News - DLA Piper GENIE

Important updates, straight to your inbox

Select your countries of interest to get essential employment law news and events for these jurisdictions.

Employment law 5 in 5: January 2026

Employment law 5 in 5: January 2026

Five developments to read for January in less than five minutes.

3 February 2026 3 min read

New York: The Trapped at Work Act prohibits employment promissory notes (update)

New York: The Trapped at Work Act prohibits employment promissory notes (update)

New York bans most stay‑or‑pay agreements and may revise the law in 2026.

19 February 2026 2 min read

Advancement of the Retirement Ages Bill (update)

Advancement of the Retirement Ages Bill (update)

The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill will give employees the right to refuse early retirement and seek compensation if unjustly retired.

18 February 2026 2 min read

New York: The Trapped at Work Act prohibits employment promissory notes (update)

New York: The Trapped at Work Act prohibits employment promissory notes (update)

New York bans most stay‑or‑pay agreements and may revise the law in 2026.

19 February 2026 2 min read

Advancement of the Retirement Ages Bill (update)

Advancement of the Retirement Ages Bill (update)

The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill will give employees the right to refuse early retirement and seek compensation if unjustly retired.

18 February 2026 2 min read

Whistleblowing notification to AAI required by 10 April

Whistleblowing notification to AAI required by 10 April

The individual responsible for operating the internal whistleblowing reporting procedure must now be notified to AAI.

18 February 2026 1 min read

First major Employment Rights Act measures come into force

First major Employment Rights Act measures come into force

Major Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms take effect, simplifying industrial action processes and increasing risks around collective redundancy consultations.

17 February 2026 2 min read

Asia Pacific Employment law forecast 2026

Asia Pacific Employment law forecast 2026

Our annual employment law forecast, summarising major legislative developments and key trends across the region in 2025.

13 February 2026 1 min read

Trending topics

Pay equity and pay transparency

In recent years, there has been an upward global trend in the implementation of new legal measures aimed at addressing pay equity and pay transparency. This trend continues to gather pace as more and more jurisdictions turn their focus to tackling this issue.

Post-termination restrictions

Employers have long relied on post-termination restrictions in employment agreements to protect their investments in talent, customer relationships and IP. Increasingly, however, their legitimacy is being scrutinised by legislators across the globe.

New South Wales introduces major workers’ compensation changes affecting claims, premiums and return to work

New South Wales introduces major workers’ compensation changes affecting claims, premiums and return to work

NSW introduces major workers’ compensation reforms affecting psychological injury claims, premiums and return‑to‑work support.

12 February 2026 1 min read

Bipartisan deal accelerates new modern slavery regime for New Zealand

Bipartisan deal accelerates new modern slavery regime for New Zealand

New Zealand proposes a stricter modern slavery reporting regime with penalties, incident reporting and stronger oversight for large businesses.

9 February 2026 6 min read

Italy publishes draft legislation to implement the Gender Pay Transparency Directive

Italy publishes draft legislation to implement the Gender Pay Transparency Directive

Italy's draft legislation implementing the Gender Pay Transparency Directive will now be subject to ministerial debate.

5 February 2026 4 min read

Add GENIE to your mobile home screen for one-click access

Add GENIE to your mobile home screen for one-click access

To view all our GENIE content on-the-go, download the website to the home screen of your mobile device for fully optimised mobile content.

On iOS devices, type the URL www.dlapipergenie.com into your Safari browser, then click the arrow icon at the bottom of the screen, and select the option to Add to Home Screen. A GENIE icon will then be downloaded to the home screen of your device, giving you one-click mobile access to all our GENIE content.

Consultations on implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025: Flexible working, fire and rehire and tipping

Consultations on implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025: Flexible working, fire and rehire and tipping

Government launches consultations on Employment Rights Act reforms covering flexible work, fire and rehire restrictions and new tipping policy requirements.

5 February 2026 3 min read

Revised timeline for implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025

Revised timeline for implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025

On 3 February the government published a revised timetable for implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025.

5 February 2026 4 min read

Sweden expands parental benefit rules

Sweden expands parental benefit rules

Sweden expands the scope of temporary parental benefit, allowing parents more paid time off for school and social‑services meetings tied to a child’s support needs.

5 February 2026 1 min read

Sweden strengthens criminal protection for trade secrets

Sweden strengthens criminal protection for trade secrets

Stricter trade secret rules from 2026 expand criminal liability in Sweden, including for misuse of information accessed lawfully.

5 February 2026 1 min read

New platform service enables employers to register trainee and internship contracts

New platform service enables employers to register trainee and internship contracts

Qiwa launches formal trainee contract registration service with clear rules on eligibility, duration, and compliance treatment.

4 February 2026 1 min read

Supreme Court partially recognises performance bonuses as wages

Supreme Court partially recognises performance bonuses as wages

Supreme Court clarifies when performance bonuses count as wages, reshaping retirement benefit calculations and bonus structures.

3 February 2026 4 min read