{"id":14518,"date":"2026-01-15T10:25:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?post_type=resources&p=14518"},"modified":"2026-01-15T10:25:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:25:06","slug":"global-legislative-changes-2026","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

by Ronelle Barreto<\/strong> and Ro Carracedo Lopez<\/strong>, Brightmine International Editors<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This promises to be a busy year for HR teams in the UK as they prepare to implement the initial measures in the\u00a0Employment Rights Act<\/a>. Likewise in the US, more than 145 compliance changes kicked in on 1 January 2026, including over 70 minimum wage increases affecting more than 15 states and dozens of localities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For global employers<\/a>, HR calendars will be similarly demanding. All EU member states have until 7 June 2026 to transpose the provisions of the EU Pay Transparency Directive into national law. Across the world, there are proposals to make changes to parental leave, pension schemes, working time rules and dismissal laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each country has its own distinct political and legal framework, making it difficult yet essential for organisations operating internationally to stay up to date with changing laws and regulations. This is necessary to remain compliant, reduce risks and foster strong cross-border relationships. The following table highlights key legislative updates introduced or anticipated in 18 countries in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislative processes differ considerably depending on the specific country, so it is not always possible to predict the “expected date” (ie when the legislation may come into effect) with the same degree of accuracy in all jurisdictions. Further details may be found in the relevant Brightmine country guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Country<\/strong><\/td>Proposed change to legislation<\/strong><\/td>Introduced\/expected date<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Australia<\/td>The maximum entitlement to\u00a0parental leave pay<\/strong>\u00a0will gradually increase by two weeks each year from 1 July 2024 to 1 July 2026, up to a maximum of 26 weeks. At present, it stands at 24 weeks.<\/td>1 July 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Austria<\/td>Changes to the General Pension Insurance Act introduce\u00a0partial retirement<\/strong>. Under specific conditions, employees have the opportunity to work part time while receiving part of their pension.<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Belgium<\/td>Access to the\u00a0end-of-career time credits scheme<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>which reduces working time in the period running up to retirement, has been further restricted. There are several new qualifying criteria and the changes will be gradually introduced.<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Bulgaria<\/td>Bulgaria\u00a0adopted the Euro<\/strong>\u00a0as its currency.<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Canada<\/td>The Canada Labour Code will be amended to restrict federally regulated businesses’\u00a0use of non-competition agreements<\/strong>\u00a0in employment contracts.<\/td>Unknown.<\/td><\/tr>
Czech Republic<\/td>Employers are now required to submit a\u00a0single Unified Monthly Employer Report (JMHZ)<\/strong>, which consolidates approximately 25 reports into one, thereby simplifying the administrative duties for employers.<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Denmark<\/td>Parental leave\u00a0<\/strong>for parents\u00a0<\/strong>of hospitalised newborns and those undertaking early homestay care (where medical treatment is provided at home instead of in hospital) has been extended to up to 12 months per parent.<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Finland<\/td>Significant\u00a0changes to dismissal laws<\/strong>\u00a0which lower the threshold for dismissal on personal grounds, specify clearer dismissal criteria and prohibited grounds, reduce employers’ obligations to offer alternative work and clarify the protection for employee representatives.<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Hong Kong<\/td>There will be changes to\u00a0the definition of a continuous contract<\/strong>. The proposed changes will lower the continuous contract threshold to 17 hours per week or 68 aggregate hours over four weeks, enabling more short-hours employees to qualify for statutory benefits.<\/td>18 January 2026.\u00a0<\/td><\/tr>
Ireland<\/td>New\u00a0auto-enrol pension obligations<\/strong>\u00a0require employers to enrol certain employees who do not already have a workplace pension in a new centrally administered auto-enrolment pension scheme, with contributions from employees, employers and the Government (increasing in stages).<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Luxembourg<\/td>A new Bill seeks to protect\u00a0staff representatives<\/strong>\u00a0who have been suspended.<\/td>Unknown.<\/td><\/tr>
Malaysia<\/td>A\u00a0new 1:3 internship policy<\/strong>\u00a0on expatriate hiring and local talent development has been introduced. Employers approved to hire expatriates must provide three internship or work-based learning placements to local students for each expatriate hired, with possible adjustments based on company and workforce size.<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Mexico<\/td>Numerous new Bills propose reforming the Constitution to provide for a\u00a040-hour<\/strong>\u00a0work week\u00a0<\/strong>by 2030.\u00a0<\/td>1 May 2026, with the gradual reduction of the work week starting on 1 January 2027.<\/td><\/tr>
Norway<\/td>Employers are no longer able to set a\u00a0company-specific retirement age<\/strong>\u00a0below 72, as the Working Environment Act requires employment protection until this statutory age limit.<\/td>1 January 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Singapore<\/td>The Government\u00a0paid shared parental leave<\/strong>\u00a0entitlement will increase from six to 10 weeks.<\/td>1 April 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
South Korea<\/td>Amendments to the “Yellow Envelope Act” expand the definitions of employer, union membership and labour dispute, and broaden union immunity from damages, resulting in significant changes to the\u00a0labour union-employer landscape<\/strong>.<\/td>10 March 2026.<\/td><\/tr>
Spain<\/td>A draft Bill on the governance of\u00a0artificial intelligence<\/strong>\u00a0(AI) will bring Spanish legislation in line with the European AI regulation (known as the EU AI Act) already in force.<\/td>Unknown.<\/td><\/tr>
UK<\/td>The Employment Rights Act<\/strong>\u00a0introduces enhanced protections for employees and trade union members, including day-one rights for paternity and ordinary (unpaid) parental leave and sick pay, a new right to guaranteed hours for zero hours and low hours workers, reforms to the flexible working requests procedure, changes to collective redundancy consultation laws, extended anti-harassment measures, a new right to statutory bereavement leave, and reforms to union recognition and industrial action procedures.<\/td>Expected to be brought into force during 2026 and 2027.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n

