Nine weeks, eight dates. Several are transposition deadlines, which means the obligation exists in Brussels and may not yet exist in your national statute book. That does not make them safe to ignore, because the ones that bite hardest bite on a fixed day whatever your member state has managed.
1 November 2026, Greece. Most obligations under Law 5316/2026, which transposes the EU pay transparency directive, take effect. From that date employers must give candidates the pay or pay range before the interview and may no longer ask what an applicant earned previously. Gender pay gap reporting, joint pay assessment, remedies and labour inspectorate dispute resolution for pay discrimination all commence. Fines reach EUR 50,000 per violation.
1 November 2026, Italy. The Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale moves from a support phase to an inspection phase, the day after the 31 October deadline for basic security measures for entities listed on the national NIS register in 2025. Important entities carry 37 measures and 87 requirements; essential entities carry 43 and 116. Sanctions under Article 38 of D.Lgs. 138/2024 reach EUR 10 million or 2 per cent of worldwide turnover.
7 November and 7 December 2026, UK. VAT returns and payments for the quarters ended 30 September and 31 October. PAYE, NIC and CIS electronic remittance falls due on 22 November and 22 December.
Mid-November 2026, UK. The twelve-month transition for Companies House identity verification, which began on 18 November 2025, runs out. Companies House has estimated that 6 to 7 million individuals need to verify by mid-November 2026. The operative trigger for most existing directors is earlier and company-specific: the company cannot file its confirmation statement unless its directors have verified and supplied their personal codes. A PSC who is not a director must verify within the first 14 days of their birth month.
1 December 2026, UK maritime. The first relevant year under the government's proposed seafarer protection regulations runs from 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2027. The consultation, published 5 June 2026, closed on 17 July 2026. It proposes national-minimum-wage-equivalent pay for whole journeys on UK-France and UK-Channel Islands routes, maximum 14-day service periods followed by equal rest, and enforcement through declarations, surcharges and potential refusal of port access, under the Seafarers' (Wages and Working Conditions) Act 2023 as amended by the Employment Rights Act 2025.
2 December 2026, EU. Transposition deadline for Directive (EU) 2024/2831 on platform work. The employment presumption and the algorithmic management rules in Chapter III, which cover everyone performing platform work whether employed or self-employed.
2 December 2026, EU. Two new prohibited practices under the AI Act take effect: Article 5(1)(ba) and (bb), added by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. Penalties for prohibited practices reach EUR 35 million or 7 per cent of worldwide annual turnover.
9 December 2026, EU. Transposition deadline for Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on product liability, which applies to products placed on the market or put into service after that date. Software is a product under Article 4(1). The old directive continues to govern anything placed on the market before.
30 December 2026, EU. The deforestation regulation applies to large and medium operators, following the postponement published in the Official Journal on 23 December 2025. Micro and small operators follow on 30 June 2027.
Then 1 January 2027, and the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism starts on imports of aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel, with a registration threshold of GBP 50,000.
Questions on the deadlines left in 2026
What compliance deadlines are left in 2026?
Nine weeks, eight dates: 1 November in Greece and in Italy, 7 November and 7 December for UK VAT, mid-November for Companies House identity verification, 1 December for UK maritime, 2 December for platform work and for the AI Act, 9 December for product liability and 30 December for the deforestation regulation. Then 1 January 2027 and the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Does a transposition deadline matter if our country has not legislated?
Several of these are transposition deadlines, which means the obligation exists in Brussels and may not yet exist in your national statute book. That does not make them safe to ignore, because the ones that bite hardest bite on a fixed day whatever your member state has managed.
What changes in Greece on 1 November 2026?
Most obligations under Law 5316/2026, which transposes the EU pay transparency directive, take effect. From that date employers must give candidates the pay or pay range before the interview and may no longer ask what an applicant earned previously. Gender pay gap reporting, joint pay assessment, remedies and labour inspectorate dispute resolution for pay discrimination all commence.
What are the Greek fines?
Fines reach EUR 50,000 per violation.
What happens in Italy on 1 November 2026?
The Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale moves from a support phase to an inspection phase, the day after the 31 October deadline for basic security measures for entities listed on the national NIS register in 2025. Important entities carry 37 measures and 87 requirements; essential entities carry 43 and 116. Sanctions under Article 38 of D.Lgs. 138/2024 reach EUR 10 million or 2 per cent of worldwide turnover.
When are the UK VAT returns and payments due?
7 November and 7 December 2026, for the quarters ended 30 September and 31 October.
When are PAYE, NIC and CIS due?
Electronic remittance falls due on 22 November and 22 December.
When does the Companies House identity verification transition end?
The twelve-month transition, which began on 18 November 2025, runs out in mid-November 2026. Companies House has estimated that 6 to 7 million individuals need to verify by mid-November 2026.
What triggers verification for an existing director?
The operative trigger for most existing directors is earlier and company-specific: the company cannot file its confirmation statement unless its directors have verified and supplied their personal codes.
When must a PSC who is not a director verify?
Within the first 14 days of their birth month.
What is the 1 December 2026 date for UK maritime?
The first relevant year under the government's proposed seafarer protection regulations runs from 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2027. The consultation, published 5 June 2026, closed on 17 July 2026.
What do the proposed seafarer regulations propose?
National-minimum-wage-equivalent pay for whole journeys on UK-France and UK-Channel Islands routes, maximum 14-day service periods followed by equal rest, and enforcement through declarations, surcharges and potential refusal of port access, under the Seafarers' (Wages and Working Conditions) Act 2023 as amended by the Employment Rights Act 2025.
What is due on 2 December 2026 for platform work?
The transposition deadline for Directive (EU) 2024/2831: the employment presumption and the algorithmic management rules in Chapter III, which cover everyone performing platform work whether employed or self-employed.
What changes under the AI Act on 2 December 2026?
Two new prohibited practices take effect: Article 5(1)(ba) and (bb), added by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. Penalties for prohibited practices reach EUR 35 million or 7 per cent of worldwide annual turnover.
What is the 9 December 2026 deadline?
The transposition deadline for Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on product liability, which applies to products placed on the market or put into service after that date. Software is a product under Article 4(1), and the old directive continues to govern anything placed on the market before.
When does the deforestation regulation apply?
To large and medium operators on 30 December 2026, following the postponement published in the Official Journal on 23 December 2025. Micro and small operators follow on 30 June 2027.
When does the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism start?
On 1 January 2027, on imports of aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel, with a registration threshold of GBP 50,000.
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