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This January 2026 edition focuses on the employment law reforms coming into force in April 2026 and what businesses can do to prepare. Our Employment Rights Act tracker will keep you up to date with developments on the new measures and the timetable for their implementation. We take a look at the possible reforms to non-compete clauses which the Government is considering, equal pay in Germany and what to expect in UK and Irish business immigration in 2026. We also include our usual round-up of news, our UK and EU horizon scanners, our EU Pay Transparency Hub and information on forthcoming events.
Prepare for change in 2026
Heralded as the biggest shake-up of employment rights for a generation, the Employment Rights Bill received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, becoming the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Running to 160 sections, plus 12 schedules, and with subsidiary legislation to follow, the Act certainly covers a lot of ground. Royal Assent is only the first step for many of the provisions becoming law, however. In November last year the Government announced that it would launch 26 consultation exercises in relation to key provisions of the Act, before these would be finally implemented.
While Government says that it remains committed to its implementation timetable, the consultation timetable has slipped and we are awaiting, for example, consultations on fire and rehire, zero hours contracts and collective redundancy consultation.
Many important provisions are in force, or will be shortly, and in this edition of To The Point we look at what is in force, and what will be coming into force soon, as well as considering steps that employers can and should take now to be fully prepared for the coming challenges the Act will present.
UK employment law changes in April 2026: Six things HR should know
The employment landscape is set to change in 2026 following enactment of the Employment Rights Act 2025. We look at the six key changes coming into force in April 2026.
Find out how businesses can prepare here.
Reform of non-compete clauses in UK employment contracts revisited
The government is looking at reforming non-compete clauses in employment contracts in the UK.
Read about the proposals here.
UK Business Immigration – Enforcement and reform: what to expect from UK business immigration in 2026
We expect to see the Government's focus on compliance continue and the introduction of several significant changes to the UK immigration system during 2026.
Find out more here.
International Update - 2025 to 2026: Ireland's Immigration Shift – What you need to know
We have seen significant changes to Irish immigration in 2025 which is set to continue into 2026.
We take a look at what it means for employers here.
Upcoming Events:
We are looking forward to our EU Pay Transparency Directive Webinar on 24 February 2026 which will provide essential insights and practical guidance on how to prepare your business for the forthcoming changes. This will be of interest to EU and multi-national UK employers wanting to ensure pay transparency uniformity across their organisation. For further details and to register, visit the registration page here.
Our Dublin team is holding their annual Ireland Employment and Immigration Training Day on 22 April 2026 at The Merrion Hotel, Merrion Street Upper, Dublin 2. The team will be covering all the latest developments in employment law and business immigration with a special focus on the EU Pay Transparency Directive. For more information, please contact R.Montgomery@aglaw.com.
Our annual Industrial Relations training event is taking place in our London office in September 2026 this year. This popular event will cover all the latest developments in industrial relations and trade union reforms. Look out for more details coming soon.
For our Employment and Immigration Training Calendar 2026 listing all our client training events, please visit our website page here.
What else you should know
The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024
The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 came into force on 29 December 2025. It deals with the situation where the mother or adopter of a child dies in childbirth, or within a year of the birth/adoption, and allows the father or partner of the mother/adopter to take leave instead.
From 29 December 2025, the usual 26-week minimum service requirement for paternity leave and the stipulation that a parent who has taken shared parental leave cannot subsequently take paternity leave has been removed for bereaved fathers/partners. This is separate from the removal of the qualifying period for paternity leave and removal of the ban on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave for all fathers and partners from 6 April 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (see article above).
Additional regulations under the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 are expected to be made to:
- Enable fathers/partners to take paternity leave where the child also dies.
- Allow for KIT days during bereaved partner's paternity leave.
- Allow for enhanced redundancy protection after a period of bereaved partner's paternity leave.
It is also expected that regulations will extend the period of available leave in such circumstances to 52 weeks, rather than the usual two weeks. However, there is no confirmation of when further regulations will be made.
- We look at a recent case in Germany which has strengthened equal pay enforcement and provided some helpful guidance for employers in our article Germany's Federal Labour Court strengthens equal pay enforcement ahead of EU Pay Transparency implementation
- Proposals to expand the powers of the State Labour Inspection in Poland has sparked intense public debate, find out more in our article HR in the Know1/2026: What next for the reform of the State Labour Inspection
- With significant new obligations on employers for workplace pensions in Ireland coming into force on 1 January 2026, find out what it means in our article Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System: Minimum Contribution Standards.
- Our Dublin employment team highlights three major developments in Ireland for employers to have on their radar in 3 key developments in employment law from 2025.
- For all the latest information on employment law reforms and implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025, please visit our Employment Rights Act 2025 Tracker which you can find here.
- Keep track of the latest developments on the EU Pay Transparency Directive by visiting our Pay Transparency Hub on our website here.
- For all the latest legislative developments, see our latest UK Employment Horizon Scanner and our Employment Horizon Scanner for Ireland, France, Germany, Spain and Poland by visiting the resources section of our website page here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
