The United Kingdom launched a review of its parental leave framework in July 2025 to examine maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave (SPL). The review’s aim is to make parental leave policies more gender-balanced and encourage parents to share caregiving responsibilities more equally. Critics say the current structure is outdated and contributes to the gender pay gap by reinforcing traditional gender roles. Currently, while mothers are entitled to up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave, fathers are only entitled to two weeks of statutory paternity leave paid at a low rate. Although shared parental leave is offered, there is low uptake. This reflects complex eligibility rules, mothers having to give up part of their maternity leave, and employers being more likely to offer enhanced maternity pay than enhanced shared parental pay. The review is expected to take 18 months and lead to a roadmap for potential reforms.

When it comes to offering identical leave entitlements to both parents of a two-parent family, Spain has emerged as a regional leader. Under a July 2025 reform, the country increased birth and childcare leave from 16 weeks to 19 weeks for each parent. Two of those weeks can be taken any time before the child reaches the age of eight. Spain is one of the few countries in Europe to offer equal, fully paid birth and childcare leave to both parents. Meanwhile, the government also increased single-parent paid parental leave from 16 weeks to 32 weeks. Four of those weeks can be used any time before the child turns eight.

France is also extending its family leave entitlements, introducing a new right to an additional period of “birth leave” for employees who have taken maternity, paternity, child-rearing, or adoption leave. Employees whose child is due, born, or adopted on or after 1 January 2026 can ask for an additional leave period of one or two months. Parents can choose to split a two-month period of leave into two separate one-month periods. Employers will not be able to dismiss employees during birth leave except in cases of serious misconduct or for reasons unrelated to the birth or adoption. Further details of the new right will be set out in a decree in due course.

Although Hungary has not modified its offering of 10 days of paternity leave for fathers, it has doubled the length of time that they have to take those days. As of 1 January 2025, fathers now have four months to take their leave instead of two months. The days can be split into a maximum of two installments.

In Singapore, the government increased paid paternity leave allowance from two weeks to four weeks in April 2025, if the child is a Singapore citizen. At the same time, it made it an offense for an employer to dismiss an employee while they are on government-paid paternity leave. However, such leave remains unavailable to fathers if their child is not a citizen of Singapore at birth or within 12 months of birth.

Singapore law also now states that from 1 April 2025, if their child is a citizen, eligible working parents are entitled to six weeks of shared parental leave, which will increase to 10 weeks from 1 April 2026. SPL is now completely separate from a mother’s maternity leave; previously, if a father wanted to take SPL (up to four weeks), mothers would have to give up the equivalent amount of time from their 16-week maternity leave allowance. However, if the child is not a Singapore citizen, maternity leave is capped at 12 weeks, employers are not obliged to pay the mother’s salary for the full 12 weeks, and SPL is not available.

Meanwhile, some companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are voluntarily increasing paternity leave beyond the five days required by the government. Some are also offering more than the government-required 60 days of maternity leave (45 days fully paid and 15 days at half-pay). Many of these businesses are multinational and are extending their global approach to family-friendly policies to UAE employees. This shift is expected to encourage local employers to follow this trend.

Japan has revised legislation to promote family-friendly policies and gender equality in the workplace. As of April 2025, employers with 300 or more employees must report their annual childcare leave usage rates to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). This transparency was previously only required of companies with over 1,000 employees. Businesses with 100 or more employees must also review male employee childcare leave usage and develop action plans with measurable goals to increase working flexibility, close gender gaps in childcare responsibility, and encourage uptake of leave by male workers.

Additionally, the Japanese government has emphasized that strengthening family-friendly policies in light of the country’s declining birthrate is a political priority, alongside keeping older employees at work for longer. It is continuing its previously announced three-year “acceleration plan” to support parents by expanding child allowances, reducing the financial burden of childbirth and higher education, and broadening support for households raising children. The plan also seeks to create workplaces where it is easier to take childcare leave and promote working style reforms.

In the UAE, effective 1 April 2025, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) reinforced protections which state that employers regulated by the ADGM cannot discriminate on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity. Although this was prohibited before, the change now explicitly recognizes pregnancy and maternity as protected characteristics, and extends those protections to adoption and miscarriage/stillbirth. It also clarifies nursing break entitlements for mothers returning to the workplace.

Employers in Japan must now offer at least two flexible working options to employees with children aged three through to elementary school. They can choose two or more of the following: telework for a minimum of 10 days each month, flexible start and finish times, childcare facilities or access to such services, at least 10 days of childcare leave per year, or shortened working hours.

In the UAE, the ADGM implemented an amendment to the definition of “employee,” allowing ADGM-regulated companies to hire remote workers and formalize flexible working arrangements. As a result, remote and hybrid arrangements are becoming more common. While this move was not intended for parents specifically, it is nonetheless a step forward in providing more flexibility for working mothers and fathers and will likely have an impact on keeping mothers in the workforce.

The Hong Kong government has also recognized the benefits of flexible working hours for parents, but has not implemented formal legislation requiring employers to provide them. Instead, companies are being encouraged to do so on their own initiative.

In contrast to this trend toward using legislation to make working lives more flexible, some employers, notably in the United States and Germany, are requiring employees to attend their workplaces more regularly. This demonstrates a renewed focus on collaboration and a move away from the “work from anywhere” culture that grew up during the pandemic. There’s something of a geographic divide here. Across Asia, employees typically returned to the office on a full-time basis very quickly after lockdowns ended, which didn’t happen to the same extent in the United States or Europe.

The UK saw the Neonatal Care Act come into force in April 2025. It states that if a baby needs neonatal care for at least one week within 28 days of birth, the child’s parents are entitled to a week’s leave for each week of care. Parents can take a maximum of 12 weeks’ leave within 68 weeks of the baby’s birth. This applies to both of the baby’s parents (including the mother’s partner if they will play a role in raising the child), intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement, and adoptive or prospective adoptive parents.

In another revision to family-friendly policy, the UK’s Employment Rights Act will grant parents unpaid bereavement leave if they suffer a miscarriage or other form of pregnancy loss. Historically, bereavement leave was available only to parents who experienced a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy or to those who lost a child under the age of 18. The amendment is expected to take effect in 2027.