Starting 18 March 2026, the SEC will require non-US Foreign Private Issuers (FPIs) to comply with new Section 16(a) insider reporting rules under the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act. However, on 5 March 2026, the SEC granted exemptive relief for certain jurisdictions, delaying full application of the rules.

The 2026 Employee Share Plans Outlook reveals North American companies are transforming ESPPs and equity programs to boost financial wellbeing, attract talent, and stay competitive. Most plan major expansions or redesigns, signaling a shift toward more innovative, employee-focused equity strategies.

On 18 March 2026, the European Commission proposed “EU Inc.”, a new optional EU-wide corporate structure designed to simplify cross-border operations, boost competitiveness, and support startup growth through a harmonised set of corporate rules. A key feature is the introduction of EU employee stock option plans (EU-ESOs), which would allow companies to grant portable stock options across EU member states and defer taxation until the shares are sold, helping employees avoid “dry tax” on unrealised gains. The proposal would significantly change the treatment of share options in countries like Ireland by aligning EU-ESOs more closely with Ireland’s Key Employee Engagement Programme, and it is now under review by the European Parliament and Council with a target agreement date by the end of 2026.

The Netherlands is proposing new tax incentives to support startups and scale-ups, including a favorable employee stock option regime where only 65% of benefits are taxed and tax is deferred until shares are sold. It also introduces a clearer definition of startups for tax purposes to improve access to talent and investment. To fund this, existing entrepreneur tax deductions will be reduced in 2027 and abolished by 2030.

Slovenia has introduced a new legal employee ownership model (effective 2026) that lets employees collectively buy and hold company shares through a cooperative structure, mainly to support business succession and employee ownership. The model is designed to keep upfront employee costs low by using financing options like loans or seller support, while offering tax incentives to encourage adoption. It aims to preserve businesses and increase employee participation, with a more direct and democratic structure than many existing employee ownership systems.

The European Employee Ownership TOP 100 ranks Europe’s largest employee-owned companies using two measures: total employee-held equity (EUROCAP100) and number of employees in majority employee-owned firms (EUROEMP100), covering ESOPs, share plans, and worker cooperatives. The rankings are based on a broad database of the largest listed and private European companies and are published in the Economic Survey of employee ownership in Europe. The project highlights the scale and growth of employee ownership across Europe and is updated annually, with additional interest in expanding partnerships and sponsorships to support the initiative.

The employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) market is growing rapidly, expected to rise from $2.12B in 2025 to $3.32B by 2030 at a ~9.4% CAGR, driven by increased adoption in startups and SMEs, stronger tax incentives, and a growing focus on employee ownership and retention. Key growth drivers include rising demand for succession planning, wealth-building for employees, digital ESOP administration tools, and broader adoption of employee ownership models across industries and regions, with North America currently leading and Asia-Pacific growing fastest. Major trends include more use of ESOPs in mid-sized firms, innovative share-based incentive programs, leveraged ESOP structures, and M&A activity among ESOP service providers, alongside increasing use of ESOPs as a tool for talent attraction, alignment, and long-term corporate culture development.

The Squire Patton Boggs report on “Hot Employment Law Topics for 2026” highlights that a central global theme is ongoing regulatory “change,” with many jurisdictions introducing new employment laws that generally increase worker protections and expand employer obligations. Key focus areas include pay transparency and pay equity requirements, growing AI and technology regulation in the workplace, and stricter rules around compliance, data protection, and employee rights. Overall, the report emphasises that employers should expect higher legal, financial, and compliance risks in 2026 and will need to proactively adapt policies and workforce practices to keep up.

At Budget 2025, the UK government announced major expansions to the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme from 6 April 2026, increasing the employee limit to 500, gross assets to £120m, and the company-wide option limit to £6m, making EMI available to more scale-ups. The maximum EMI option exercise period is extended from 10 to 15 years, with the change intended to apply retrospectively to existing options, and EMI/CSOP rules will also allow PISCES platform sales as a valid exercise event. These updates, along with earlier implementation timelines starting from 2025 for PISCES-related changes, aim to improve liquidity options and broaden access to tax-advantaged employee equity schemes.

UK employee share schemes are a key tool for attracting and retaining talent, especially in scale-ups, with four main HMRC tax-advantaged options: EMI, CSOP, SAYE, and SIP. From April 2026, EMI is significantly expanded, increasing company size limits, asset thresholds, employee caps, and option lifetimes, making it accessible to many more businesses and still offering the most generous tax treatment (capital gains rather than income tax). Each scheme serves different needs—from EMI for scale-ups, CSOP for larger or ineligible firms, SAYE and SIP for all-employee participation—while non-tax-advantaged options like growth shares are used when HMRC schemes don’t fit but require more careful tax structuring.