parents. Subject to eligibility, a mother may also end maternity leave after 2 weeks and share the remaining 50 weeks of parental leave with the other parent (paid at the statutory rate, if eligible).

Other leave/time off work

Employees may also be entitled to paid or unpaid leave for other purposes such as parental bereavement, carer’s leave (from April 1, 2024) jury service, care for dependents in an emergency and workplace representative duties.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

Most employers are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which guarantees minimum wage and overtime pay for non-exempt employees. The most common exemptions are for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales or computer professional employees. To qualify for an exemption, an employee must be paid a fixed salary of at least USD684 per week (USD35,568 annually) and must meet the applicable "duties" test for the exemption at issue. On April 23, 2024, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its final rule regarding the executive, administrative and professional (“EAP”), and highly compensated employee (“HCE”) exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The DOL made no changes to the duties tests for these exemptions. However, the DOL substantially increased the minimum salary and compensation thresholds for the EAP and HCE exemptions.

Some states and localities impose additional wage and hour requirements above the FLSA requirements; where state or local laws are more favorable to employees, the state law requirements will apply.

Working hours

There is no federal limit on the number of hours per day or per week that an employee over the age of 16 can work, although there are overtime pay requirements, as discussed below. There are restrictions on child labor and in certain professions (eg, airline pilots and drivers), and hours may be limited by a collective bargaining agreement with a labor union. In some states, certain employers are required to give their workers 1 day off each week under so-called “day of rest” laws or are required to pay workers at a premium rate for such work time. In addition, some states and localities have enacted predictive scheduling laws; while these vary in scope, the laws may regulate hours, notice of work schedules and predictability pay for schedule changes and on-call shifts.

Overtime

Generally, non-exempt employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week under the federal FLSA. Overtime must be calculated on a weekly basis and cannot be "averaged" over a period of 2 or more weeks. In some states, such as California, additional overtime is required in certain circumstances (eg, more than 8 hours per day).

Wages

All non-exempt employees must be paid at least the federal minimum wage, which presently is USD7.25 per hour. Covered federal contracts are generally subject to a higher minimum wage rate established by Executive Order. Some states and cities have higher minimum wage requirements – in many cases, well above the federal minimum wage – and additional states and localities have passed or have pending legislation that will raise the minimum wage in the coming years.

Vacation

There is no federal statutory requirement for private sector employers to provide paid vacation or holiday to any employees. In practice, most employers adopt a vacation or paid time off policy. Once such a policy is adopted, many states will treat accrued vacation or paid time off as wages that cannot be withheld or taken away. A few states (eg, Massachusetts, Rhode Island) control hours of operation and require certain businesses to pay extra compensation on some legal holidays

Sick leave & pay

There is no federally mandated right to paid sick leave. Employers with 50 or more workers generally must provide eligible employees unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for up to 12 weeks in any given year due to a serious health condition of the employee or their family members, or for a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a family member is a covered military member or on covered active duty, and for up to 26 weeks to care for a family member who is a covered military member. Employers also may be required to provide unpaid leave (for at least some period of time) as a reasonable accommodation to a qualified employee with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). State law may provide for additional leave, with an increasing number of states offering paid leave in connection with the birth or adoption of a child, typically with such benefits paid by the state, up to a percentage of the employee’s regular wages.

In the absence of national legislation providing for paid sick leave, many states, cities and counties have enacted laws requiring certain private employers to provide some form of paid sick leave to eligible employees. The result has been a patchwork of laws with different requirements.

As a result of COVID-19, federal, state and local governments also enacted legislation to create rights to

emergency sick leave benefits. While many laws have expired, others remain in effect.

