Human Times

UK Edition

24th June 2026

THE HOT STORY

UK business rejects call to set maximum workplace temperature as heatwave deepens

UK businesses and the government have pushed back on calls to introduce a maximum working temperature, after trade unions launched a “heat strike” ahead of record-breaking weather, the FT reports. The Met Office has issued a red alert for today, while warning that temperatures will build significantly as the week continues, and said there is the possibility of failures of heat-sensitive systems and equipment that could lead to losses of power, water, and transport disruption.

Financial Times

The Times

LEGAL

HR consultant wins English court case using AI lawyer

An AI law firm has won a case in an English court. Tamires Camal Taquidir, a freelance HR consultant, paid the firm, Garfield AI, about £400 to send a legal letter and then issue court proceedings over an unpaid debt of £7,000. The case is believed to be the first time a trial has been won using an AI lawyer not only in the UK but globally. Garfield AI co-founder, Philip Young, said: “This is a landmark moment . . . for access to justice. For too long, businesses have been forced to write off debts because the cost, time and stress of litigation made pursuing them uneconomic.” He added: “AI did not replace the judge, the barrister or the legal system. What it did was make the process more accessible, more efficient and more affordable.”

CYBERSECURITY

AI-powered threats may succeed ‘within months’, Five Eyes warns

Powerful AI models that are capable of devastating cyber attacks on governments and companies may succeed within months, according to the leaders of intelligence agencies from the Five Eyes nations – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and the UK. A rare joint warning by the alliance said that while AI “would help us improve cyber defence over time, it also accelerates the speed, scale, and sophistication of cyber threats . . . Frontier AI models are anticipated to exceed current industry expectations, fundamentally transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. The timeline is not years, it is months.” The Five Eyes agencies added: “In this environment, cyber resilience is integral to advancing business continuity, market confidence, and long-term value . . . Cyber risk can no longer be treated as a purely technical issue. This is a core business risk and leadership responsibility.”

Financial Times

The Register

The Guardian

ECONOMY

Private sector activity hits 14-month low

Britain's private sector activity has fallen to its lowest level in 14 months, driven by a significant decline in the services industry, which saw its weakest month in three years amid rising costs and declining customer confidence. The S&P Global flash UK composite PMI came in at 49.4 for June, down from 49.7 in May. This means the economy contracted for a second successive month. Suggesting that the economy "stagnated across Q2," Thomas Pugh, chief economist at RSM UK, said: "We doubt growth will pick up much through the rest of the year."

City AM

Daily Mail

The Independent

TAX

HMRC's shortfall from unpaid taxes hits £59.2bn

The tax gap in the UK - the difference between the amount owed and the sum actually received - increased to 6.4% for the 2024/25 tax year, according to HMRC, with a £59.2bn shortfall in unpaid taxes. The data shows that small businesses accounted for 62% of the gap. The tax gap for wealthy individuals - the top 2% of UK taxpayers - increased to £3.6bn from £2.5bn last year. Alongside deliberate tax dodging, tax-gap calculations include mistakes, carelessness, disputed interpretations of tax law, unpaid bills, avoidance, evasion and criminal attacks on the system. Emma Rawson, director of public policy at the Association of Tax Technicians, noted that many business owners "are trying to comply with an increasingly complex tax system while managing the day-to-day demands of running a business."

HEALTH & WELLBEING

New Ofsted reports 'still putting teachers at risk'

Ofsted's new colour-coded school report cards are putting teachers under renewed strain, according to a report by former inspectors and academics. A survey of 100 school leaders who experienced inspections under the revised framework found almost 70% reported negative impacts on their wellbeing, while two-thirds did not view the system as an improvement. Introduced in November after the scrapping of single-word judgements following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, the system grades areas such as behaviour and curriculum. Respondents described sustained pressure, with some referencing the impact on leadership morale. An Ofsted spokesman said: "While we can never remove all pressure from school inspections, we keep leaders' wellbeing firmly in mind."

Daily Mirror

The Daily Telegraph

REMUNERATION

Royal Mail delivers pay boost for chief

Martin Seidenberg, chief executive of Royal Mail's parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), received a pay package of £6.9m for the year ending March 31. This is up from £2.1m the previous year. The increase followed the £3.6bn takeover of Royal Mail by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, which triggered the vesting of long-term incentive awards.

The Guardian

The Daily Telegraph

INTERNATIONAL

India demonstrates how extreme heat can hit productivity

Bloomberg reports on how India is becoming a case study in how rising temperatures can undermine productivity and growth in nations that still rely heavily on physical labour. “My productivity is down 40%,” says Asad K. Iraqi, the chief executive of Kanpur-based leather-working business AKI. “Workers can’t survive in this heat without proper hydration and cooling.” A 2020 study by the McKinsey Global Institute found that lost labour from increasing heat and humidity could jeopardise 2.5% to 4.5% of India’s gross domestic product by 2030. Meanwhile, University of Chicago research published in 2021 found factory output in India fell by about 2% for each 1C rise in temperature amid reduced worker productivity and a rise in absenteeism.

Bloomberg

Most US families now have two parents working full-time

Both parents now work full-time in most US families, and mothers with bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees are driving the shift, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center which found that 52% of families now have two parents working full-time, up 6% from a decade ago. Pew observed that 83% of partners who were married or cohabitating and both employed full-time thought this situation was a clear financial positive, and almost half (49%) said it had a positive impact on the well-being of their children. A more equal split in parenting could be encouraging the trend - although 63% of mothers told Pew researchers that they were responsible for the majority of parenting tasks and household chores.

Bloomberg

Evonik to cut 3,200 jobs by 2029

German chemicals group Evonik is to cut 3,200 jobs worldwide between 2027 and 2029, most of them in its home market of Germany. Evonik is also to discontinue its global polyester ‌business ⁠in 2027, affecting about 350 roles at its German sites in Witten and Marl and the Chinese site in Shanghai. "Global competitive pressure, structural disadvantages in Europe, and declining market dynamics mean that ⁠none of the alternatives examined would have been economically viable for Evonik in the long term," executive board member Lauren Kjeldsen, who is ⁠responsible for the unit, said.

Reuters

OTHER

Hundreds of schools set to close as temperatures rise

Hundreds of schools across the UK are expected to close either partially or fully today as temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 38C in southern England. Highs of 34.6C were recorded in Wisley, Surrey yesterday, while it was the hottest day of the year so far in Northern Ireland and Scotland. A rare Met Office red warning for extreme heat, and a wider amber warning, are in place across much of England and Wales until Thursday evening, while high humidity is expected to make conditions more uncomfortable.

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