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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
Google, Microsoft and Apple are advising some employees on U.S. work visas to avoid international travel due to delays of up to a year for visa stamping appointments at embassies. Immigration law firms representing the companies said the delays stem from new social media screening requirements, and warn that staff risk being stranded outside the U.S. if appointments are postponed. "While in the past the emphasis may have been on processing cases quickly and reducing wait times, our embassies and consulates around the world, including in India, are now prioritizing thoroughly vetting each visa case above all else," a spokesperson for the Department of State told Business Insider.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
Labour Together, a think tank linked to Sir Keir Starmer, is advocating for significant changes to the Employment Rights Bill. A leaked paper criticises the bill as a "safety blanket" that hinders economic progress. It proposes scrapping 80% of the bill and replacing it with higher taxes to fund unemployment insurance for laid-off workers. The paper argues that flexibility in the labour market is essential for economic growth, saying: "Easy firing means easy hiring, which benefits both firms and workers." The proposals are likely to create divisions within the Labour Party. Responding to the leak, a Labour Together spokesman said: "Labour Together totally supports this week's Employment Rights Act. This paper was a provocation for private discussion about how to build a political economy centred on technological change and innovation."
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
Telefonica will reduce its workforce in Spain by up to 5,500 jobs under a voluntary departure plan agreed with trade unions. This represents nearly 25% of its 25,000 employees in the country. The company, which employs 100,000 globally, aims to focus on its core markets, including Spain, Germany, the UK, and Brazil. Telefonica said: "An agreement was reached with the trade unions . . . concerning the implementation of a voluntary departure plan for approximately 5,500 workers." The restructuring plan is expected to cost around €2.5bn before taxes.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Artificial intelligence is rapidly integrating into Middle East workplaces, with 75% of employees using AI tools, surpassing the global average of 69%. The PwC Middle East Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025 revealed that 32% of workers use generative AI daily. In Saudi Arabia, 84% of CEOs are ready to deploy AI responsibly. Randa Bahsoun from PwC noted that employees seek clarity on evolving roles and support for skill development. The survey also highlighted that 69% of employees gained new skills in the past year, with job security being a top priority for 85%.
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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