Summary

Australia: A wave of Payroll changes arrives with the New Financial Year 

Australia’s new financial year has brought several important workplace changes with several reforms taking effect together from 1 July 2026

What’s changing? 

National minimum wage 

The National Minimum Wage has risen by 4.75% to $26.44 per hour ($1,004.90 per week), with the lowest-paid workers seeing a larger increase of 5.97%.

Payday Super

Payday super has come into force which requires employers to pay superannuation at the same time as wages rather than quarterly.

Extension for parental leave

Government-funded parental pay leave has been extended from 24 to 26 weeks, with the portion reserved for partners rising from 15 to 20 days

Who is affected by this? 

Around 2.8 million Australian employees on award and minimum wage rates are affected by the pay increase, with roughly 100,000 of the lowest-paid workers receiving the larger uplift. Every employer with superannuation obligations is affected by the payday super changes, and all employees taking parental leave from July onward will benefit from the extended entitlement.

What does this mean for Payrollers?

For payroll and HR teams, this means updating pay rates to reflect the new minimum wage, adjusting payroll processing schedules so super contributions reach employee funds within seven business days of each payday, which is a process change, not just a rate update and revising parental leave policies and entitlement calculations to reflect the extended leave periods.

Romania: Minimum wage rise and the 24-month salary rule

Romania’s minimum wage went up this July which may seem straightforward enough on its own. But there’s a second rule sitting alongside it that catches a lot of employers off guard, so it’s worth looking at both together.

What’s changing?

Minimum Wage Increase

The national gross minimum wage has risen from 4,050 RON (around £659) to 4,325 RON (around £704).

The 24-Month Rule

Here’s the part that’s easy to miss: under Article 164 of the Romanian Labour Code, an employee’s base salary has to increase at least once every 24 months from the start of their contract. This is separate from the minimum wage change, as it applies regardless of what the state sets as the minimum. The law doesn’t specify by how much, so it’s down to the employer to decide, whether that’s through internal policy or a conversation with the employee.

Reduction in the Tax Facility

There’s also a smaller, easy-to-miss change: the tax break that applies to minimum wage salaries is being cut, from 300 RON down to 200 RON (roughly £49 down to £33).

Who’s Affected?

Every employer in Romania will need to reflect the new minimum wage. But it’s worth taking a closer look at anyone nearing two years of service, since that’s where the old rule and the new rise can end up overlapping.

What this means for Payroll Teams

Payroll teams should:

• Update the statutory minimum wage from the applicable date.
• Identify employees due a salary review under this rule.
• Determine whether an additional increase is required.
• Model the impact of increases on tax relief and net pay.
• Update employment documents and payroll records where necessary.

Poland: Labour inspectors gain the Power to reclassify contracts

From 8 July 2026, Poland’s State Labour Inspectorate has significantly stronger enforcement powers. Inspectors can now formally reclassify civil-law contracts, the kind often used for contractors or B2B arrangements, as employment contracts. Penalties for getting it wrong have also gone up considerably.

What’s Changing?

Contract Reclassification Powers

Labour inspectors can now convert incorrectly structured civil-law contracts into proper employment contracts, though it’s a two-step process rather than something that happens overnight. First, an inspector issues a notice asking the employer to fix the issue. If nothing changes, a formal decision follows confirming that an employment relationship exists, taking legal effect from that point.

Higher Penalties

Penalties for employment-law breaches have increased significantly, raising the financial risk of incorrect worker classification.

Remote Inspections

From 8 July, inspectors also gain the ability to carry out inspections remotely, rather than only in person, where doing so is justified and doesn’t compromise the purpose of the inspection.

A New Option for Employers: Individual Interpretations

Alongside the tougher enforcement powers, the amendment introduces a way for employers to get ahead of the issue. From 8 July, employers can apply to the Chief Labour Inspector for a formal, though non-binding, interpretation on whether a specific working arrangement counts as an employment relationship. It costs a modest PLN40 fee, and the Inspector has up to 30 days to respond. While the interpretation isn’t binding on the employer, following it does protect against penalties if it’s later found to be incorrect, and it is binding on the Labour Inspectorate itself.

Who’s Affected

Any employer in Poland using civil-law contracts should take note of this, particularly where the working relationship looks like employment in practice: fixed hours, a set location, ongoing supervision, or work that has to be carried out personally rather than delegated.