Navigate HR complexity with confidence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With Brightmine, you can build powerful people strategies, implement best practices and set your organisation up for a brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn how our tools, resources and automation can empower you and your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Go back to the top<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

You may also be interested in…<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n\n\n
\n
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t
\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t
\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCommentary and Insights<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Employment Rights Act: Is the phased approach helping or hindering HR?<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is being rolled out in phases, giving HR teams time to plan but …<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWebinars<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Unfair dismissal changes: Are your probationary processes ready for 1 July?<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Trade union access is changing. Join this webinar to understand the Employment Rights Act 2025 and its impact …<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCommentary and Insights<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Labour Government employment law changes | On your radar<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

This resource reviews Labour Government employment law changes that are in the pipeline and how you can prepare …<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

About the authors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"Ronelle<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Ronelle (Elle) Barreto<\/strong>
International Legal Editor, Brightmine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elle focuses on editing the International country guides, collaborating with local lawyers to provide updates and insights into the legislation for different jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elle is a former practicing employment law attorney with over 20 years’ experience in the public, corporate and political sectors in both South Africa and the UK. Before joining Brightmine, she served as a litigation attorney, senior manager for KPMG’s employment law advisory practice, parliamentary researcher (labour and public enterprises) and HR manager. In addition to a legal career, Elle has more than five years’ experience in academic research focusing on trends in the legal framework around precarious forms of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elle holds a PhD in Business and Law (UK), Masters in Research in Business Management (UK), Masters in Employment Law (South Africa), Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (South Africa), and BA in Law and Industrial Psychology (South Africa).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"Rocio<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Rocio Carracedo Lopez<\/strong>
International Legal Editor, Brightmine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ro has 10 years’ experience as a researcher, writer and editor in multi-jurisdictional employment law. In her role as an International legal editor at Brightmine she manages, edits and publishes a large portfolio of international guides and leads the rolling out of new initiatives to enhance the guides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to joining Brightmine, Ro held a number of roles writing content on HR and employment law including country comparative reports, eBooks, whitepapers, top tips, case analysis, news reports and FAQs. Ro has a law degree (LLB) from the University of Exeter. As part of her degree, she studied at the University of Deusto, Bilbao. She also has an MA (LLM) in European legal studies from the University of Bristol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ro speaks fluent Spanish and conversational French.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Start your free trial today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Register today to gain free 7-day access to the Brightmine HR & Compliance Centre and stay up to date, compliant and save valuable time<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Take a free trial<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brightmine International editors\u00a0Ronelle Barreto\u00a0and\u00a0Ro Carracedo Lopez\u00a0present shifts in the future legislative landscape in 18 different countries – at a glance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":14376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"wp-custom-template-new-resources","categories":[53],"tags":[],"topic":[59],"class_list":["post-14518","resources","type-resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c-and-i","topic-employment-law-updates"],"_lnrs_read_more":"","yoast_head":"\nGlobal legislative changes to look out for in 2026 | Brightmine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Global HR compliance in 2026: Explore the major legislative shifts including the UK's Employment Rights Act, EU pay transparency, APAC labour reforms, and AI governance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026 | Brightmine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Global HR compliance in 2026: Explore the major legislative shifts including the UK's Employment Rights Act, EU pay transparency, APAC labour reforms, and AI governance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brightmine UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T10:25:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeAreBrightmine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Liz Sables\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9c2143d3895bfad53ec8fc5d8e15a697\"},\"headline\":\"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T10:25:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-15T10:25:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/\"},\"wordCount\":1105,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary and Insights\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/\",\"name\":\"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026 | Brightmine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T10:25:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-15T10:25:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"Global HR compliance in 2026: Explore the major legislative shifts including the UK's Employment Rights Act, EU pay transparency, APAC labour reforms, and AI governance.