HR professionals have had quite the year.

Keeping up with all the workplace changes, whether that’s technological or legislative, has required an enormous amount of effort.

Well, there’s good news and bad news.

As we look toward 2026, it’s clear that the rate of change shows no sign of slowing; however, for those HR professionals ready to adapt, there are some amazing opportunities.

To help you stay ahead, we have identified three key HR trends set to define the coming year and shape the future of work.

Navigating the biggest shake-up in employment law

While keeping up with legislation has always been a core part of HR, 2026 stands out as a particularly important year, with the first wave of updates due to come from the Employment Rights Bill.

Now, the Employment Rights Bill isn’t just another piece of legislation.

It’s been branded as the most comprehensive revision of UK employment law.

So, for HR teams, this is far more than just tweaking a few policies.

The pressure is on for HR professionals as you’ll be tasked with guiding your business through a fundamental reshape of employee rights.

The changes landing in April 2026

David Kisiaky, Senior Product Manager, offered some commentary on the Employment Rights Bill, saying: “The Employment Rights Bill has been in progress for quite some time now.  

“However, due to the ongoing ‘ping pong’ in Parliament, the legislation is still at the bill stage and has not yet received Royal Assent.  

“Without Royal Assent, it cannot become a primary Act of Parliament. 

“That said, we still anticipate some changes are likely to take effect in April 2026, subject to the parliamentary process, with others expected in October 2026 and 2027.” 

Key changes expected in April 2026 

Collective Redundancy Protection 

The maximum period for the collective redundancy protective award, in cases of failure to consult, will double from 90 days to 180 days’ pay per employee. 

Day-One Paternity Leave 

Currently, employees must complete 26 weeks of employment to qualify for paternity leave. This waiting period will be removed, making paternity leave a day-one right. 

Unpaid Parental Leave 

At present, employees must be in employment for one year to qualify for unpaid parental leave. This will also become a day-one right, allowing employees to apply for it from the start of their employment. 

Whistleblowing Protections 

New protections will be introduced to safeguard employees from detriment and unfair dismissal when raising workplace issues, particularly in cases of sexual harassment. 

Fair Work Agency 

A new authority, the Fair Work Agency, will be established to police and enforce employment rights across various sectors. 

Day-One Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) 

The three waiting days for SSP will be removed, meaning employees will no longer need to wait until the fourth day to claim sick pay. Additionally, the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) threshold will be abolished, making SSP accessible to more employees. 

Trade Union Recognition Process 

The process for recognising trade unions will be simplified. The voting threshold to recognise a union  will change to a simple majority. Trade unions will also gain additional access rights to workplaces. 

Electronic and Workplace Balloting 

Currently, voting for trade union activities can only be conducted by post. This will be modernised to allow electronic and workplace balloting, making it easier for employees to participate. 

David added: “There are many more changes outlined in the Employment Rights Bill roadmap, including the abolition of some previous Acts of Parliament.  

“However, these are the key highlights expected to take effect from April 2026 onwards, subject to the completion of the parliamentary process.” 

What this means for HR

Compliance will likely dominate your to-do list for the entire year.

Not only do you need a firm grasp on the new rules, but HR professionals will have to audit their current setup.

We advise you to look at your contracts and policies right now, as old workplace policies could become non-compliant overnight.

Deepening organisational artificial intelligence (AI) usage

Artificial intelligence is quickly moving from an experimental technology to an embedded operational tool.

If recent years were about exploring what AI could do, 2026 is the year it becomes a core part of how we all work.

However, as with any large change, for many employees, this brings a mix of excitement and anxiety.

This is where HR’s role becomes absolutely critical.

You must support your workforce to ensure successful adoption while also minimising fear and anxiety.

The key will be to frame AI not as a replacement, but as a collaborator that can augment human skills.

The next step in the workplace

Gartner reported that 38% of HR leaders have implemented or are using generative AI – that’s double the figure reported in June 2023. 

HR Director, Lizzy Barry, explained: “They say the only things certain in life are death and taxes – well, we actually say that ‘change’ should be added to that list. 

“In the last 5-10 years, COVID has created an enormous difference in the way staff work, with many more people now hybrid and relying on tools that enable them to work remotely. 