New state leave laws that introduce, expand or alter coverage or entitlements will take effect in 2024 in a number of states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and Oregon.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

There is no federally mandated right to paid maternity or parental leave. Under the FMLA, employers with 50 or more workers generally must provide eligible employees unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a newborn or a newly placed child, for up to 12 weeks in any given year. Certain states and local jurisdictions have more generous leave requirements, and an increasing number provide paid parental leave, typically paid by the state, covering a certain portion of the worker’s wages. In certain states, employees who are temporarily disabled for medical reasons, including pregnancy and childbirth, are eligible to receive partial wage replacement in the form of temporary disability insurance benefits, and employers may be required to enroll in state-provided or state-sponsored insurance plans to cover the payments (eg, in New York) or contributions may be deducted from employees' paychecks (eg, in California).

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All employees, whether local or foreign.

Working hours

The working week consists of 5 days. Employees are entitled to 2 continuous rest days per week.

The limits on daily and weekly hours differ depending on whether the shift is a regular daytime shift, a regular nighttime shift or a mixed shift.

• On a regular daytime shift, work is performed between 5:00am and 5:00pm. This shift cannot exceed 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.
• A regular nighttime shift consists of any work scheduled between 7:00pm and 5:00am. It cannot exceed 7 hours per day and 35 hours per week. Nighttime shift hours must be paid at least 30 percent above the rate applicable to daytime shifts.
• Mixed-shift work is performed during both daytime and nighttime shifts, but a mixed shift of more than 4 hours during a nighttime shift is regarded as a nighttime shift. A mixed shift employee cannot work more than 7.5 hours per day and 37.5 hours per week.

Employees are entitled to a daily break of at least 1 hour during their shift and cannot work more than 5 consecutive hours. If the employee must remain at their workstation during the break, at least half of the break will be deemed as time worked.

Employers with continuous operations that involve multiple shifts may exceed the daily and weekly limits. However, the hours worked in a reference period of 8 weeks may not exceed an average of 42 hours per week. A 6-day working week must be compensated with an additional day of vacation per 6-day week, to be added to the employee’s annual vacation entitlement.

The following employees are exempt from the general rules about working time:

• Employees holding managerial or top-level positions
• Employees with monitoring, surveillance and inspection duties that do not require prolonged efforts and
• Employees with on-duty waiting time periods (eg, employees who are meant to relieve another employee where needed), or employees with intermittent or discontinued activities, that involve long periods of inactivity, but must remain on call at their posting.

Although the general working time rules do not apply to these cases, they must observe a limit of 11 hours per day and an average of 40 hours per week within an overall reference period of 8 weeks.

Overtime

Overtime work (ie, any work performed in excess of the regular working shift) may only be done if authorized by the Labor Ministry. If, as a result of unforeseen and urgent circumstances, the employer cannot request authorization for overtime work, it must notify the Labor Ministry the day after the overtime was performed and must provide evidence of the reasons for the overtime.

Working shifts including overtime cannot exceed 10 hours per day. Employees cannot work more than 10 overtime hours per week and more than 100 overtime hours per year.

The employer must keep a register of overtime hours concerning who worked overtime, the specific tasks carried out during such time and what compensation was paid for overtime work.

Wages

The Venezuelan president sets the minimum statutory wage paid to employees. The minimum wage is adjusted periodically. The latest minimum monthly statutory wage published in the local official gazette was set at VES130 (equivalent to approximately USD3.58 at the official exchange rate in force as of February 9, 2024).

Vacation

Employees are entitled to receive 15 working days of paid vacation if they have worked for more than 1 year, plus 1 additional working day for each additional year of employment up to a maximum leave period of 30 working days per year.

Additionally, employees receive a vacation bonus equal to 15 days of salary after 1 year of employment, plus 1 additional day of salary per additional year of employment up to a maximum vacation bonus equal to 30 days of salary per year. Such bonus must be paid to the employee at the time the employee takes their vacation. The employer must keep a registry of vacation days for all its employees.

Employers are required to ensure that their employees effectively take their vacation every year. Vacation may be accrued for up to 2 years.

Sick leave & pay

Employees may take leaves for sickness or labor-related incapacity for up to 52 weeks. In order to claim sick pay, employees are required to provide a medical certification, as issued by the Venezuelan Social Security Institute.

