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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. employers are increasingly passing rising healthcare costs on to employees through higher insurance premiums, larger deductibles, and reduced coverage, according to a KFF survey. The average annual cost of employer-sponsored family health insurance exceeded $28,000 in 2026, increasing 5%, while employees’ contributions rose 9% to $7,471. Among large employers, 44% increased workers’ premium contributions, and 21% raised deductibles or other cost-sharing requirements. Rising hospital prices, increased billing, and expensive medications, including GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, are contributing to the financial pressure. Mid Oregon Credit Union faces a projected 38% increase in healthcare costs for 2027, while Cerebral Brewing has responded to a 20% increase by introducing plans with deductibles as high as $6,000. Benefits consultants expect further cost increases in 2027, raising concerns that higher out-of-pocket expenses could discourage workers, particularly those in lower-wage industries, from maintaining health insurance coverage.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
Major retailers including Marks & Spencer and Tesco are leading efforts to improve paternity leave, offering six weeks at full pay compared with the UK's statutory entitlement of two weeks. Research by campaign group The Dad Shift highlights growing disparities between sectors, with construction, manufacturing and agriculture offering significantly less generous provisions. Enhanced policies introduced by five major retailers have benefited nearly 650,000 workers. More than 100 Labour MPs are urging Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce six weeks of paternity leave paid at 90% of earnings, capped at £1,200 weekly, and extend eligibility to self-employed fathers. Campaigners argue Britain's current statutory payment of £194.32 weekly is inadequate, particularly for lower-income families. A government review is expected later this year.
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
Volvo Cars is to eliminate 2,500 jobs globally, primarily in Sweden, as part of a cost-cutting strategy amid fierce competition and declining sales. The company reported an adjusted operating loss of 3.7bn Swedish crowns ($373m) for the third quarter, a significant drop from a profit of 5.8bn crowns the previous year. "The third quarter of 2026 was very disappointing and reflects a year that has become far more challenging than originally anticipated. Our ongoing turnaround plan therefore needs a decisive reinforcement," CEO Hakan Samuelsson said. "We are convinced that we have the right long-term strategy addressing these challenges," he added. The jobs cuts would be made "through natural attrition and by targeted exit packages to employees," Volvo said.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Mnzil, The Development Group and Capital Partners have launched a SAR1bn fund to develop purpose-built workforce compounds accommodating up to 50,000 workers across Saudi Arabia. Mnzil will operate the portfolio, TDG will oversee site selection, design and development, and Capital Partners will manage the fund. Development is expected to begin in Q4 2026 across major employment centres including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Khobar, Makkah and Madinah. Compounds will include furnished rooms, recreational facilities, communal areas and on-site services, with locations chosen to reduce commuting. Mnzil chief executive Majeed Albabtain said, “Improving workers' lives is a collective effort.” The partners see the model as supporting Vision 2030 while establishing workforce housing as a scalable institutional real estate asset class backed by employer demand and long-term leases.
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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