“AI is just another shift in how we do business, and this disruption is inevitable. 

“Successful businesses understand AI is simply the next step and will take the time to consider how they can use the tools effectively, bring their people along on the journey and educate their teams.” 

Shifting the mindset from replacement to augmentation

If you strip away the buzzwords and headlines, when it comes to AI adoption, what we’re really talking about is human emotion. 

So, how do your people currently feel about AI? 

We’ve found that for most, it’s a mix of fascination, fatigue and fear, and that’s entirely reasonable. 

Every major leap in technology has stirred the same response, which is uncertainty about what it means for our jobs, identity and value.    

Many workers worry they’ll be left behind. 

You need to address these types of concerns directly. 

Be honest about AI’s limitations, offer visibility on how AI decisions are made and create opportunities for hands-on experimentation.  

If you help your people feel safe, curious and confident, every technical challenge becomes manageable.

Showcasing the practicality of AI

Lizzy shared how she’s helped manage AI adoption at IRIS, explaining: “It’s actually been really interesting within IRIS! 

“We’ve done things like AI hackathons and given employees a chance to play around with tools they might not have used before. 

“We often set a challenge: can you use AI to generate something, and how would you assess the output?   

“Being able to start using AI and see what it can do is often a really clear way to take away some of that fear, because we can see immediately that AI isn’t perfect and it doesn’t always give us the finely crafted end result that we need. 

“Even if the output looks good, we know that  AI can hallucinate or have built-in mistakes and assumptions that we then need to check. 

“Getting stuck in is really helpful for supporting people and helping them feel confident in using it for that augmentation, rather than worrying it’s going to replace them tomorrow.” 

Four ways to optimise your change management efforts 

Prior to introducing new technology, like AI, behavioural change is needed, which can be achieved by creating awareness and desire for change.   

Awareness: people need to know why the change is happening and what’s in it for them – answering these questions will help people understand the purpose.  

Desire: build desire by showcasing the benefits, ensuring people are eager to use the new tech when it’s ready.  

Below are four tips you can look to implement in your own change management strategy:  

1) Spread the message   

Frequent communications within your business are crucial to ensuring people are aware of the change, understand the reasoning and look forward to the benefits.  

A few messages you should look to relay are:  

• What software is changing 
• The day-to-day benefits for staff  
• When the change is expected  

2) Celebrate successes   

To tackle people’s natural apprehension towards change, it’s crucial that you highlight each success, helping shift the perception of those resistant.   

3) Create change champions   

A fantastic way to promote change internally is to foster project champions who act as messengers for why other employees should adopt the new technology.  

4) Accept fear   

Accepting fear may initially come across as an odd tip, but it’s important that you’re realistic about change.  

By accepting and understanding these fears, you’re in a much better place to address the concerns and have open discussions.   

Reassessing engagement and wellbeing strategies

The world of work has changed, and so have employee expectations.

Salary alone no longer guarantees loyalty; people want to feel valued and supported.

In fact, research has found that 69% of employees say a wide array of benefits would increase their loyalty, and 80% of people who are satisfied with their benefits report higher job satisfaction.

In 2026, a one-size-fits-all approach to wellbeing simply won’t cut it.

It’s time to get personal.

What makes a benefits package truly valuable?

For employees, a truly valuable benefits package goes far beyond traditional offerings.

Today, the most impactful packages combine essential foundations such as competitive pensions, comprehensive healthcare and generous leave policies, with additional benefits that adapt to individual life circumstances and career stages.

Dan Grace, Director of International HR Consulting, told us: “What makes modern benefits truly valuable is choice and flexibility.

“Early-career employees might prioritise professional development funds and student loan assistance, while parents need robust childcare support and family leave.

“On the other hand, employees approaching retirement value pension top-ups and phased retirement options.

“The key is offering a flexible benefits platform where people can tailor their package to their current needs.

“Mental health and wellbeing support have also become absolutely critical.

“Not just Employee Assistance Programmes, but proactive wellness initiatives, mental health days and access to counselling services.

“Financial wellbeing is equally important, with salary advance schemes, financial coaching and emergency hardship funds becoming standard expectations.”

