Global law changes in 2026: what US employers need to know

This promises to be a busy year for HR teams in the US, as 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.

For US organizations operating or planning to operate as global employers, HR calendars will be even more demanding. In the UK, organizations are preparing to implement the initial measures in the Employment Rights Act. And in the 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.

Adding to the complexity, each country has its own distinct political and legal framework, which makes it essential for organizations operating internationally to stay up to date with changing laws and regulations to remain compliant, reduce risks and foster strong cross-border relationships.

The following table helps ease this burden by highlighting key legislative updates introduced or anticipated in 18 countries in 2026. Legislative processes differ considerably depending on the specific country, so it is not always possible to predict the “expected date” (i.e., 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.

Country	Proposed change to legislation	Introduced/expected date
Australia	The maximum entitlement to parental leave pay will gradually increase by two weeks each year from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2026, up to a maximum of 26 weeks. At present, it stands at 24 weeks.	July 1, 2026.
Austria	Changes to the General Pension Insurance Act introduce partial retirement. Under specific conditions, employees have the opportunity to work part time while receiving part of their pension.	January 1, 2026.
Belgium	Access to the end-of-career time credits scheme, 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.	January 1, 2026.
Bulgaria	Bulgaria adopted the Euro as its currency.	January 1, 2026.
Canada	The Canada Labour Code will be amended to restrict federally regulated businesses’ use of non-competition agreements in employment contracts.	Unknown.
Czech Republic	Employers are now required to submit a single Unified Monthly Employer Report (JMHZ), which consolidates approximately 25 reports into one, thereby simplifying the administrative duties for employers.	January 1, 2026.
Denmark	Parental leave for parents of hospitalized 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.	January 1, 2026.
Finland	Significant changes to dismissal laws which 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.	January 1, 2026.
Hong Kong	There will be changes to the definition of a continuous contract. 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.	January 18, 2026.
Ireland	New auto-enroll pension obligations require employers to enroll certain employees who do not already have a workplace pension in a new centrally administered auto-enrollment pension scheme, with contributions from employees, employers and the government (increasing in stages).	January 1, 2026.
Luxembourg	A new bill seeks to protect staff representatives who have been suspended.	Unknown.
Malaysia	A new 1:3 internship policy on 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.	January 1, 2026.
Mexico	Numerous new bills propose reforming the Constitution to provide for a 40-hour work week by 2030.	May 1, 2026, with the gradual reduction of the work week starting on January 1, 2027.
Norway	Employers are no longer able to set a company-specific retirement age below 72, as the Working Environment Act requires employment protection until this statutory age limit.	January 1, 2026.
Singapore	The government paid shared parental leave entitlement will increase from six to 10 weeks.	April 1, 2026.
South Korea	Amendments to the “Yellow Envelope Act” expand the definitions of employer, union membership and labor dispute, and broaden union immunity from damages, resulting in significant changes to the labor union-employer landscape.	March 10, 2026.
Spain	A draft bill on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) will bring Spanish legislation in line with the European AI regulation (known as the EU AI Act) already in force.	Unknown.
UK	The Employment Rights Act introduces 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.	Expected to be brought into force during 2026 and 2027.

By tracking these and other key developments on Brightmine, multinational employers can stay ahead of numerous new compliance requirements, reduce the risk of enforcement from local authorities and strengthen their position as a global employer of choice.