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Human Times helps you stay ahead of the latest news and trends that impact the HR industry. Every weekday, our unique blend of AI and team of expert HR and employment editors and researchers monitor 100,000s of articles, and social posts to create summaries of the most relevant and useful content to help you lead, innovate and grow. The award winning Human Times newsletter has four geographical editions with news tailored to your region.
From HR leadership to diversity and inclusion, hybrid working, organisational data, performance management, and retention strategies, Human Times is the only trusted free online news source dedicated to covering the most up to date headlines, articles, reports and interviews to make sure you’re abreast of changes in the HR industry.
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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
Twenty-six Meta employees have sued the company, alleging that AI-assisted systems used during mass layoffs disproportionately selected workers with disabilities, medical conditions, pregnancies, or caring responsibilities. The plaintiffs claim employee rankings considered productivity, AI token use, communications, documents, keystrokes, screen content, emails and browser history, disadvantaging those who had taken medical leave. They are seeking to pause layoffs scheduled to begin on July 22 while pursuing individual arbitration claims. The lawsuit also alleges Meta failed to test its systems for discrimination under California and New York City rules. Meta rejected the accusations, with a spokesperson stating: “Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.” The case appears to be the first major U.S. lawsuit challenging the alleged use of artificial intelligence to determine layoffs and could test how existing employment protections apply to automated workplace decision-making.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
The UK government is considering advancing the state pension age to 68 by 2037, affecting approximately five million people currently aged 49 to 55. This change, which could save the Treasury around £6bn annually, would mean these individuals must work an additional year to qualify for their pensions, costing them an estimated £12,500. Although no final decision has been announced, the Treasury has indicated this policy shift aligns with previous government reviews aiming for a sustainable pension system. As the landscape of retirement continues to shift, professionals should prepare for potential changes impacting their financial planning and retirement timelines.
Human Times
Europe
The European Commission has initiated two infringement proceedings against Portugal for not implementing directives on migration. The first concerns the Single Amendment Directive 2024/1233, which streamlines the process for non-EU workers. Portugal missed the 21 May deadline to report on its progress. The second issue involves the Reception Conditions Directive 2024/1346, which mandates adequate living conditions for asylum seekers, with a deadline of 12 June. The Commission emphasised the importance of timely transposition for legal certainty and effective migration management, giving Portugal two months to respond.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Recruitment in the Gulf region fell by 3% in Q2 2026, reversing earlier growth, according to Cooper Fitch. The decline was most notable in software, sales, marketing, public sector, and human resources. Dr Trefor Murphy of Cooper Fitch noted that uncertainty has hindered broader hiring, stating: "Nothing kills growth like uncertainty." The World Bank has also reduced its GCC growth forecast to 1.3% due to regional conflicts. Despite the downturn, some sectors, like investment finance, saw hiring increases, with Murphy suggesting that the overall drop was not as severe as anticipated.
Full Issue
Read the latest HR highlights
How HR is Tackling Long Covid?
Fingers remain tightly crossed around the world that the rampant hospitalization and fatality stage of the Covid-19 pandemic has generally peaked. Vaccination programmes are accelerating, and restrictions are gradually being lifted...
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ESG Is Not Just Another Name For CSR
Back in the distant 1980s if you wanted to demonstrate your environmental and ethical credentials it was sufficient to shop at or purchase shares in retailer The Body Shop. The charismatic Anita Roddick, founder of the “hippy” tinged retail chain, heralded a new age of environmental concern, caring capitalism and corporate awareness that evolved into what became known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR was much talked about and lauded, but in reality often ended up being a lot of a hot air (excuse the pun) and often never progressed much beyond a footnote in the annual report.
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Have Older Workers Paid The Highest COVID-19 Price?
Across the world the pandemic is slowly but surely moving into its next phase. Recovery beckons. As furlough schemes across the U.S. and U.K. are being wound down, restrictions eased or lifted, and workforces moving back up the gears, early signs indicate that older employees are more likely to be casualties of the pandemic aftermath than their younger colleagues. Here at the we have witnessed an increasing number of stories supporting the growing belief that older workers are disproportionately paying the highest Covid-19 price.
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Bosses. What's not to like? Plenty, say employees
“You’ll never have another boss like me, someone who’s basically a chilled-out entertainer”
So said, David Brent, the fictional manager of Slough-based paper merchant Wernham Hogg in the seminal TV comedy The Office. Ricky Gervais’s portrayal of Brent as a flawed, narcissistic, incompetent, and deluded manager was so well observed that many (including me) believed it was a genuine fly-on-the-wall documentary when they alighted accidentally on the first ever episode.
Rolling with the Payroll
To mark National Payroll Week the team at the Human Times has provided some insight into the industry that we hope you’ll find useful.
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