Pay transparency, hybrid and AI top of workplace agenda for 2026
Maeve McElwee, executive director of employer relations at Ibec.
Pay transparency, hybrid work and AI adoption are among the challenges and opportunities awaiting Ireland’s workforce in the year ahead, says a leading HR expert.
Maeve McElwee, executive director of employer relations at Ibec, the group representing Irish businesses, said that Ibec’s latest HR Update Report highlighted key trends that will occupy a lot of time HR practices in Irish workplaces during 2026.
For instance, the report, based on a survey of over 391 HR professionals, reveals that just 1% of organisations say they feel fully prepared for the upcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive.
In this Q&A interviewee, Maeve McElwee summarises the main topics highlighted by the HR Update Report.
The most recent Ibec HR Update Report revealed that just over a quarter (27 per cent) of companies were engaged in preparations for the Pay Transparency Directive, while 22% have yet to begin. These findings are a cause for some concern in light of the scale of the preparations that will be required in some organisations. There is a lot of work to do, and it shouldn’t be underestimated. Organisations need to allocate time and potentially budget for additional resources to devote to it.
On Auto-enrolment, there is a greater level of preparation due to the long lead-in time to commencement. Nevertheless, companies are still struggling to understand the complexity of the schemes and in some cases how to make adequate comparisons between their own existing schemes and the My Future Fund. Ibec is concerned that the Department of Social Protection is preparing further regulations on AE to be introduced by 1st January, setting minimum standards for contributions to pension funds. This is something the Department had committed to do around year six of AE, recognising that it is a very complex area and providing time for schemes to be fully analysed as the contribution requirements increased.
The proposed introduction of this new regulation just weeks before Christmas and the AE commencement date is hugely problematic. Our HR Update Survey showed that 90% of respondents operate a pension scheme for all or some of their employees with the majority of schemes being voluntary. In 84% of voluntary schemes the employer contribution is 2% or greater with 49% contributing 5%. 68% of employees in voluntary schemes contribute 2% or more.
I don’t see any significant changes arising in relation to the Work Life Balance Act next year.
We have seen organisations, as expected, iterate their remote, hybrid and flexible working policies since Covid. Where changes have been made, typically they have been to address business needs and improve ways of working – including ensuring that there is appropriate, mentoring, supervision and support provided to younger workers and new entrants to a company. Overall, there has not been significant change to the scale of hybrid/flexible working in Ireland. Employers recognise that hybrid/flexible working is a prized benefit for many employees and therefore, where a flexible model meets business needs we don’t see much appetite for change.
[The European Commission are still considering a legislative proposal in the area of telework and the right to disconnect. While we will not see this legislation coming through in the short term, it may involve some medium-term changes to workplace norms around remote and flexible working, and the right to disconnect].
A well-regulated labour market is very attractive to employers and employees equally.
Regulations provide certainty and stability in the industrial relations/employment rights environment and ensure fairness, equity and high standards of treatment in the workplace.
Additionally, the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court provide a well established and highly respected dispute resolution framework, which again makes working in Ireland attractive. It is important to note that Ireland has seen a very significant amount of employment rights-based legislation in recent years and employers have felt the cumulative impact of same, which has added considerable cost and administrative burden to employers, directly and indirectly. This has been disproportionally felt by small and medium sized businesses who do not have dedicated HR teams to manage the scale of administration required to roll out and implement all of the additional legislation. While rarely opposed in principle to the rights being introduced, many feel that their core competitiveness is not adequately considered in the shift of burden from state to employer.
Challenges will definitely be with the Pay Transparency Directive and the level of preparation required. Our HR Update Survey 2025 showed that among respondents, preparations for the implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive in June 2026 remains slow considering the far reaching operational and cultural impacts of the new requirements. While only 27% of businesses had some or all preparations in place in 2024, by 2025, the level of progress has risen to 41%. A further 20% indicate preparations are being planned. The two greatest anticipated administrative impacts are the challenging task of categorising workers for same work or work of equal value (48% All Impacts) and the need to make criteria used to determine pay levels and pay progression available to employees (47% All Impacts).
As employers are still awaiting sight of Ireland’s transposing legislation and the various tools, methodologies and guidelines required, it is difficult for them to fully prepare for the Directive’s scheduled transposition by June 2026. This guidance is urgently required to enable employers to prepare for compliance with the Directive’s new rules.
Employers continue to grapple with the cumulative impact of legislation, particularly SMEs. The introduction of further employment rights legislation, including potential further statutory leaves expected in 2026, will increase costs innavigating an already complex legislative framework.
Opportunities can be seen in the increasing development of AI tools and growth in new technology. beyond. Our HR Update Survey again showed the positive shift towards AI has continued between 2024 and 2025. While agreement levels have increased across the board, particularly regarding recognition of its potential to enhance productivity / conditions in the workplace (70% to 79%), business adoption of AI continues to lag.
The use of AI from a HR perspective has two main barriers – lack of internal knowledge (65%) and data privacy/security (62%). The barriers are apparent in how AI is being used by HR professionals in that it is mainly used as a support tool (59% use AI in generating meeting minutes, research) rather than for specific HR activities. At the wider organisational level the lack of proficiency and dedicated training in the use of AI is also a barrier to wider adoption.
A great opportunity lies in Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency. This opportunity gives the business community and society an opportunity to ensure that a resilient, innovative, and competitive economy is understood as the prerequisite for a prosperous and inclusive social Europe. As part of Ibec’s campaign, Making a Resilient, Competitive EU a Reality, we have prepared a paper outlining the business priorities for Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency.
Ibec calls for a strategic pivot to a ‘competitiveness first’ framework. It argues that rather than introducing new layers of complex legislation, the EU must focus on effective implementation, addressing skills shortages, and fostering an environment where economic success drives social progress
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