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ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions: Global QMR Q2 2023 | 12 • Japan will step up efforts to promote due diligence on human rights abuses, with a list of specific risks for companies to watch out for in different sectors, products, regions and within their own operations. The push comes as other advanced economies make headway on reviewing human rights. The European Union is weighing a legal framework to require monitoring and disclosure of abuses by companies, while the United States enacted a law banning products from China's Xinjiang region amid allegations of forced labor there. Japan worries that its businesses could suffer if the country falls too far behind. Japan currently does not have any laws requiring companies to monitor human rights abuses in their supply chains. It instead issued guidelines in 2022 urging all businesses operating in the country to do so and to disclose their findings. • Singapore's new budget includes several key employment changes that are relevant to employers, including but not limited to an increase in leave entitlements for parents of infants, implementation of flexible work arrangements, raising the Central Provident Fund (CPF) monthly salary ceiling, and changes in the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme. ⎻ Leave entitlements for parents of infants: The Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) will be increased from the current two weeks to four weeks for eligible working fathers of Singapore children born on or after January 1, 2024. For a start, the additional two weeks of GPPL will be voluntary, so that employers who are able to do so can grant the additional leaves to their employees and will be reimbursed by the government. Additionally, the Unpaid Infant Care Leave for each parent in the child's first two years will also be increased from the current six days a year to 12 days a year. All parents of Singaporean children will be eligible for this extra time off if they have worked with their employer for at least three months. This will apply from January 1, 2024 to eligible working parents with Singaporean children under two years old. ⎻ Flexible work arrangements: In addition to the increase in leave for parents of infants, the push for flexible work arrangements for Singapore workers continues. As part of ongoing efforts to support work-life harmony, the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements will be implemented next year. This will require employers to consider staff requests for such arrangements fairly and properly. ⎻ CPF salary ceiling increase: CPF contributions to employees will be raised from the monthly salary ceiling from S$6,000 to S$8,000 by 2026. Employees who are earning above S$6,000 will benefit from this change. This increase will be carried out over four years starting from this year, but there will be no change to the CPF annual salary ceiling, which includes contributions from additional wages. Other CPF changes include higher CPF contribution rates for senior workers, and the CPF transition support for lower-income platform workers. ⎻ Progressive Wage Credit Scheme: The Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS) was introduced in Budget 2022 to provide transitional wage support for employers to adjust to mandatory wage increases for lower-wage workers covered by the Progressive Wage and Local Qualifying Salary requirements, as well as to encourage employers to voluntarily raise wages of lower-wage workers. Under the PWCS, the government will co-fund wage increases of eligible resident employees from 2022 to 2026. Strategic Update on APAC ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions: Global QMR Q2 2023 | 12