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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
A federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration's attempt to reduce the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) workforce by 50%, saying that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) overstepped its legal authority. The ruling is a significant win for labor groups that argued the cuts violated protections meant to ensure FEMA's independence. Although the cuts were not implemented, the agency has faced significant staff departures, with over 4,300 employees leaving in the 2025 budget year. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston observed: “Frankly, the FEMA staffing plan number appears as if pulled from thin air.” FEMA responded in a statement late Saturday, saying: “DHS and FEMA are ready for the 2026 hurricane season . . . We're ensuring workforce stability and a strong, deployable force for upcoming national events and potential disasters; making the agency leaner, faster and laser-focused on supporting state, local, tribal and territorial partners before, during and after disasters . . . FEMA continues to maintain a roster of experienced leadership and support staff across headquarters and regional offices.”
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that payrolls fell by 26,000 last month, higher than forecast by economists. Job vacancies were down 8,000 to a five-year low of 702,000. Unemployment was steady at 4.9% in the three months to July, though the ONS has cautioned that its estimate is still affected by a quality issue with data collection. The redundancy rate increased to 3.9 per 1,000 employees in the quarter to July, the highest since the beginning of the year and the first rise since the three months to February. Meanwhile, wage growth excluding bonuses was unchanged at 3.5% in the three months through July, and private sector pay growth was stable at 2.9%.
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has said Europe needs to become a producer of AI technology to preserve its autonomy and achieve the efficiency gains that are necessary to maintain its way of living. "Within a few years (AI) will be screening goods at the border, deciding which tax returns are audited, dispatching trains, watching patients on wards and clearing payments at banks," Lagarde said. "A withdrawal of access, or a change in its terms, would then reach every sector at once . . . That is leverage of a kind no trade partner has ever held over Europe, and it could be used in any negotiation, on tariffs or on digital taxes, for example." Lagarde said Europe faced “an awkward choice . . . Either it holds back on adopting, because it cannot protect its data, and forgoes the growth. Or it adopts AI quickly, becomes highly dependent, and risks losing the freedom to organise its economy according to its own values.”
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Qatar National Bank (QNB) has underscored the dual nature of AI for emerging markets in its weekly commentary. While the technology presents opportunities for growth and productivity, it also poses risks of economic divergence. QNB emphasised the need for decisive action in building digital infrastructure, developing data ecosystems, and investing in skills. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that 40% of jobs in these markets are at risk due to AI, particularly in sectors reliant on manual tasks.
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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