2026 HCM Directives: Overview

Every year businesses need to prepare for the upcoming legislative directives issued by their government. There are some main differences between the UK and the European Union; for one, the UK doesn’t rely on “directives” anymore – but this year is arguably stricter in the UK than the EU in enforcement mechanics. Penalties also differ, however most European countries will face the same regulations and consequences for non-compliance depending on current national proposals.

The 4 main questions you should be asking your team

EU June Directives: Other things to consider

From a technology perspective, data will be the single biggest determinant of success or failure. The reasons:

1. Without a defined data architecture (e.g. job structures, pay ranges), processes become manual, slow and unscalable
2. Without clear data sources and definitions, consistency, repeatability and efficiency break down
3. Without a methodology to map and categorise data (payroll, benefits, etc.) accuracy, compliance and comparability are at risk

Even with strong foundations, data must be centralised for calculations, particularly for:

• employee right to information
• gender pay gap reporting

Lightbulb Moment: The choice of where data is consolidated ultimately anchors and constrains the technology solution. Workday can be the key!

An Inexpensive & Working Solution: LightWork’s Pay Equity Dashboard

Once you have understood the imminent legislative changes, you will need to ensure that the Business is complaint. If you have no idea of where to start, LightWork’s Pay Equity Dashboard – created by our Workday award-winning data-guru – can give you answers in real time!

Core features:

Cost-effectively designed in Workday by our team of experts, who have helped numerous Workday customers with different aspects of Rewards & Benefits and various compliance issues.

Lightbulb Moment: Most companies think of it as a “compliance” issue but the ones who win treat it as → workforce data + decision architecture transformation

Expected penalty ranges (based on current national proposals):

The directive itself sets principles, but each EU country sets its own fines.

0% Gender Pay Gap: Case Study

You may be aware of certain companies who have been “named and shamed” (and fined!) for non-compliance. You may not be aware that one of the largest global fast food enterprises showed zero inequality on their UK government 2024 gender pay equity compliance report. Their reasoning was down to their process-driven ethos.