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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
U.S. job openings fell to 6.88m in February from an upwardly revised 7.24m in January, undershooting expectations and signalling a moderation in labor demand after a brief uptick at the start of the year. According to the Labor Department's latest JOLTS report, hiring also slowed markedly, to its lowest level since April 2020, reflecting weaker recruitment across sectors including construction, leisure and hospitality, and business services. The slowdown in vacancies was driven by declines in accommodation and food services, healthcare, and manufacturing, suggesting softness is concentrated in specific industries rather than broad-based. Meanwhile, the quits rate held at 1.9%, matching its lowest level since 2020, indicating reduced worker confidence in securing new roles, while layoffs edged up slightly but remained subdued overall. The ratio of job openings to unemployed workers fell to 0.9, down significantly from a peak of 2 in 2022, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s view that the labor market is no longer a key source of inflationary pressure.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
The new Employment Rights Act, effective today, introduces significant changes that may disrupt employers. Key reforms include statutory sick pay (SSP) from day one of illness and paternity leave as a 'day one right'. Business groups warn these changes could hinder growth and exacerbate job losses amid rising costs from National Insurance and minimum wage increases. Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said: "The pressure on firms right now is to reduce employment and raise prices to make ends meet." Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer has launched a strong defence of the new workers' rights, criticising business figures opposing the changes. The Prime Minister described the measures as the most significant enhancement of workers' rights in a generation.
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
The UK's Fair Work Agency (FWA), which launches today, brings together several existing labour enforcement bodies and its responsibilities will include policing the minimum wage, holiday pay and modern slavery. The agency's incoming chair, Matthew Taylor, recently listed the five priorities the Department of Business and Trade had laid out for the FWA in its first year - including “thought leadership” and “reducing regulatory burdens.” The Guardian reports that trade unions say that, rather than reducing regulation, a more robust approach and greater funding for inspections is needed. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said the priorities showed the agency was “in danger of being a dead duck before it even begins . . . For too long, workers have borne the brunt of disreputable employers who have had carte blanche . . . The government needs to urgently ensure that the FWA focuses its attention on bringing rogue bosses to heel rather than seeking ways to allow dodgy companies to continue bad behaviour.” The FWA is a cornerstone of Labour’s Employment Rights Act - sweeping reforms of workers’ rights that are set to take effect over the next two years.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Saudi Arabia has broadened its Saudization programme, mandating full nationalisation of 69 additional administrative support roles from April 5. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced the expansion, which includes secretarial work, translation, and data entry. The initiative aims to enhance national workforce participation and create more job opportunities. The Saudization programme, launched in 2011, requires private firms to meet hiring quotas for nationals under the Nitaqat system. The ministry emphasised the importance of compliance, saying: "The update comes as part of the ministry's efforts to enhance the participation of national talent in the labour market."
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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