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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
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to 227,000 in the seven days to February 7th, remaining within a historically healthy range, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The figure was in line with expectations and suggests layoffs remain relatively low despite recent high-profile job cuts at companies such as UPS, Amazon and Dow. The four-week average of claims rose slightly to 219,500, while continuing claims, reported with a one-week lag, increased to 1.86m. Recent data showed employers added 130,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%, though revisions sharply reduced previously reported job gains for 2024–2025. Economists remain divided on whether the stronger January hiring marks a rebound or a temporary uptick, as uncertainty over tariffs and high interest rates continues to weigh on the labor market.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) says efforts to close the gender pay gap will not be successful until 2056 if progress continues at the current rate. Currently, the gap stands at 12.8%, costing the average woman £2,548 annually. Women effectively work 47 days a year without pay compared to men. The TUC attributes the gap to part-time work due to caring responsibilities. Paul Nowak, TUC General Secretary, said: "Women have effectively been working for free for the first month and a half of the year compared to men." He added that the Employment Rights Act represents a crucial step towards achieving pay parity, as it will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, which disproportionately affect women. The TUC has urged the government to enhance flexible working and childcare access to address this issue. Research released by the British Journal of Industrial Relations last year suggests that the gender pay gap may have been underestimated for more than 20 years: the Office for National Statistics had failed to properly account for the fact that it received more data from larger employers when it reported its annual survey of hours and earnings.
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
Germany's far-right wants to tap into anxieties among workers in Germany's auto industry to build grassroots support that could help on the national stage. Officials at IG Metall, the main union at manufacturers including Mercedes and Volkswagen, say many far-right candidates plan to stand in elections to works councils in the sector's southern heartland. "A works councillor can present [Alternative for Germany (AfD)] arguments once every quarter to tens of thousands of people at a works assembly," said Lukas Hezel, part of the union's initiative to counter the far-right. "That is a much more valuable political position than a local councillor." The AfD says the unions serve a left-wing agenda that no longer represents ordinary workers.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Saudi Arabia has appointed Fahad Al-Saif as its new investment minister. He replaces Khalid Al-Falih, who served in the role since 2020 and will remain in the cabinet as Minister of State. Bloomberg says the change - which was announced as part of a broader reshuffle that affected dozens of roles - comes at a critical time for the Kingdom as it reviews its policies and spending priorities amid broader fiscal pressures.
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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