Lynda Nyhan, partner and head of the employment team at Taylor Wessing, makes predictions for employment law in 2026.
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.
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.
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