Ten Global Employment Law Updates to Watch in 2026

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Quick Hits

• Expanded worker protections are becoming the norm across nearly all jurisdictions.
• Reduced working hours are trending globally.
• AI regulation in HR is accelerating, from the EU AI Regulation affecting Germany, to Ontario’s AI disclosure rules in Canada, to the UAE’s use of AI for enforcement.
• Compliance and reporting standards continue to rise, including enhanced pay transparency requirements and contractor classification rules.

From sweeping labor code consolidations to new AI disclosure requirements, employers operating internationally will want to stay ahead of these critical changes. Below are the top ten employment law developments for global employers to watch.

1. Belgium: Notice Period Cap Reduces Termination Costs

A draft act, which is expected to pass soon, has been submitted to the Belgian Federal Parliament that would cap the notice period for employer-initiated terminations at fifty-two weeks (one year), even for very long-tenured employees. Previously, long-tenured employees could accrue notice periods of more than a year, creating substantial financial exposure for employers during workforce reductions or restructurings. This cap represents a meaningful reduction in termination costs, particularly for employees with fifteen or more years of service who historically would have qualified for much longer notice periods. However, because this cap would apply only to new contracts and would accrue with seniority, its practical effects would not materialize until those employees accumulate sufficient service. Employers may want to review their workforce planning models, termination cost projections, and restructuring scenarios in light of this potential change, as the savings compared to the previous regime can be substantial. For more details, see our podcast “Cross-Border Catch-Up: 2026 Employment Law Changes in Poland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.”

2. Brazil: Mental Health Reporting, Pending Critical Caselaw, and Immigration Updates

Under the updated Regulatory Norm No. 1 (NR‑1), employers must include mental health and psychosocial risks, such as burnout, harassment, and excessive working hours, in their Occupational Risk Management Programs. Formal enforcement of NR-1 begins on May 26, 2026.

Additionally, Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court is considering whether wage deductions for meal and transport allowances should be included in the base for the employer’s social security contributions, a decision that will affect payroll administration and employer costs.

Finally, Decree No. 12,657/2025 allows foreign nationals to perform short-term technical activities under a regular visitor visa, increasing flexibility for international business operations.

3. Canada: AI Disclosure, Pay Transparency, and Leave Expansions

Canada is introducing several significant changes across multiple provinces. Ontario now requires employers to disclose when artificial intelligence (AI) is used in hiring decisions. Employers must inform both candidates and employees when AI systems are deployed in recruitment, screening, assessment, or selection processes. Ontario is also mandating salary range disclosure in job postings, designed to address wage gaps and promote equal pay.

Leave entitlements are expanding: long-term illness leave has been extended in several provinces, and Saskatchewan has updated its maternity leave and introduced new leave for employees affected by domestic or sexual violence. Saskatchewan has also introduced new restrictions on employer tip withholding, effectively limiting management’s ability to retain or redistribute gratuities.

For more information, see our article, “New Year, New Laws: 2026 Updates in Canadian Employment Standards.”.

4. Germany: EU AI Regulation Hits HR Systems

Beginning in August 2026, the EU AI Regulation will take full effect in Germany, with significant implications for HR technology. The AI Regulation establishes strict requirements for “high-risk” AI systems, which include AI used in recruitment, performance management, task allocation, and promotion decisions. Employers will be required to conduct conformity assessments, maintain detailed documentation, ensure human oversight, and implement ongoing monitoring systems. Noncompliance can result in substantial fines.

Beyond AI, Germany has eliminated the rule that previously prevented employers from offering fixed-term contracts without objective justification to employees who had already worked for them after reaching statutory retirement age. As a result, employers may be able to extend working relationships with experienced employees without triggering indefinite employment obligations.

More changes include updates to social insurance contribution thresholds and expanded maternity protections. For more information, see our article, “Developments in German Employment Law for 2026.”

5. India: Historic Labor Law Consolidation

India is implementing one of the most ambitious labor law reforms in its history, consolidating twenty-nine statutes into four streamlined labor codes in an attempt to simplify compliance while significantly expanding worker protections.

• The Code on Wages establishes a universal minimum wage across all sectors and standardizes the definition of “wages” to close loopholes that allowed employers to artificially reduce provident fund and gratuity obligations through allowance structuring.
• The Industrial Relations Code formally recognizes fixed-term employment as a distinct employment category, raises the headcount threshold for employers required to seek government permissions before terminations from 100 to 300 employees (reducing the compliance burden for mid-sized companies), and introduces a mandatory Re-Skilling Fund to support displaced workers.
• The Social Security Code dramatically extends coverage to previously excluded categories including gig workers, platform workers, and workers in the unorganized sector, potentially bringing millions of additional workers into the social safety net.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Code extends formal health and safety protection to a broader range of employers and workers, while also restricting the use of contract labor for core business activities, effectively requiring direct employment for individuals who perform essential functions.

For more details, see our podcast, “Cross-Border Catch Up: Unpacking India’s Labor Law Shake-Up.”

6. Mexico: Workplace Violence Prevention and the Forty-Hour Workweek

Mexico has introduced two major reforms with far-reaching implications.

The first targets workplace culture: mandatory workplace violence prevention training is now required, accompanied by enhanced anti-discrimination obligations that may require employers to review and update their policies, training materials, and reporting mechanisms.

Second is the constitutional reform reducing the standard workweek from forty-eight hours to forty hours with one critical restraint: wages cannot be reduced for affected employees. Employers must maintain current salary levels while absorbing a roughly 17 percent reduction in working hours. Though the reform will be phased in through 2030 to give businesses time to adjust, employers may want to begin planning now for the financial and operational impacts.