Transitional period

Employers get a 12-month window from 8 July 2026 to voluntarily convert any misclassified contracts into proper employment contracts without facing a fine, as long as it’s done before an inspector gets involved.

What This Means for Payroll Teams

Payroll and HR teams should:

• Audit existing civil-law and B2B arrangements.
• Prioritise arrangements that resemble employment in practice.
• Maintain complete and accessible documentation.
• Prepare for possible tax, Social Security, and employment-cost adjustments.
• Seek local legal advice before reclassifying workers.

Greece: The EU Pay transparency directive comes into Force

Greece has introduced legislation implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Although the law is now in force, many employer obligations are expected to apply from 1 November 2026.

What’s Changing?

Written Pay Structures Required

Employers will be required to have pay structures documented in writing, complete with a review procedure, and clearly identifying the remuneration elements for each category of worker.

Recruitment Transparency

Job applicants will be entitled to receive information on the initial salary or salary range before the interview stage, or before the contract is signed if there’s no interview. The Greek version adds some extra detail here too, requiring this negotiation process to be documented and transparent, and specifically naming professional networking sites as an acceptable channel for publishing this information.

The Right to Pay Information

Employees will be able to request their own pay level, as well as average pay levels broken down by gender for comparable roles, with a two-month window for employers to respond. Employers will have a right to refuse requests that are clearly excessive or repetitive, though this can be reviewed by the Ombudsman if an employee disagrees.

Key Dates

Who’s Affected

Any employer with operations in Greece, though the scale of what’s required depends on company size, particularly for gender pay gap reporting, which is tiered by employee headcount.

Penalties

Fines for non-compliance range from €300 to €50,000 (roughly £256 to £42,600) per violation, and repeated serious breaches can lead to a temporary closure of all or part of a business.

What This Means for Payroll Teams

Payroll and HR teams should:

• Document pay structures and remuneration criteria.
• Review how salary ranges are established and approved.
• Remove pay-history questions from recruitment.
• Prepare a process for responding to employee pay-information requests.
• Assess data readiness for gender pay gap reporting.

UK: Government Proposes Mandatory Salary Disclosure in Job Adverts

On 15 July 2026, the UK government proposed plans to require employers to publish salary information in job adverts, as part of a wider rewrite of anti-discrimination law. The government has opened a consultation on the details, which runs until October 2026, so nothing is mandatory yet.

What’s Changing

The Proposal

Under the draft plans, employers would need to publish salary information in job adverts. Where a role isn’t advertised publicly, employers would instead need to give candidates this information in writing before the interview stage.

What’s still undecided

The exact details haven’t been settled. The government plans to consult on whether employers should be required to publish an exact salary, a pay range, or a broader “benchmark rate” for the role. It’s also considering whether information beyond base salary, such as bonuses, should need to be disclosed.

The Reasoning Behind It

The government has said the aim is to help jobseekers make better informed decisions and to reduce the risk of pay discrimination, noting that when pay isn’t transparent, salary offers can end up influenced by bias rather than the role itself.

Key Dates

The announcement was made on 15 July 2026, with the consultation running until October 2026. Any resulting legislation would follow after that, and isn’t expected imminently.

Who’s Affected

At this stage, no one yet, since nothing is legally required. Once the consultation concludes and any legislation is drafted, it would apply to employers in England, Wales, and Scotland. Northern Ireland’s position isn’t yet confirmed, and it’s a separate question tied to existing EU-related arrangements.

What This Means for Payroll Teams

There is no immediate payroll action required. However, employers could:

• Review how salary ranges are created and approved.
• Check whether current job adverts disclose meaningful pay information.
• Align recruitment, reward and payroll data.
• Monitor the consultation and any resulting legislation.

The UK section should be the shortest because it covers a proposal rather than a confirmed operational change.

Conclusion

July brought regulatory change across five different countries, from wage increases to stronger enforcement powers to the continued spread of pay transparency rules. Each change is distinct, but together they’re a reminder that payroll and HR compliance requirements move quickly, and rarely on a single timeline.

Managing payroll changes across multiple countries? Global HRIS can help you assess the operational impact, identify payroll risks and prepare your systems and processes for what comes next. Talk to our team.