The article outlines how 2026 is emerging as a pivotal year for workplace transformation, with reforms converging around equity, openness and flexibility. In the UK, the recent Employment Rights Act will broaden protection against unfair dismissal by reducing the qualifying period from two years to six months and removing the existing caps on compensation, with these changes anticipated from January 2027. The act will also bring measures strengthening union influence, broaden thresholds for collective consultation with higher penalties for breaches, restrict contractual variations, improve job security for zero- and low-hours workers, and widen protections against harassment, creating what is described as a seismic shift in the compliance landscape. In the European Union, employers face a wave of regulation, including the Pay Transparency Directive, the Artificial Intelligence Act and a revised framework for European Works Councils, alongside the Quality Jobs Roadmap, which is geared toward sustainable, high-quality employment as technological and societal changes accelerate.
The piece stresses that labor developments in Asia Pacific and Latin America similarly focus on worker protection, flexibility and fairness, highlighting minimum wage increases in South Korea and multiple Philippine regions and Malaysia’s Gig Workers Bill for nontraditional workers. It notes broader union protections through measures such as South Korea’s Yellow Envelope Act and Singapore’s Workplace Fairness Act, while labor reforms in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina aim to strengthen equal pay compliance, modernize labor inspections and update labor relations frameworks. Against this backdrop, the artificial intelligence regulatory framework for US employers is described as a patchwork of existing federal and state anti-discrimination laws (Title VII, ADA) and new state and local laws in California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, and New York that target the use of Artificial Intelligence in employment decisions and emphasize privacy, transparency, fairness and accountability. On 11 December 2025, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” intended to curb what it characterizes as a “patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes” by directing federal agencies to challenge state Artificial Intelligence laws that impede interstate commerce or conflict with national policy, although it remains unclear how courts will handle those challenges or whether a federal Artificial Intelligence law will emerge in a midterm election year.
Despite the deregulatory executive order, the article emphasizes that state and local Artificial Intelligence laws remain in force and that employers should comply rather than adopt a wait-and-see approach, with Baker McKenzie partner Robin Samuel urging companies to proactively strengthen Artificial Intelligence governance and policy frameworks aligned to current and emerging requirements. Fairness is illustrated in practice through the growing “right to disconnect,” first introduced in France in 2016 and now being considered or implemented in countries such as Spain, Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Chile, Argentina and Colombia, while jurisdictions like the UK and Mexico are still in discussion stages. The article notes that early reports from Australia’s 2024 law show minimal disruption but encourages employers to support work-life balance through manager training, workload monitoring, contract review and tools like delayed email sending. The European Union Pay Transparency Directive, which must be implemented by EU member states by June 2026, introduces measures aimed at making it easier to identify gender pay inequality and enforce the right to equal pay, including pre-employment pay transparency, public pay gap reporting and, in some cases, joint pay assessments with worker representatives, and with less than six months until the deadline for the member states to implement the Pay Transparency Directive, Baker McKenzie partner Katja Haeferer warns that employers should already be reviewing pay structures, conducting equal value assessments and mapping jurisdictional risks. Looking ahead in 2026, organizations are urged to anticipate evolving legislation across multiple jurisdictions, invest in compliance readiness and workforce technology, and prioritize employee well-being and inclusive workplaces as core to a sustainable workforce strategy.