For a comprehensive summary of what to look forward to in Mexican labor and employment law this year, see our articles, “Mexico’s Labor Law in 2026: Key Developments Include Workplace Violence Prevention and 40-Hour Workweek” and “Mexico Labor and Employment Law Roundup for 2025, and What’s Coming in 2026: A Brief Compliance Guide.”

7. Netherlands: Cracking Down on Contractor Misclassification

Until recently, employers in the Netherlands were waiting for the VBAR Act to go into effect. The VBAR Act was intended to introduce a more rigorous framework for evaluating whether a working relationship constitutes genuine independent contractor status or disguised employment. In early March 2026, however, the Cabinet of the Netherlands decided to abandon most of the VBAR Act. While the Cabinet may retain portions of the VBAR Act, such as the legal presumption that workers earning below EUR 38 per hour are employees, it is expected that the Cabinet will soon introduce a new framework for evaluating employment status called the Self-Employed Act. Until then, employers will want to refer to the Deregulation of Labour Relations Assessment Act (DBA) Act when assessing whether a working relationship qualifies as genuine self-employment.

Additionally, there is a renewed push for authorities to investigate potential misclassification of workers. Tax authorities and labor inspectorates are conducting coordinated audits and investigations, and employers found to have misclassified workers face potential back payments for social security, income tax withholding, payroll taxes, pension contributions, and vacation pay, often stretching back multiple years, plus penalties and interest on top. Companies relying heavily on independent contractors, freelancers, or intermediary arrangements may want to review those relationships to mitigate significant financial and legal exposure.

For more details, see our podcast, “Cross-Border Catch-Up: 2026 Employment Law Changes in Poland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.”

8. Poland: Service Length Recognition Expands

As of January 1, 2026, Poland expanded service length recognition rules, significantly impacting multiple employment entitlements. Time spent with predecessor entities and related companies, and in some cases other employers, now counts toward seniority, which directly affects notice periods (longer tenure = longer notice), severance entitlements (often based on length of service), and vacation accruals (which typically increase with tenure). Companies operating in Poland may want to review employment continuity for employees who transferred from related entities and recalculate entitlements under the new rules. Failure to properly recognize service can result in disputes over termination entitlements and leave calculations.

Employers must also update their personnel file practices to meet new standards on what information must be maintained, for how long, and what documentation must be provided to employees. For more details, see our podcast, “Cross-Border Catch-Up: 2026 Employment Law Changes in Poland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.”

9. UAE: Emiratisation Enforcement Intensifies

The UAE is significantly ramping up Emiratisation requirements and enforcement mechanisms. Companies with fifty or more employees must now meet a 10 percent Emirati quota in skilled roles, while those with twenty to forty-nine employees across fourteen designated sectors (including banking, insurance, telecommunications, and healthcare) must employ at least two Emiratis. Notably, the UAE government is deploying AI-powered surveillance systems to monitor compliance and detect quota avoidance schemes such as “ghost employees” or sham arrangements.

A new minimum wage of AED 6,000 per month (approximately USD 1,635) will apply to all Emirati employees. It takes effect on January 1, 2026, for new, renewed, and amended work permits, and on June 30, 2026, for existing employees. Penalties for noncompliance have increased dramatically (between AED 100,000 to one million per violation, or approximately USD 27,200 to 272,000), and courts can order employers to continue to pay affected Emirati workers for up to two months during investigations. The government is also considering fundamental reforms to the end-of-service gratuity system, potentially transitioning from the traditional lump-sum payment model to a defined contribution savings plan framework similar to pension systems in other jurisdictions. This would shift both the timing and structure of end-of-service obligations.

10. United Kingdom: The Employment Rights Act 2025 Takes Effect

The UK’s Employment Rights Act 2025 will fundamentally reshape employer obligations over the course of this year. The legislation creates a new Fair Work Agency to oversee enforcement, signaling a more aggressive regulatory approach. Key changes include:

• Statutory sick pay (SSP) will be a day-one entitlement with no waiting period and the lower earnings limit for SSP will be removed.
• Paternity and unpaid parental leave will also become available from the first day of employment, and paternity leave will be permitted after shared parental leave.
• Bereaved Partner’s Leave regulations come into force, providing a right to up to fifty-two weeks of leave where the child’s “primary carer” (usually the mother or other adoptive parent) has died within fifty-two weeks of the birth or adoption placement.
• Redundancy penalties will double, with the maximum penalty now reaching 180 days’ actual pay per employee (a significant increase from the previous ninety-day cap).

Whistleblowing protection will explicitly include disclosures related to sexual harassment. Further legislative changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025 are scheduled for October 2026. For more details, please see our article, “The Year Ahead in UK Employment Law: An Overview of Changes Scheduled in 2026.”

Additionally, the Data Use and Access Act (DUAA), expected to take effect in June 2026, introduces new complaint procedures with a thirty-day acknowledgment requirement.

These reforms represent one of the most significant expansions of worker rights in recent UK history.

Key Takeaways for Global Employers

Several clear themes emerge from these 2026 developments:

• Expanded worker protections are becoming the norm across nearly all jurisdictions, from day-one entitlements in the UK to gig worker coverage in India.
• Reduced working hours are trending globally, with Mexico’s forty-hour workweek reform part of a broader movement.
• AI regulation in HR is accelerating, from the EU AI Regulation affecting Germany, to Ontario’s AI disclosure rules in Canada, to the UAE’s use of AI for enforcement.
• Compliance and reporting standards continue to rise across the board, including enhanced pay transparency requirements and contractor classification rules.
• Employers with global operations may want to conduct a comprehensive review of their policies and practices in each jurisdiction to ensure compliance with these evolving requirements. Proactive preparation now may help avoid costly surprises later.

Ogletree Deakins’ Cross-Border Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Cross-Border blog as additional information becomes available.

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