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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
So-called “backdoor” job references, which have long played a role in hiring, are being used more than ever by businesses desperate for human insight now that candidates are using AI to write résumés and coach them through virtual interviews. “They’ve become a lot more important,” observes headhunter Mark Toscano. “The tools that people are using to present themselves in the best light possible are the same reason that companies are resorting to these backdoor references.” Although such references offer the potential for score-settling by rivals, independent recruiter Kelli Hrivnak says: “I’ve actually seen backdoor references help people more often, as opposed to being a detriment.”
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
Former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, the chair of the government-commissioned review into youth inactivity and unemployment, writes in the Sunday Times on the importance of apprenticeships, and the sharp drop in young people starting apprenticeships over the last decade. The number of starts among under-19s has almost halved over that period, from 130,000 to 75,000, while entry-level starts at Level 2 have fallen by 68%. "Much of this drift away from young people has a specific cause", he writes, "the apprenticeship levy. Introduced in 2017 with good intentions, it has in practice been captured by the economic logic of upskilling existing, older employees." While the government "has begun to act," he says, it needs to act faster, while businesses should "prioritise young people," work with schools and colleges, simplify hiring, and offer "the mentoring, structure and patience that turns potential into performance."
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Human Times
Europe
Sweden's parliament has passed a law which allows authorities to revoke immigrants' residency permits following instances of bad behaviour, such as having unpaid debts, doing undeclared work or links to extremist organisations. Opposition and human rights advocacy groups say the law is arbitrary because it would involve decisions about behaviour that has not been deemed criminal. "The good behaviour law leaves people in uncertainty about what actions or expressions can be used against them," Stockholm-based group Civil Rights Defenders said. "It undermines the rule of law and the principle of equality before the law." The Swedish parliament has also adopted legislation obliging public sector workers, including employees of tax authorities, employment and social insurance agencies and prison and probation services, to report to the police any migrants who are not authorised to live in Sweden. “Reporting obligations imposed on public agencies create a climate of fear that harms not only undocumented people but everyone who depends on these institutions,” said Louise Bonneau from Brussels-based nonprofit PICUM, which supports migrants.
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Human Times
Middle East
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has agreed to adopt the first binding employment standards for gig workers in sectors such as ride-hailing and food delivery. The Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention, which was adopted at the 114th annual International Labour Conference in Geneva, aims to extend labour protections to hundreds of millions of people worldwide who work through digital platforms. A growing number of workers are being excluded from standard labour protections due to their classification as independent contractors rather than employees, and the protections include an end to such classification, as well as enforcement of minimum wage requirements and obligations including healthcare, sick leave and social security contributions. “For the first time in the history of international law, the women and men who move our cities, who clean and care in our homes . . . will be named, recognised and protected by a binding international standard,” said Amanda Brown, vice chair of the ILO’s Workers’ Group.
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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