Moving beyond the basics

According to the CIPD, employers believe investment in wellbeing strategies deliver measurable returns, including improved health and wellbeing (54%), increased employee engagement and reduced sickness absence (both at 39%) and enhanced performance (38%).

To deliver a meaningful wellbeing strategy, here’s where we recommend you focus your efforts:

• Be proactive, not reactive: instead of just offering counselling services after a problem arises, the best strategies focus on prevention. This means building resilience through training, embedding mental health first aiders within teams and promoting preventative healthcare access.
• Embrace inclusive wellbeing: your workforce is diverse, and your wellbeing strategy should be too. Support should expand to address specific life stages. Assistance for parenthood, caregiving responsibilities and neurodiversity are key areas to consider.

• Financial wellbeing: with persistent cost-of-living pressures, financial stress is a major concern for many employees. Offering financial wellness programmes, from educational workshops to Earned Wage Access, can make a significant difference.
• Listen to your people: instead of questioning what benefits you should offer, forward-thinking organisations are determining what their people need to feel supported, valued and able to thrive. That starts with listening, using surveys, feedback loops and usage data to understand what matters most.

Putting the ‘human’ back in HR

It’s easy to get lost in the noise of 2026.

Between navigating complex new legislation like the Employment Rights Bill and figuring out where AI fits into your daily workflow, the to-do list for HR professionals is looking pretty intense.

But if you look closely at every single one of these trends, the common thread isn’t technology or policy – it’s people.

As we move into this new year, the most important tool in your arsenal isn’t a piece of software or a new handbook.

Rather, it’s your empathy and judgment.

The administrative side of HR is changing rapidly, but the need for human connection, understanding and strategic thinking remains crucial.

What will the payroll landscape be like in 2026? We believe a fundamental change is going to happen.

Payroll is generally considered a back-office function, simply there to accomplish one key task: ensuring staff are paid correctly and on time.

However, this significantly underestimates the value that payroll professionals can provide.

By utilizing technological advancements, payroll moves out of the back office and takes its rightful place as a strategic contributor to business success.

To help you on your journey, this article will detail the top payroll trends you need to watch for in 2026, exploring what they mean for you and your business.

Moving away from historical payroll processes

Payroll has always been a rigid beast, defined by strict processes and even stricter deadlines.

Well, things are changing now.

Through the use of smarter technology, payroll professionals enjoy much more freedom; technology loosens the reins, making the whole process more adaptable to real life.

Here’s how this flexibility manifests itself in three key areas:

1) Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

AI is the buzzword on everyone’s lips.

Over the past few years, AI has evolved from a speculative “future trend” to something we are expected to understand, evaluate, and rapidly deploy.

However, behind this hype lies a more concrete reality: AI is not magic.

Like any technology, AI is a tool and its value depends entirely on how it is used.

The current state of AI in payroll

During a recent webinar, we asked our payroll experts their views on AI, to which they responded: “As for Large Language Models (LLMs), they don’t handle numbers very well – it’s getting better, but they don’t have a built-in calculator, so they learn to do mathematical calculations based on written instructions.

“So if you ask AI how much someone’s sick pay should have been, it’s not entirely accurate.

“In terms of how we currently use it in payroll, one of the most interesting use cases I’ve seen is where there is a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) – your processes around payroll and how they’re done – that are used alongside Microsoft CoPilot.

“All these files and folders are placed in a SharePoint site, and CoPilot’s AI then finds the information, so you can ask it questions, significantly speeding up some of your administrative tasks.

“The way I see AI being useful in the future is that it will remove the routine tasks and mundane parts of the payroll process, so you can replace them with higher value-added services, such as payroll consulting.”

Payroll professionals are rightly cautious because implementing AI means managing change in an industry where tolerance for error is extremely low.

We believe the benefits of AI only materialize when payroll teams remain firmly in the driver’s seat.

2) Automation

If AI is the future, automation is the engine of the present.

Modern software has revolutionized the daily lives of payroll professionals, taking over mundane, time-consuming tasks.

