The labour market is changing faster than ever. While 2025 was primarily a year of uncertainty, 2026 will be the year in which organisations truly need to shift gears. New legislation, larger and more advanced AI applications, structural labour shortages in certain segments, and changing expectations among young talent are forcing organisations to make fundamental choices in their workforce strategy.
2026 will be the year of ‘equivalent employment conditions’
The end of the traditional temporary staffing and secondment model is now a fact. In addition to the existing obligations under the Waadi Act, the new collective labour agreement (CLA) for temporary staffing and secondment (for VvDN members) will take effect on 1 January 2026, creating an entirely new playing field: the introduction of ‘equivalent’ remuneration.
The impact will be enormous: hiring rates will increase significantly because staffing and secondment agencies must assess and pay out all employment benefits packages on an equivalent basis.
Fewer self-employed workers: the erosion of the traditional freelancer model
With the end of the enforcement moratorium, uncertainty around engaging self-employed workers has increased. Especially now that the penalty exemption expires on 1 January, hiring organisations will become even more cautious. In our view, this will impact opportunities for freelancers.
AI moves from automation and support to autonomy
The rise of Agentic AI will lead to autonomous AI agents in 2026. While the past year saw much experimentation with AI applications, the coming year will show organisations making real advances with AI agents. Perhaps not yet to the fullest extent possible, but we will certainly see interesting applications emerge.
Structural skills shortages
Although unemployment rose slightly in the final months of 2025, ongoing demographic developments such as ageing and strong competition mean that skills shortages will remain structural and continue to grow in specific segments.
Changing expectations of talent (Gen Z)
Generation Z has different expectations: rapid growth, transparency, autonomy, and hybrid working as the norm. Organisations will need to adapt to attract and retain this group, which on average engages in much shorter employment relationships (less than 1.5 years).
Uncertainty has now become the ‘new normal’
Geopolitics, rising costs, and trade tariffs continue to have a major impact on organisational choices regarding workforce strategies. It is increasingly clear that the previously desired predictable external conditions will not return anytime soon, and uncertainty will remain a key factor influencing recruitment decisions.
Recruitment: high-tech and high-touch
AI matching, autonomous sourcing agents, and more human support simultaneously. It is clear that AI will have a major impact on recruitment departments as well as service providers in recruitment, temporary staffing, and secondment.
Our conclusion
The labour market of 2026 forces organisations to reinvent their workforce strategy. New legislation, equivalent employment conditions, stricter rules around engaging self-employed workers, and the rise of autonomous AI agents make the traditional flexible model untenable. At the same time, skills shortages remain structural, and Gen Z places new demands on employers. In a world where uncertainty is the new normal, a labour market emerges in which high-tech and high-touch reinforce each other and only organisations that anticipate in time will remain future-proof.
