Preview of 2026

In this episode of Getting Our Reward Heads Together, we look ahead to 2026 and explore the trends that are expected to shape the Reward landscape over the coming year.

 

Reward Heads CEO Victoria Milford is joined by Jannine Smith, Senior Consulting Manager at Reward Heads, to discuss how economic pressures, regulation, and changing employee expectations will influence Reward strategy in 2026.

 

The episode covers:

• The 2026 National Living Wage increase and continued pay compression
• Expected stabilisation of pay awards amid ongoing inflation
• Salary exchange and pensions planning ahead of the 2029 changes
• Why employee recognition is becoming a critical retention lever
• The growing importance of pay transparency, ahead of the EU Pay Transparency Directive
• Wellbeing moving from an add-on to a core element of Reward
• Data-driven personalisation of benefits and Total Reward

 

This forward-looking 10-minute episode offers Reward and HR leaders a clear view of what’s coming — and what they should be preparing for now.