Welcome to the April 2026 edition of the Global Employment Tax and Compliance Newsletter.
This edition covers employment, payroll, tax, labour law and immigration updates that took place in April 2026 and are relevant to international employers.
We have focused on changes that may affect hiring decisions, employment cost estimates, payroll settings, work-authorisation requirements, contract documentation or employer compliance obligations.
European Union: Social Security Coordination Reform Moves Forward
The EU moved closer to updating its social security coordination rules in April, after the Council and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on 22 April.
The reform is relevant for employers managing mobile workers, posted workers or employees working across more than one EU Member State. The agreed text covers unemployment benefits, family benefits, long-term care benefits and rules on applicable social security legislation. It also aims to improve cooperation between Member States and strengthen enforcement against abuse, including letterbox-company arrangements.
This is not yet a live compliance change. The agreement still needs formal approval by both institutions before the rules can enter into force. For employers, the practical point is to watch this closely where EU mobility, postings or multi-country work arrangements depend on social security coverage decisions.
United Kingdom: April Brings Live Changes to Pay, Sick Leave and Family Leave
April brought several live changes for UK employers, affecting wage floors, sickness absence, family leave and enforcement.
From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage increased to £12.71 per hour for workers aged 21 and over. The National Minimum Wage also rose to £10.85 for 18–20-year-olds and £8.00 for under-18s and apprentices. The new rates apply from the first pay reference period beginning on or after 1 April, so payroll timing matters.
From 6 April, Statutory Sick Pay became payable from the first full day of sickness absence, and the lower earnings threshold was removed. SSP is now paid at the lower of £123.25 per week or 80% of average weekly earnings.
Family leave rules also changed from 6 April. Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave became day-one rights, and Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave came into force for eligible employees whose partner died on or after that date.
The immediate task for employers is to check that payroll systems, absence rules, leave policies and manager guidance have all been updated together. The launch of the Fair Work Agency on 7 April also points to a more joined-up enforcement environment as these reforms move into Q2.
New Zealand: Pension Contributions Increase the Employment Cost Base
New Zealand’s April changes are not only about minimum wage. They also affect statutory employment cost through KiwiSaver, the country’s workplace retirement savings scheme.
From 1 April 2026, the adult minimum wage increased to NZD 23.95 per hour, while the starting-out and training rate increased to NZD 19.16. This mainly affects employees paid close to statutory wage floors.
The broader cost change is KiwiSaver. From the first pay date on or after 1 April, the default minimum employer contribution rate increased from 3% to 3.5%. Employees aged 16 and 17 who are enrolled in KiwiSaver are also now eligible for compulsory employer contributions, where the usual conditions are met.
For international employers, this changes the total employment cost calculation. Payroll settings, pension contribution logic and employment cost forecasts should be reviewed together, especially where New Zealand employees are being costed as part of multi-country hiring plans.
Sweden: Work Permit Salary Rules Tighten from June
Sweden confirmed new work permit rules in April, with changes taking effect from 1 June 2026.
The key change is the salary test. In most cases, a non-EU/EEA work permit applicant will need to be paid at least 90% of Sweden’s median salary at the time of application. The salary must also meet the relevant collective agreement level or normal industry practice, so the 90% threshold is a floor, not a substitute for role-specific pay checks.
The rule also affects applications already in the system. If the Swedish Migration Agency makes the decision on or after 1 June, the new salary requirement can apply even where the application was submitted earlier.
For employers, this creates an immediate timing and cost issue. Pending applications, planned renewals and new Swedish hires should be reviewed before June, especially where compensation was set close to the previous threshold. Employers also need to check whether the role remains eligible if future restrictions are introduced for specific occupations.
Spain: Regularisation Window Opens for Existing Foreign Workers
Spain opened an extraordinary immigration regularisation process in April, creating a short route for certain foreign nationals already living in the country to obtain temporary residence and work authorisation.
The measure was approved on 14 April 2026, with online applications opening from 16 April and in-person appointments from 20 April. The application window runs until 30 June 2026. It is aimed at people already present in Spain before 1 January 2026, rather than new arrivals or future hires.
For employers, the relevance is workforce status and labour market access. The process may allow some workers already in Spain, including certain former international protection applicants, to move from uncertain status into a documented residence and work position. It also creates a narrow period for reviewing existing worker status, right-to-work evidence and any roles where immigration position has been unclear.
This should not be treated as a general hiring route. It is a time-limited regularisation window, with eligibility checks and documentation requirements. Employers with Spain-based workers or candidates in process should review cases before the June deadline, rather than waiting until renewal, onboarding or payroll setup exposes a status issue.
Saudi Arabia: Qiwa Contract Documentation Becomes a Compliance Gate
Saudi Arabia increased the required employment contract documentation rate on Qiwa to 85% from 30 April 2026, with a further increase to 90% scheduled for 30 June.
Qiwa is the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development’s digital labour platform, used by private-sector employers to manage employment contracts, workforce records and labour compliance services.
