Linda Nyhan

2025 has been a notable year for employment law in Ireland, with steady progress towards greater workplace flexibility and employee wellbeing.

Hybrid working arrangements have evolved from a pandemic response to a strategic tool for talent attraction and retention. Advances in pay transparency and contractual clarity, driven by EU directives, reflect a maturing employment landscape where compliance increasingly aligns with competitive advantage.

Looking ahead to 2026, several key changes are expected to shape employer priorities.

AI Governance

Employers will need to prioritise robust frameworks for workplace artificial intelligence governance as further provisions of the EU AI Act come into force.

This will impact recruitment processes, performance management systems, and workforce analytics. Organisations deploying AI-driven tools will need robust governance frameworks to address new regulatory requirements and foster employee trust, while mitigating potential reputational risks.

The employers who get ahead of this will unlock efficiency gains; those who don’t will face regulatory and reputational risk.

Pay transparency

The EU Pay Transparency Directive must be transposed by EU member states by June 2026. This has already prompted many employers to review pay structures and reporting processes in anticipation of stricter obligations regarding gender pay gap disclosures and employee rights to pay information.

The staggered transposition of this Directive across the EU reflects the complexity of the regime, particularly as we await guidance from the European Commission on appropriate tools and methodologies for assessing what constitutes a ‘category of worker’ for comparison purposes.

Platform Workers Directive

Progress on the proposed Platform Workers Directive could provide long-awaited clarity on gig economy worker status throughout Europe.

If adopted in its current form, it will introduce a rebuttable presumption of employment where control indicators are present, mandate transparency around algorithmic management (including disclosure of automated decision-making systems affecting working conditions), and enhance collective representation rights for platform workers.

Conclusion

While these regulatory shifts present challenges, they also create opportunities for forward-thinking employers to position themselves as employers of choice.

Those who proactively engage with new requirements, particularly around AI deployment and pay equity, will be best placed to attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive market in 2026.

Lynda Nyhan is partner and head of the employment team at Taylor Wessing Dublin.