Instead of spending hours entering data and performing manual checks, automation handles things like:

• HMRC submissions: Automatic sending of Full Payment Submissions (FPS) after each pay cycle
• Tax Code Updates: automatically retrieve and apply HMRC notifications
• Professional policies: configure sick pay or overtime rules only once, so that the system applies them automatically

This change significantly reduces errors and allows you to focus on more value-driven work, rather than just processing data.

3) Faster payments

The traditional three-day BACS cycle has significantly restricted payroll professionals.

With providers, like IRIS, now offering Faster Payments integration, payroll professionals have much more freedom when paying their employees.

This flexibility is a game changer for handling last-minute adjustments.

Now, if you notice an error or need to make a late payment, you’re no longer hostage to bank processing times.

Defending financial well-being

There is a huge opportunity for payroll teams to become champions of employee financial well-being.

In a difficult market where companies are fighting to retain their best employees, the discussion around employee benefits takes center stage.

Consider statistics like:

• 69% of employees say a wide range of benefits would increase their loyalty
• 80% of people who are satisfied with their benefits report greater job satisfaction

Payroll is at the heart of this change.

Earned Wage Access (EWA)

Earned Wage Access, also known as on-demand pay, gives employees the ability to access a portion of their salary before payday – an essential tool for reducing financial stress.

EWA’s aim is to align salaries with the reality of modern life, providing staff with the flexibility to manage unexpected costs without resorting to high-interest loans or credit cards.

Today, we see growing demand from workers for EWA.

Our recent research found that almost half (47.9%) of respondents said that the EWA makes a job more attractive.

This number is skyrocketing among younger generations, reaching 55.8% for 16-24 year olds and 65.5% for the 25-34 bracket.

Additionally, two-thirds of respondents said they would use EWA if they had access to it.

Provide access to earned wages

To offer flexible compensation, you need an earned wages access platform that syncs with your current payroll software.

Once implemented, employees work their shifts normally and accrue income.

Employees can then access their funds – often up to 50% of their accrued salary – almost immediately or within hours via a mobile app or online platform.

When payday arrives, the amount advanced is subtracted from their regular salary, along with any applicable fees.

Evolution from processor to strategic leader

The evolution of payroll will extend well beyond new tools, fundamentally changing the way professionals operate.

With technology automating the administrative burden, there is a tremendous opportunity for payroll professionals to step up and claim a well-deserved seat at the leadership table.

First, the labor market has fundamentally changed:

• More and more employees are looking to work flexibly from abroad
• Employers tackle skills shortage by hiring from abroad
• Businesses expand into new territories

While all of these scenarios make payroll much more complex, they also give the payroll function greater strategic importance, with your expertise helping to support compliance and growth.

Additionally, we are increasingly seeing payroll managers being relied upon to provide vital information on:

• Labor costs
• Risk profiles
• Legislative changes
• Operational resilience

The power of payroll data

Your payroll data is incredibly powerful.

When analyzed proactively, your data can tell a compelling story about the business, revealing workforce trends, cost drivers, and operational friction points.

For example, overtime trends can signal possible resource shortfalls, while recurring manual adjustments can indicate a broken process that needs to be fixed.

Additionally, payroll professionals are at the heart of promoting fairness and transparency.

Your data is crucial to supporting equal pay audits, gender pay gap reporting, and broader diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments.

The role of technology

Used well, your payroll data allows you to play a significant role in long-term strategy.

The key phrase here is: when used correctly.

For many, reporting is an extremely manual task that involves extracting information from different sources and spending days manipulating it into a usable format.

This is where good payroll software makes the difference.

Modern tools provide access to dozens of ready-to-use reports, covering everything from legal requirements to strategic workforce analysis.

Plus, when your payroll and HR systems are integrated, data is updated in real time, meaning your reports are always based on the most recent information.

By leveraging this technology, you can spend less time creating reports and more time analyzing them to provide the strategic insights executives need.

A strategic future for payroll

There are a lot of changes on the horizon when it comes to payroll, but it’s not something to fear.

It’s an exciting time, providing a brilliant opportunity for payroll professionals to evolve, develop and move into more strategic roles.

The future of payroll is incredibly bright, but it requires preparation today.

By embracing these changes, you can lead innovation and thrive in a profession that is becoming more dynamic and valuable than ever.