Left Off the Bill: 8 Workplace Perks the World Has (and We Don't)

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-28

By Lisa Branker, Head of Employment Law at employment law solicitors, Beecham Peacock Over the course of this year – and continuing into 2027 – the 2025 Employment Rights Act is rolling out in phases. It kicked off in April with the removal of the earnings threshold for statutory sick pay, and it's shaping up to be the most significant overhaul of UK workplace law in decades. For employees, that's genuinely good news: better job security, stronger family rights, and a fairer baseline across the board. But here's the thing. While we might like to think of the UK as a leader in labour rights, the truth is we're still playing catch-up in several surprising areas. Other countries have baked certain protections into law that we simply don't have. So, let's take a quick trip around the globe and look at eight workplace rights that exist elsewhere – and why they matter. ### The Right to Disconnect (France, Australia, and more) France made headlines back in 2017 when it gave employees a legal right to 'disconnect' from work communications outside working hours. Companies with 50 or more staff are required to negotiate specific times when they can't ping you electronically. It's not just France either – Australia, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal all have similar rules. Australia's version, which took effect in August 2024, goes a step further by banning employers from penalising workers who ignore after-hours calls or emails. In the UK, we've got nothing close to this. The only real protection is the 48-hour average working week under the Working Time Regulations – and honestly, that feels a bit thin when your phone buzzes at 9pm on a Sunday. ### A Statutory 13th Month Salary (Brazil) Brazil's *décimo terceiro salário* has been a constitutional right since the 1960s. It obliges employers to pay every formal employee an extra month's wage each year, split into two mandatory instalments. This isn't a discretionary bonus – it's a legal wage, owed pro-rata even if you're dismissed mid-year. The idea is to boost the economy, help with end-of-year expenses, and make sure people can actually enjoy the holidays. Similar policies are mandatory across most of Latin America and parts of Europe, including Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The UK? Nothing comparable exists. ### Paid Menstrual Leave (Spain) In 2023, Spain became the first European country to introduce menstrual leave. Workers who experience medically certified incapacitating periods can take paid time off, with the state funding it from day one. It's a recognition that some people genuinely can't function at full capacity during their cycle. We don't have anything like this in UK law, though it's a topic that keeps coming up in parliament. It's one of those issues that feels inevitable – just a matter of when, not if. ### Mandatory Commute Reimbursement (France) Here's another one where France is putting us to shame. French employers must reimburse at least 50% of the cost of employees' public transport season tickets for the home-to-work commute. That covers all staff, including part-timers and trainees. In the UK, there's no legal requirement for employers to subsidise commuting at all. With train fares rising faster than wages, that's a noticeable gap. ### No Interview 'Ghosting' (Canada) Ontario, Canada, recently made it illegal for employers to 'ghost' job candidates. Companies with more than 25 employees must notify candidates within 45 days of their interview whether they've been successful. Fail to respond, and you could face fines of up to CA$100,000 – that's around $73,000 USD. If you've ever applied for a role and heard absolutely nothing back, you'll know exactly why this matters. It's basic respect, and yet the UK has no comparable law to enforce it. ### Board-Level Employee Representation (Germany) German law (*Mitbestimmungsgesetz*) requires large companies with over 2,000 employees to give workers half the seats on their supervisory board. For firms with between 500 and 2,000 employees, at least one-third of the seats must go to worker representatives. This means employees have a real voice in top-level business decisions – not just at the water cooler, but in the boardroom where the big calls get made. The UK has nothing like this, and it's hard not to feel like we're missing out on a valuable check and balance. ### High-Flexibility Reduced Hours (Netherlands) The Dutch Flexible Working Act allows employees at firms with more than 10 staff to request fewer hours, a different working pattern, or even a change in work location. Crucially, employers can't just shrug it off – they have to seriously consider the request and provide a solid, written justification if they say no. That's a level of flexibility that goes way beyond what most UK workers can expect. In a world where work-life balance is increasingly a priority, this feels like a model worth borrowing. ### Why This Matters for the UK None of this is meant to diminish the progress the 2025 Employment Rights Act represents. It's a genuine step forward. But it's also worth remembering that we're not at the frontier – we're catching up. The countries above have already figured out how to make work fairer, more humane, and more flexible. If we're serious about building a workplace culture that attracts and retains talent, we could learn a lot from them. The question is: what will we borrow first?