During the first 3 days of sick leave, the employer must pay the employee’s full salary. Thereafter, the employer must pay 33 percent of the employee’s salary, and the remaining 66 percent will be paid by the Venezuelan Social Security Institute. Some employers pay the employee´s full salary during sick leave, as payments by the Social Security Institute are often severely delayed.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Employers must grant maternity leave of 6 weeks before birth and 20 weeks after birth. Employees on maternity leave are entitled to receive 33 percent of their salary from the employer with the remaining 66 percent paid by the Venezuelan Social Security Institute, for the entire duration of leave.

Adoption leave of 26 weeks is available if a child is adopted at the age of 3 years or younger. The Venezuelan Social Security Institute pays the employee a portion of the employee’s salary (66 percent) during this period, and the remainder (33 percent) is paid by the employer.

Employees are entitled to 14 days’ paternity leave. The Venezuelan Social Security Institute pays the employee’s full salary during this period.

Other leave/time off work

During the 1st year of the child's life, parents are entitled to 1 day of paid leave per month for the child’s regular health checkups. In support of this, they must submit a medical certificate issued by the health center to the employer.

Venezuelan labor law allows unpaid time off from work for reasons such as when: 

• The employee is required to render civil or military service.
• The employee is involved in a collective conflict that has occurred following the procedures established in the labor laws.
• The employee is party to a criminal proceeding, as long as it does not result in a conviction.
• The employee needs time to care for his or her spouse or close relatives up to the first degree of consanguinity.
• The employee carries out studies or take leave for other purposes of interest to him or her.
• Acts of God or force majeure occur that result in the temporary suspension of work (in these cases, authorization must be requested to the Labor Inspectorate within 48 hours from the event).

In such cases, the employee is not entitled to pay, but during the time of the leave (i.e., suspension from work) their seniority continues to accrue. During the leave, the employer must also continue to pay:

• Provision of housing and food to the employee.
• Contributions to the Social Security System, Housing, and job training institute.
• Benefits agreed in the Collective Bargaining Agreements.

Employees entitled to minimum employment rights

All.

Working hours

The maximum number of normal working hours is 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Employers have the right to stipulate that employees work on a daily or weekly basis, but they must notify the employee of such. If a weekly basis applies, normal working hours must not exceed 10 hours in a day and must not exceed 48 hours in a week.

Any employee working at night shall be paid at least an additional 30 percent on top of the wage for such work conducted during the daytime.

Overtime

Employers may require an employee to work overtime, but only when:

• The employee agrees

• The overtime hours do not exceed 50 percent of the normal working hours in a day and

• Where working hours are implemented on a weekly basis, the total of normal working hours and overtime hours do not exceed 12 hours in a day; the total overtime hours do not exceed 40 hours in a month or 200 hours in a year or, in special cases, 300 hours in a year, the latter subject to written notification being provided to the provincial labor authorities.

No employees are exempt from the overtime requirements.

Employers must pay employees who work overtime and work at night.

Overtime means the period of time spent working in addition to normal working hours, as stipulated by law, in the collective labor agreement or in the internal labor rules.

An employee who works overtime must be paid according to the wage unit price or wage of their current work as follows:

• On normal days, at a rate of at least 150 percent
• On weekly days off, at a rate of at least 200 percent
• On holidays and paid leave days, at a rate of at least 300 percent, exclusive of the individual's normal daily wage

If the employee works overtime at night, the employee must be paid (i) the relevant overtime rate (ie, 150 percent, 200 percent or 300 percent of their normal daily rate), (ii) an additional 30 percent of their normal daily rate, as noted above, plus (iii) 20 percent of the applicable rate as calculated per items (i) and (ii).

Wages

By law, employers must establish a salary scale, payroll and labor rates which are the basis for recruiting employees and reaching agreement with them on the salary rate to be stipulated in labor contracts. When formulating its salary scale, payroll and labor rates, the employer must seek an opinion from the Organization Representing the Employees at the Grassroots Level if the employer has such an organization. Thereafter, the employer must make an advance public announcement at the workplaces of its employees before implementation.