The documentation rate is measured against the total number of employee contracts at each establishment. Employers that fall below the required level may face disruption to government services linked to labour compliance indicators.
This is more than an HR record-keeping exercise. Saudi Arabia is making digital contract documentation part of the employer’s labour compliance profile. For companies employing staff in the Kingdom, undocumented or pending contracts can now affect workforce administration, access to labour services and, where relevant, Saudisation-related compliance checks.
Latvia increased several work-authorisation salary thresholds from 1 April 2026.
The monthly salary threshold for a residence permit with work authorisation rose to €1,815 gross in Latvia. For EU Blue Card applicants, the threshold increased to €2,723 gross per month, or €2,178 where the role is on Latvia’s shortage occupation list. For company officials, including board and council members, the threshold increased to €3,630 gross per month.
For employers, the issue is offer accuracy. Salaries for Latvia-based foreign hires need to be checked against the correct permit category before the application is submitted. The higher thresholds also affect cost comparisons where Latvia is being considered alongside other EU hiring locations, particularly for skilled roles, board-level appointments or EU Blue Card cases.
Thailand: Work Permit Filing Remains Hybrid During Digital Transition
Thailand extended the temporary acceptance of manual work permit submissions until 28 July 2026, but only where the employer or applicant can show a technical issue with the e-Work Permit system. The extension covers initial applications, renewals, cancellations and amendments.
The e-Work Permit system is Thailand’s online platform for managing foreign worker registration and work permit filings. The policy direction is still digital-first, but the April extension confirms that employers may need to manage a hybrid process during the transition.
For employers, the key issue is evidence. Manual filing should not be treated as a normal alternative route. Where the online system fails, screenshots or other proof of the technical issue should be retained before filing manually. This matters for assignment timing in Thailand, renewals and any case where a foreign employee’s work authorisation depends on a clean submission trail.
Belgium: Minimum Wage Baseline Moves, but Sector Rules Still Matter
Belgium increased its guaranteed average minimum monthly income to €2,189.81 gross from 1 April 2026. This is the national baseline for full-time private-sector employees aged 18 and over, but it should not be treated as the only salary test. Many Belgian employees are covered by sector-level collective labour agreements that set higher pay floors than the national minimum.
Payroll and offer checks need to confirm both the national baseline and the applicable sectoral agreement. This is especially important where Belgium is being costed as part of a multi-country hiring comparison, because the real employment cost may sit above the headline national minimum.
Greece: Minimum Wage Increase Flows into Payroll-Linked Benefits
Greece raised the statutory minimum wage to €920 gross per month from 1 April 2026, with the daily wage for skilled workers increasing to €41.09.
For international employers, the relevance is not usually the minimum wage itself. Professional roles hired through an EOR will often sit well above that floor. The more important point is that Greece uses the statutory minimum wage as a reference point for several payroll-linked benefits, including seniority increments, maternity-related payments and other allowances.
Any Greece employment cost calculation prepared before April should therefore be checked again where pay, benefits or statutory allowances are tied to the national wage floor. The headline change may look narrow, but the effect can carry through payroll calculations, employment budgeting and local compliance modelling.
OECD: Labour Taxes Add Pressure to Employment Cost Planning
The OECD’s Taxing Wages 2026 report, published in April, shows that labour taxation continued to rise across many developed economies in 2025. For a single worker earning the average wage, the OECD average tax wedge increased to 35.1%, with increases recorded in 24 of 38 OECD countries.
The tax wedge measures the gap between total labour cost to the employer and the employee’s net take-home pay, including personal income tax, employee and employer social security contributions, payroll taxes and cash benefits. For employers, this matters because it captures the real cost of employment, not just the gross salary on the contract.
The report is a useful cost signal for global workforce planning. Where employers are comparing hiring locations, salary budgets should be tested against total employment cost, employer contributions and employee net pay expectations, not headline salary alone.
Senior Roles and EOR: Practical Lessons from International Hiring
This article looks at one of the more difficult questions in global hiring: when can a senior role be employed through an Employer of Record, and when does the role need deeper review before the route is confirmed?
This article explains where EOR can work well for senior international hires, and where the model needs closer review. A senior commercial lead, regional manager or country representative may be entirely suitable for EOR employment if their role is clearly defined, their decision-making limits are documented, and they do not hold statutory office, sign locally binding commitments or act as the legal face of the client company in-country.
The risk appears when title, authority and legal responsibility are blurred. For employers using EOR to enter new markets or retain senior talent abroad, the article gives a practical way to test the role before onboarding: look beyond the title and examine what the person will actually be authorised to do.
Moving into May
Thank you for reading the April 2026 edition of the Global Employment Tax and Compliance Newsletter.
This month’s updates show why country planning cannot rely on last year’s salary bands, payroll assumptions or work-authorisation rules. Even modest changes can affect offer approval, employment cost, payroll configuration or foreign worker compliance once they move into live operations.
We will continue tracking employment tax, labour law, immigration and payroll developments across key jurisdictions, with a focus on the changes that international employers actually need to apply.
Until next month.