'Surge in demand' | The race for HR talent is heating up as Employment Rights Act looms

New data reveals a sharp rise in employment across HR and accounting roles as small businesses prepare for major legal changes.

The data, based on over 4,000 real-time employee records across 130 HR & Accounting small businesses, suggests SMEs are increasingly investing in specialist expertise to help navigate upcoming reforms, particularly ahead of the introduction of the Employment Rights Act.

Compliance drives HR hiring boom & demand leads to wage increases

Employment Hero, a global provider of HR, hiring and payroll software, has released new sector data from its February Jobs Report,  which found that employment in the HR and accounting sector rose 9.9% year-on-year in February, signalling a significant expansion in roles focused on compliance, payroll and workforce management.

Monthly data shows the trend has been building for some time. In January 2026, employment in the sector rose 7.1% month-on-month, making it the fastest growing industry in the SME labour market that month.