The government announces a minimum monthly area wage rate that is normally amended once a year and has 4 levels depending on the geographic location. The minimum area wage is the lowest rate that can be paid to employees doing the most basic work in normal working conditions. The current minimum wage ranges from VND3.25 milion per month (approximately USD139) to VND4.68 million per month (approximately USD201) depending on the location.

The government also announces a general minimum monthly wage from time to time – normally once per year – that applies for state employees but is also used to determine the maximum amount of monthly wage on which social insurance or health insurance premiums are based (ie, equal to 20 months’ general minimum wage level). The current general minimum wage is VND1.8 million(approximately USD79). 

Vacation

An employee who works for the employer for 12 full months is entitled to fully paid annual leave as follows:

• 12 working days for employees working in normal conditions

• 14 working days applicable to employees who are under 18 years old, have disabilities or work in heavy, toxic or dangerous jobs

• 16 working days applicable to employees working in extremely heavy, toxic or dangerous jobs as defined in the list issued by the MOLISA

An employee may agree with an employer to take annual leave in installments or to combine the periods of annual leave and take leave once every 3 years.

Sick leave & pay

Employees on leave due to sickness or personal accident (not labor accidents) are entitled to receive a monthly allowance paid by Vietnam's social insurance fund. There is no obligation for an employer to pay an employee during sickness absence. The allowance from the social insurance fund is also available to those who take leave to care for sick children under 7 years old and is equal to 75 percent of salary (on which social insurance premiums are based) for the month preceding the leave. A medical certificate from a health establishment must be provided by the employee.

The maximum entitlement is:

• 30 days per year if the employee has contributed to the social insurance fund for less than 15 years

• 40 days per year if the employee has contributed to the social insurance fund from 15 years to less than 30 years and

• 60 days per year if the employee has contributed to the social insurance fund for 30 years or more.

There is no limitation on the number of days that an employee can be on leave due to sickness if the employee can reach an agreement with the employer on leave of absence without pay. However, the employer has the right to unilaterally terminate the labor contract if the employee is ill or injured and remains unable to work after having received treatment for a period of 12 consecutive months in the case of an indefinite-term labor contract, or 6 consecutive months in the case of a definite-term contract of 12 up to 36 months, or more than half the duration of the contract in the case of a definite-term contract with a duration of less than 12 months.

Maternity/parental leave & pay

Women are entitled to 6 months of maternity leave. The maximum maternity leave prior to childbirth is 2 months, and the remainder is taken after birth. For multiple births, the mother is entitled to an additional 1-month leave for each child from the 2nd child. An employee who adopts an infant child is entitled to maternity leave until the child is 6 months old.

A male employee who pays social insurance premiums and whose wife gave birth to a child is entitled to paternity leave of 5 to 14 working days depending on the number of children born and the circumstances of the birth.

During maternity leave, the employee receives a monthly allowance of 100 percent of their average salary (on which social insurance premiums are based) in the preceding 6 months from the government, provided that the employer has paid social insurance premiums for the employee for at least a full 6 months in the 12-month period before childbirth or child adoption. Female employees who give birth or employees adopting a child under 6 months are entitled to a lump sum allowance equivalent to twice the monthly basic salary for each child in the month of childbirth or adoption. This lump sum allowance is in addition to paid maternity leave.

Personal leave of absence & leave without pay

Provided that employees notify their employer in advance, employees are entitled to take leave with full payment of salary in the following circumstances:

• The employee’s wedding: 3 days
• The wedding of the employee’s natural or adopted child: 1 day and
• Death of the employee’s natural or adoptive parent, employee’s spouse, natural or adoptive parent of the employee’s spouse, or employee’s natural or adopted child: 3 days

Upon notification to the employer, an employee is also entitled to take 1 day off without pay in the case of death of employee’s grandparent or sibling, or on the marriage of employee’s parent or sibling.

An employee may reach agreement with the employer on leave of absence without pay.