Employers are facing a new shift in the employment landscape as governments move to regulate flexible working, introduce stricter worker protections and impose controls on AI hiring, a new report from global employment platform Boundless has found.
The Employment Legislation Changes 2025 report tracks a number of changes in employment regulations being introduced in different countries, including Ireland.
Among the regulatory changes coming this year are new rules on pay gap reporting, which will see all companies with more than 50 staff obligated to report.
Pension auto enrollment is coming this year, and the minimum wage is also changing, rising to €13.50 for adults over 20 years of age.
Sick leave is also changing, with pay increasing from five days per year to seven, with employers obligated to pay eligible staff 70 per cent of their standard daily wage for that period, with a cap of €110 per day.
Further changes are expected in 2026, when the period of pay will rise to 10 days a year.
Elsewhere, efforts are being made to expand the right to disconnect, with Australia becoming the latest country to protect employees against out-of-hours work expectations.
Meanwhile, the UK is also introducing stricter rules around refusing the right to flexible work, following moves from countries such as Finland, the Czech Republic and Ireland on hybrid working arrangements.
The introduction of the AI Act within the EU will also bring in strict oversight on AI-driven hiring, performance tracking and employee monitoring, with the UK considering similar regulations.
“New legislation is expanding workplace rights, strengthening protections for flexible and remote work, and introducing stricter compliance requirements—every country has their own interpretation,” said Dee Coakley, chief executive and founder of Boundless.
“The report highlights that companies planning for expansion and with distributed teams have to stay on top of these changes and trends to be compliant.”
