Human Times

UK Edition

29th May 2026

THE HOT STORY

Good HR matters - despite what its critics think

Writing in the Times, Harry Wallop says "People could not contain their glee" when they heard that Ryan Breslow, the co-founder and chief executive of American fintech company Bolt, fired his entire human resources team. HR were "creating problems that did not exist," Bolt had said. Wallop notes that in 2021, Greg Jackson, the founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy, the UK's biggest consumer energy provider, said he had no time for HR, arguing that large companies "infantilise" their employees and "drown creative people in process and bureaucracy." But LinkedIn suggests that this very successful company still employs a large number of people in its "people operations" team, and Wallop observes that "Good HR matters . . . Every large company should have one."

The Times

HEALTH & WELLBEING

London’s expats stunned by extreme heat

Bloomberg reports that expats to London, such as Vanessa Chan, who moved to the UK capital from Hong Kong, are struggling with the current extreme early-season heat and a lack of solutions to help Londoners deal with high temperatures. “The whole infrastructure in the UK is not designed for the heat,” Chan says. In London, “there’s nowhere to retreat to. It’s hot outside and then it’s even hotter inside,” observes Dimple Rana, heat resilience leader at buildings consultancy Arup. The UK's Climate Change Committee recently advised that air conditioning should be part of the country's plan for more active cooling, particularly in places with vulnerable people.

Bloomberg

TECHNOLOGY

OpenAI Foundation commits $250m to help workers navigate AI disruption

OpenAI’s foundation, the non-profit that controls the start-up, has said it will grant $250m to promote research into AI’s impact on the economy and jobs. The ‌funds will support research into AI's impact on the labour market, support workers and communities facing near-term displacement and explore new ways to distribute economic gains from the technology more broadly. "The current pace of change means the window to get ⁠this right is shorter than we're used to, and the cost of getting it wrong is profound," OpenAI said in a statement.

Financial Times

NPR

Reuters

HIRING

Five university leavers on what it really takes to land a graduate job

The FT interviews final-year students preparing for their last exams. They report a sense of desperation as jobs applications lead to nothing, and entire course cohorts contemplate graduating without employment.

Financial Times

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Major employers to back expansion of work placements

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has announced that some of Britain's biggest employers are to offer a total of 300,000 new Sector-based Work Academy Programmes as part of efforts to get more young people into work. McFadden said the "evidence is clear, give young people real work experience and the chances of them building a lasting career increase dramatically," and that the new work experience and training placements will "give young people the skills, confidence and connections they need to get on."

London Evening Standard

The Independent UK

WORKFORCE

Manufacturing 'invisible' to Gen Z

UK manufacturing is valued at £518bn and employs 7m people, yet it remains largely "invisible" to Gen Z, according to new research by Nestlé. While 59% of 16 to 24-year-olds find manufacturing interesting, only 4% consider it a top career choice. Richard Watson, chief executive of Nestlé UK, commented: "Young people have the skills that modern manufacturing needs, but there's a perception gap we need to close."

The Times

ECONOMY

UK consumer services confidence drops to lowest level since early 2025

Sentiment among UK consumer-facing services businesses fell to its lowest level since February 2025 in May, according to a Confederation of British Industry survey, as rising costs, weak demand and inflation concerns weighed on confidence. The survey also showed optimism in business and professional services deteriorated sharply, reversing an earlier recovery. The CBI said profitability in consumer services declined at the fastest pace since August 2020, with companies unable to pass rising costs fully on to customers. Consumer services optimism fell to -49 from -45 in February, while business and professional services sentiment dropped to -46 from -3, the weakest reading since November 2025.

Reuters

INTERNATIONAL

Russia to allow banks to arm themselves against Ukrainian drones

Russia has adopted a law allowing the central bank, the country's biggest bank Sberbank, and the Russian Cash Collection Association - the country’s largest carrier of cash and valuables - to shoot down Ukrainian drones. Employees at those institutions would be permitted to be ‌armed and to operate the systems used to down unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone) attacks without the involvement of special forces. Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov said: “Firstly, jamming will be used to make it more difficult for [the UAVs] to target and attack the relevant targets . . . Plus, we’ll also use means to shoot down these drones, thereby protecting the relevant targets,” adding that institutions would pay for the drone defence systems themselves. “If it’s the central bank, then the central bank will pay; if it’s Sberbank, then Sberbank will pay,” Aksakov said.

CNBC

Financial Times

Reuters

Ride-hailing drivers in Massachusetts certify first statewide ride-hailing union

Ride-hailing drivers in Massachusetts have become the first in the US to certify a union, marking a significant step in the gig economy's labour movement. The achievement follows the approval of a 2024 ballot measure that allows drivers to unionise while remaining independent contractors. Jean Fredo, an Uber driver, expressed hope for improved pay and protections, saying: “With the union, it will not feel like we're working for nothing.” The union could represent nearly 70,000 drivers statewide, at a time when they face challenges including rising costs and the threat of automation. Julie Blust of the App Drivers Union emphasized the importance of collective action, saying: “Drivers now have an official organisation and can speak with one voice about what's happening in this industry.”

AP News

Fast Company

Los Angeles Times

Job ad for shepherds exposes China's labour market strains

Zuo Xiaoyong, a Chinese farm owner, received over 700 applications when he advertised for two shepherd positions in remote grasslands. His job ad went viral, attracting white-collar workers, factory employees, and recent graduates, underscoring the challenges in China's tight job market. Zuo observed that many applicants were struggling with debt and difficult working conditions. The reaction to the job posting was “symptomatic of what continues to be a highly competitive and often low-rewarding labour market,” said Lynn Song, chief China economist at ING. “Urban jobs are becoming less attractive and more rare.” Zuo eventually hired four shepherds - two couples - who all had previously worked on a farm.

Straits Times

Panama law imposes stricter requirements on multinational firms

Panama's National Assembly has approved a law that requires ‌multinational companies domiciled in the country to demonstrate genuine local operations, including qualified personnel, adequate facilities and strategic decision-making, or face a 15% tax on passive foreign income. "At the fiscal level, it requires multinationals to demonstrate that they have physical operations and real activity in a country, beyond just seeking tax advantage," the National Assembly said. The law aims to satisfy European Union tax transparency requirements ⁠and support Panama’s removal from EU monitoring lists.

Reuters

OTHER

Government urged to introduce a maximum permitted temperature for schools

Unions have said the government should consider setting temperature thresholds for schools. There is currently no legal limit for how hot or cold workplaces can be. Employers are expected to maintain “reasonable” temperatures. Research by the Department for Education in 2025 found that an estimated 6.7 days of learning were lost each year as a consequence of heat. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said :“A maximum working temperature for schools would encourage investment into making schools heat-resilient, with mitigations such as air conditioning, which would protect learning, the important exam period, and keep staff and children safe and comfortable.”

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