Belgium has extended the eligibility period for paternity and childcare leave. Fathers now are eligible for 10 days of paid paternity leave, with the first three days paid by the employer. The 10 days do not need to be taken consecutively.

Previously, the window was limited to the 30 days following a child's birth. The change is intended to make it easier for parents to care for a newborn by better coordinating postnatal maternity and paternity leave.

As of April 1, fathers may take this leave at any time within the first four months following a child's birth. A parent who has been employed for at least 12 of the last 15 months is eligible to take a parental leave to care for a child.The leave can be taken at any time from the child's birth and until the child reaches age 12. Previously, eligibility ended when the child reached age 6.

In the case of an adopted child, eligibility begins with finalization of the adoption and ends when the child reaches age 12. If an employee has not already taken parental leave or has taken only a portion of their available leave while the child was under age 6, the employee can take or complete parental leave until the child reaches age 12.

Taiwan decreases minimum service requirement for employer-provided pension

Under the April revision to the Labor Standards Law, employers must now provide pensions to eligible employees at age 60 with at least 10 years of service with the same employer. Under prior law, the early retirement pension was payable at age 55 with at least 15 years of service with the same employer, or any age with at least 25 years of service with the same employer.

Employees are eligible for the LSL employer-provided retirement pension if they have been employed with their current employer since before July 1, 2005. Employees that have joined the workforce or changed employers since this date have been required to join the Labor Pension Fund, which consists of defined contribution pension accounts. Employees eligible under the LSL may switch to the LPF until 2010. The switch is irrevocable, though the employees retain their entitlement to the accrued retirement indemnity at the time of the switch as long as they remain with the same employer.

The revision to Article 53 of the Labor Standards Law was published in the official gazette and was effective April 24.

France's new social contribution on previously exempt remuneration

As of Jan. 1, the 2009 Social Security Finance Law introduced a new social contribution applicable to remuneration paid on behalf of employees. The contribution, referred to as the "forfait social," is currently set at 2.0%.It is payable by employers on remuneration currently exempt from social security contributions but subject to the CSG (contribution sociale généralisée) contribution.

Remuneration subject to the contribution therefore includes:

• Mandatory profit-sharing.
• Voluntary profit-sharing agreements.
• Company employee-savings plan contributions.
• Supplemental retirement plan contributions.
• Remuneration specifically exempted from the new contribution includes:
• Premiums paid for insured-risk benefits currently subject to an 8% social contribution.
• Stock options currently subject to a 10% contribution.
• Severance indemnities.
• Employer contributions to vacation checks, meal vouchers and prepaid service employment checks.

IBIS eVisor is an electronic news and compliance alerts service covering information in the area of international employee benefits in over 40 countries. eVisor is a service of IBIS Advisors, with more than 35 years of experience providing global HR solutions.