2026 Horizon Scanning – Mid-Year Update: What General Counsel and Company Secretaries need to know

As we enter the second half of 2026, General Counsel, Company Secretaries and broader governance teams continue to navigate an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment. Across corporate governance, employment, regulatory compliance and risk management, organisations face heightened scrutiny from regulators, expanding stakeholder expectations and a growing array of obligations that demand proactive engagement at board level. The pace of change shows little sign of slowing, making horizon scanning and early preparation more important than ever.

Recent legislative and regulatory developments are reshaping the landscape for employers. Following the implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms earlier this year, further significant changes are due to take effect in October 2026, including enhanced obligations to prevent workplace harassment, extended Employment Tribunal limitation periods and new trade union requirements. Looking ahead, substantial changes to the unfair dismissal regime scheduled for January 2027 are already prompting employers to reassess workforce strategies, employment practices and litigation risk.

At the same time, governance and compliance expectations continue to evolve. Recent developments include updated Financial Reporting Council guidance on the application of the UK's "comply or explain" framework, the expansion of corporate criminal liability through changes introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act regime, and the extension of the FCA's non-financial misconduct framework to non-banking firms within the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. Organisations are also facing increasing scrutiny regarding cyber resilience, the governance of artificial intelligence, diversity and inclusion, sustainability reporting and board effectiveness.

Against this backdrop, General Counsel and Company Secretaries remain at the centre of helping boards anticipate emerging risks, respond to regulatory change and maintain effective governance frameworks. This mid-year Horizon Scan highlights the key developments and trends that we believe should remain firmly on the board agenda during the remainder of 2026 and beyond, while offering practical insights to help organisations prepare for what lies ahead.

White & Case UK Corporate Actions and Governance

Our UK Corporate Actions and Governance (CAG) team advises UK public and private companies outside their transaction cycles on their ongoing legal affairs, with extensive experience handling continuing obligations, corporate advisory and governance issues.

The CAG team has extensive experience in advising on complex, technical, multijurisdictional corporate advisory matters, including intra group reorganisations, returns of capital, demergers and joint ventures. The team also advises on listed company disclosure obligations, the implementation and operation of governance structures for corporates as well as different forms of unincorporated organisations in different jurisdictions.

The team is often called upon by companies to provide direct advice to their boards as and when needed and works hand in hand with the firm's market leading activism practice. The team works closely with the firm's wider international listed companies practice to ensure truly global coverage.

In addition to providing support to GCs and their legal teams, we also advise company secretaries and their secretariats on company secretarial matters and provide support directly to non-legal functions (e.g. finance and compliance and governance teams). We have successfully advised a wide range of clients, including newly-listed, mature, FTSE 100, small cap and global companies.

Please contact any member of our CAG team for any questions or queries and to see how they can assist.

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_{This article is prepared for the general information of interested persons. It is not, and does not attempt to be, comprehensive in nature. Due to the general nature of its content, it should not be regarded as legal advice.}

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