Global benefits insights: September 2026

A summary of the latest employee benefits changes from around the world | 2 minute read

Macao

Increases leave entitlement¹

Effective from July 2026, Macao has amended maternity and annual leave entitlements.

The Labour Relations Law - Law no. 7/2008 was amended to increase the following leave entitlements:

Maternity Leave

Effective from 28th July 2026, female employees are entitled to 90 days’ maternity leave (up to 30 days before birth and 60 days after). This is an increase of the previously provided 70 days.

Annual Leave

Effective from 1st January 2027, annual leave entitlement will increase from the flat rate entitlement of 6 days to a tiered approach based on service. Employees will gain an additional day leave for each 2 years of service up to a maximum of 12 days. Employees will also be entitled to pro-rated leave in their first year of service, this is a change in the law which used to state employees needed to have 12 months service before leave can be taken.

Türkiye

Expands parental leave entitlements²

The Social Services Law and Certain Other Laws have been amended under Law. 7578, published in the Official Gazette, dated 1st May 2026.

The amendments included:

Maternity Leave

Postnatal leave has been extended from 8 weeks to 16 weeks. This means the total leave including the 8 weeks prior to delivery will be 24 weeks (26 for multiple births). The amount of pre-birth leave that could be transferred to after the birth has also been reduced. Previously should the employee’s health allow it, they could transfer 3 weeks post birth, this has been reduced to 2 weeks.

Paternity Leave

Paternity leave has been extended from 5 days to 10 days.

Foster Care Leave

Employees who become foster carers may request 10 days of unpaid leave from the date the child is placed with the family.

Cyprus

Introduces new breastfeeding obligation for employers³

From June 2026, under the Promotion and Protection of Breastfeeding (Amendment) Law of 2025 (the “Amendment Law”) which amends the Promotion and Protection of Breastfeeding Law of 2018 (Law 21(I)/2018) employers have an obligation to provide breastfeeding facilities.

Employers with a floor area that exceeds 50 square metres, employers must provide either a permanent breastfeeding room, that is designed exclusively for breastfeeding/expressing along with the storage of breast milk or a temporary room that needs to be available to an employee upon her return to work and must remain available until she ceases breastfeeding.

All staff must be informed of the location of the room, and female staff must be informed upon their return from maternity leave and from when they commence employment.

Minimum wage increases from 1st July 2026

The Netherlands

Effective from 1st July 2026 for employees aged 21 and over, the hourly minimum wage increased to EUR 14.99. Employees aged 15 to 20 also received the same percentage increase in their minimum wage.⁴

NFP’s guide to international benefits

Whether you’re a new start-up, a growing enterprise or an established international organisation, operating globally comes with its own set of unique challenges; from navigating legal and tax legislation to understanding local cultures, creating compliant and competitive benefits packages can be complex.

Our team of experienced international employee benefits consultants have written this guide to help you:

Achieve consistency in your international benefits strategy
Identify benefits to implement in each of your locations
Choose the right international benefits providers
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If you’d like to explore how these legislation changes could affect your organisation, and what practical steps you can take to protect and support your people - speak to us today.

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This insights article is not intended to address any specific situation or to provide legal, regulatory, financial, or other advice. While care has been taken in the production of this article, NFP does not warrant, represent or guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, completeness or fitness for any purpose of the article or any part of it and can accept no liability for any loss incurred in any way by any person who may rely on it. Any recipient shall be responsible for the use to which it puts this article. This article has been compiled using information available to us up to its date of publication.

NFP contributors

Emma Bryant
International Technical Specialist, Employee Benefits

References