What’s Coming Up / EU
What’s changing for employers in the EU.
33 rule changes, deadlines, events and dates for the EU, checked against official sources and updated every Monday.
Updated Monday, October 19, 2026
Type
33 items
Already in effect or under way
5 itemsChanges that have started and still need action.
- 14Oct ’26AI and algorithmic management spread to monitoring staffA Commission Flash Eurobarometer of about 12,800 SMEs and mid-caps found 42% already use AI or algorithmic management, with performance and productivity monitoring the…
- 13Oct ’2645% of EU workers face risks to their mental health at workEU-OSHA says 45% of EU workers are exposed to mental-health risks at work.
- 13Oct ’26Energy shock squeezes real pay and hiringThe Commission's 2026 European Employment and Social Outlook says the energy shock linked to the Middle East conflict will mean about 440,000 fewer jobs created in 2026…
- 8Oct ’26Germany: sick days from mental illness up about 42% in ten yearsThe AOK health insurer's Fehlzeiten-Report 2026 (by its research institute WIdO) found that sick days from mental illness among insured employees rose from 284 per 100…
- 27Aug ’26Rigid hybrid-work setups linked to higher stressEurofound reports that about 24% of EU employees work hybrid.
November 2026
8 items- 1NovEU Pay Transparency Directive: most countries missed the deadline, national laws now arrivingBy early October 2026 only a few countries, including Italy and Slovakia, had fully transposed the directive.
- 1NovEU Quality Jobs Act proposal expected (AI at work, telework, health and safety)After a second consultation of employer and union bodies (July 20 to Sept. 28, 2026), the Commission plans to propose an EU law covering algorithmic management and AI at…
- 1NovFrance: pay transparency bill heads to ParliamentFrance's bill, amended again on Sept. 10, 2026, is going to Parliament.
- 1NovGermany: plan to replace the 8-hour day with a weekly limit and require electronic time recordingA Labor Ministry draft would let collective agreements set a weekly instead of a daily working-time limit.
- 1NovMois sans tabac (France's quit-smoking month)France's national month-long challenge to quit smoking, linked to the Tabac info service helpline and app.
- 1NovSpain: mandatory digital working-time recording still pendingA Royal Decree requiring digital working-time records was expected in July and then September 2026.
- 23NovEuropean Testing Week (autumn)A Europe-wide week encouraging HIV, viral hepatitis and STI testing.
- 30NovIreland: 2026 gender pay gap reports dueEmployers with 50 or more employees must publish their gender pay gap report within five months of a snapshot date they picked in June 2026.
December 2026
3 items- 2DecEU AI Act: new bans and a generative-AI labeling deadlineUnder the AI Omnibus (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force since July 27, 2026), new bans apply to AI that generates non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse…
- 2DecEU Platform Work Directive: national laws dueMember states must have rules in force that presume platform workers are employees unless the platform proves otherwise, and that limit automated monitoring and…
- 2DecOEB Global 2026 (digital learning)A global conference and exhibition on digital and workplace learning in Berlin, for corporate L&D, education and training leaders.
January 2027
10 items- 1JanFrance: minimum wage (SMIC) revaluedThe SMIC has been €12.31 gross an hour (€1,867.02 a month for 35 hours) since an inflation-triggered rise in mid-2026.
- 1JanGermany: minimum wage rises to €14.60 an hourThe second step of the Fifth Minimum Wage Adjustment Ordinance raises the statutory minimum from €13.90 to €14.60 gross per hour.
- 1JanIreland: maternity, paternity, adoptive and parent's benefit rise €10 a weekBudget 2027 raises the weekly state rate for these benefits from €299 to €309, as part of a €10 increase across most social welfare payments.
- 1JanIreland: minimum wage rises to €14.94 an hourBudget 2027 raised the national minimum wage by 79 cents (5.6%) from €14.15, which works out to about €30,300 a year for a 39-hour week, and youth rates rise in step.
- 1JanNetherlands: ABP, the largest pension fund, moves to the new pension systemThe central bank (DNB) approved ABP's move of about 3.2 million participants into the new contribution-based system under the Future of Pensions Act.
- 1JanNetherlands: pay transparency law targeted for Jan. 1, 2027, but timing is slippingThe Dutch bill implementing the EU directive is still before parliament, and its plenary debate is scheduled for the second week of January 2027.
- 1JanNetherlands: youth minimum wage rates jumpYouth minimum wage percentages rise sharply: for example, age 20 goes to 87.5% of the adult rate (from 80%) and age 18 to 62.5% (from 50%).
- 1JanPoland: minimum wage rises to PLN 4,950 a monthThe government's regulation, published in the Journal of Laws, raises the monthly minimum by PLN 144 (3%), a smaller increase than in recent years.
- 1JanSpain: 2027 minimum wage (SMI) being setThe Labor Ministry gave its expert committee until about Nov. 1, 2026 to propose an increase, and reports say it aims to approve the new rate before the Nov. 29 general…
- 20JanLearning Technologies France 2027A major French L&D and learning-technology show, at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles (Hall 4), with about 550 speakers and 350 sessions.
On the horizon
6 itemsBigger changes later in 2027 and beyond, to plan for now.
- 7Jun ’27First EU pay-gap reports due for employers with 150+ workersUnder the Pay Transparency Directive, employers with 150 or more workers must file their first gender pay-gap report by June 7, 2027, covering 2026, in countries that…
- 1Jul ’27Ireland: new tax-favored personal investment accountAnnounced in Budget 2027, individuals can invest up to €12,000 a year, with savings up to €50,000 tax-free and a flat 1% tax above that.
- 1Sep ’27Ireland: childcare subsidy risesThe universal childcare subsidy rises to €2.50 an hour, and Budget 2027 cuts the maximum monthly full-time creche fee from €735 to €550.
- 1Oct ’27Ireland: PRSI social insurance rates rise againThe employee rate rises to 4.5% and the employer rate to 11.55%, following the Oct. 1, 2026 increase.
- 2Dec ’27EU AI Act: high-risk HR AI rules now apply from Dec. 2, 2027The AI Omnibus pushed the obligations for high-risk AI systems in Annex III, which includes AI used for recruitment, promotion, task allocation and monitoring of…
- 1Jan ’28Netherlands: final deadline for all pension schemes to switch systemsA law passed in December 2025 extended the deadline for all pension schemes to move to the new system to Jan. 1, 2028, so many more funds and employer schemes will…
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