United Kingdom
In June 2026, Argentina, British Columbia (Canada), France and Luxembourg increased their minimum wage rates.
In May 2026, Turkey doubled the length of paternity leave from five to 10 days. In France, for children born on or after 1 January 2026, each parent (including mothers) is entitled to two months of supplementary birth leave, available from 1 July 2026.
In Turkey, maternity leave was extended from 16 to 24 weeks from 1 May 2026. In France, for children born on or after 1 January 2026, each parent (including mothers) is entitled to two months of supplementary birth leave, available from 1 July 2026.
From 19 June 2026, there will be a change to the information provided by employers to employees when their personal data is collected, and to the information that the employer must make available to the employee when responding to a data subject access request.
Enhanced to include new information on India.
Key provisions of the Employment Rights Act began taking effect in April 2026, with further changes, such as trade union access rights and the obligation to inform workers about union membership, coming into force in October 2026.
Unions seeking recognition must meet certain membership thresholds, and employers outside schools and adult social care are not required to comply with multi-employer collective agreements reached on a sectoral, regional or national basis, making such involvement voluntary.
The maximum award for injury to feelings in discrimination cases has risen to £62,900, with this amount adjusted annually for inflation each April.
Updated to include new information on temporary employment agency work in Germany.
In April 2026, there have been important developments to gender pay gap reporting rules around the world. In Japan, there are additional gender pay gap disclosure obligations. In Australia, relevant private-sector employers must choose and declare their targets between 1 April and 31 May 2026. In the UK, employers with 250+ employees may produce and publish a voluntary action plan alongside their gender pay gap data.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to the United Kingdom.