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":627,\"caption\":\"Individual seated at a desk using a laptop in a modern office with wooden panels and partitioned workstations in the background.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"HR compliance\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Employment law updates\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/\",\"name\":\"Brightmine UK\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Brightmine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/07092215\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/07092215\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp\",\"width\":1941,\"height\":508,\"caption\":\"Brightmine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/WeAreBrightmine\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/brightmine\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WeAreBrightmine\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9c2143d3895bfad53ec8fc5d8e15a697\",\"name\":\"Liz Sables\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/20152426\/Liz-Sables-150x150.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/20152426\/Liz-Sables-150x150.webp\",\"caption\":\"Liz Sables\"},\"description\":\"Prior to joining Brightmine, I worked in a variety of roles specialising in website design, digital marketing and conversion rate optimisation. After years of honing my hands-on skills and gathering knowledge and experience of design, build and UX for websites and email, I moved on to managing digital marketing activities and on-site user experience international companies.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/lizsables\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/author\/liz-sables\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026 | Brightmine","description":"Global HR compliance in 2026: Explore the major legislative shifts including the UK's Employment Rights Act, EU pay transparency, APAC labour reforms, and AI governance.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026 | Brightmine","og_description":"Global HR compliance in 2026: Explore the major legislative shifts including the UK's Employment Rights Act, EU pay transparency, APAC labour reforms, and AI governance.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/","og_site_name":"Brightmine UK","article_modified_time":"2026-01-15T10:25:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@WeAreBrightmine","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"17 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Liz Sables","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9c2143d3895bfad53ec8fc5d8e15a697"},"headline":"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026","datePublished":"2026-01-15T10:25:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-15T10:25:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/"},"wordCount":1105,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp","articleSection":["Commentary and Insights"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/","name":"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026 | Brightmine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp","datePublished":"2026-01-15T10:25:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-15T10:25:06+00:00","description":"Global HR compliance in 2026: Explore the major legislative shifts including the UK's Employment Rights Act, EU pay transparency, APAC labour reforms, and AI governance.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/30095415\/person-working-on-laptop-in-modern-office-3.webp","width":1200,"height":627,"caption":"Individual seated at a desk using a laptop in a modern office with wooden panels and partitioned workstations in the background."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/global-legislative-changes-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"HR compliance","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Employment law updates","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Global legislative changes to look out for in 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/","name":"Brightmine UK","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization","name":"Brightmine","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/07092215\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/07092215\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp","width":1941,"height":508,"caption":"Brightmine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/WeAreBrightmine","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/brightmine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WeAreBrightmine"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9c2143d3895bfad53ec8fc5d8e15a697","name":"Liz Sables","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/20152426\/Liz-Sables-150x150.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/20152426\/Liz-Sables-150x150.webp","caption":"Liz Sables"},"description":"Prior to joining Brightmine, I worked in a variety of roles specialising in website design, digital marketing and conversion rate optimisation. After years of honing my hands-on skills and gathering knowledge and experience of design, build and UX for websites and email, I moved on to managing digital marketing activities and on-site user experience international companies.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/lizsables\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/author\/liz-sables\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/14518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resources"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14518"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=14518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}