Human Times

UK Edition

18th September 2026

Together with

THE HOT STORY

Barclays faces growing backlash over back-to-office rule reversal

Media outlets pick up on a report which first appeared in the Financial Times yesterday which said that thousands of Barclays employees have signed an open letter asking the bank to rethink its decision to increase in-office work. As of next month, Barclays wants staff who have been expected to be in the office for two days per week to attend for at least three. The Unite union, which represents 36,000 staff, is calling on Barclays to reverse this mandate and is advocating for exemptions and a one-off payment to cover rising travel and childcare costs. Rick Coyle, Unite national officer, said that employees are delivering strong financial results under the current flexible working policy. He said that Barclays is "trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist" in making its working-from-home rules less flexible. Barclays said office requirements vary by business area and are intended to balance flexibility with the benefits of working together in person. The bank declined to say how many staff would be affected by the rules change, but the BBC understands that there are different rules depending on teams, with, for example, investment bankers expected to be in the office for five days per week.

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Employee Relations Has Changed. Most HR Processes Haven't.

Tribunal claims are rising. Employment legislation is shifting. Yet the way most organisations handle employee relations hasn't changed in years.

The Employee Relations Reset examines why informal case management is no longer enough, and what HR leaders are doing differently to manage risk, ensure consistency and build processes that scale.

Get the report →

FLEXIBLE WORKING

Flexible working keeps managers on board

Research by the Chartered Management Institute reveals that flexible working is one of the main reasons for managers to stay in their jobs. In a survey of 1,035 managers, nearly 40% cited flexible working as a key reason for staying with their employer. Remote and hybrid work arrangements were chosen by 37% of respondents. Other factors included job security (32%), interesting work (30%), and competitive salaries (24%). The government has said it wants to make it more difficult for employers to deny flexible working requests.

The Times

WORKFORCE

Diageo workers to strike over job cuts

More than 100 workers at Diageo’s Cameronbridge distillery in Scotland - Europe's largest grain distillery - will strike for three weeks from 28 September over plans to cut 10 jobs. The action could disrupt production of grain spirit used in Johnnie Walker and Bell’s whisky. Unite accused Diageo of inadequate consultation over the cuts. The dispute comes as chief executive Sir Dave Lewis pursues $1bn (£750m) of savings. Diageo’s global workforce has already fallen by almost 2,000 over the past year.

The Daily Telegraph

Sector leaders warn of justice system 'meltdown'

Six major justice sector unions and royal colleges – including the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), National Association of Probation Officers, and the Police Federation of England and Wales – have warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham that prisons, probation, policing and courts are in crisis, as services struggle to carry out their core functions and keep the public safe. They have called for a Royal Commission to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the criminal justice system, taking evidence from judges, lawyers, frontline staff, prisoners and former prisoners. The organisations said years of underinvestment, organisational failures and outsourcing, alongside cuts and court closures, had created a "perpetual crisis," leaving members feeling they were being "set up to fail" and blamed when things go wrong.

Daily Mirror

Schools land extra £500m to help cover pay award

Schools in England are set to receive around £500m in additional funding to help cover the 3.5% teachers’ pay award for the 2026/27 school year, easing concerns that schools would have to fund part of the increase from already stretched budgets. The government said the money would come from savings generated by lower employer contributions to the local government pension scheme. National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede said schools have been "running on empty" and the funding signalled "a welcome return to reality, and a message of hope for the entire school community." The NEU's national executive is due to decide next week whether to proceed with a formal strike ballot planned for October to December.

ECONOMY

Productivity growth revised upward

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that UK productivity growth was revised to 1.3% annually from 1997 to 2024, up from the previous estimate of 1.1%. This adjustment used new methodologies, incorporating HMRC payroll data to address falling Labour Force Survey response rates. Output per hour is now estimated to be 41% higher than in 1997, compared with 34% under the previous measurement process. Recent data suggest productivity may be improving, potentially helped by greater business investment in AI. Cliodhna Taylor, head of productivity statistics at the ONS, wrote in a blog post: "Overall, the 'productivity puzzle' remains, albeit more muted than before, as these data still point to a fundamental shift in the UK economy following the financial crisis."

Reuters

The Times

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

New programme boosts neurodiversity in leadership

Law firm RPC has introduced a professional development programme aimed at senior leaders to enhance their understanding of neurodiversity. Developed in partnership with Auticon, the programme focuses on legal responsibilities and reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent individuals.

The Times

REMUNERATION

Salary stand-off delays abolition of NHS quango

Ministers seeking to abolish NHS England may have to set up an entirely new public entity to employ the £200bn-a-year arm’s-length body's highly paid regional workforce, the FT reports.

Financial Times

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Over £2m spent by government on influencers since July 2024

Government departments have spent at least £2.4m working with social media influencers since July 2024. Departments have used influencers to promote campaigns on topics including career development, how to access benefits, as well as the recruitment of teachers and prison officers. Of those providing figures, the Department for Education (DfE) has spent the most at more than £700,000. In 2025/26, the DfE paid 57 social media influencers, who worked on campaigns including supporting career progression for young people, providing parents with childcare advice and recruiting more teachers. The department said this included Strictly Come Dancing's Oti Mabuse and reality TV star Billie Shepherd, who both backed the government's Best Start in Life childcare campaign.

BBC News

REGULATION

Language learning in a 'death spiral'

A Higher Education Policy Institute report has highlighted a significant decline in language learning among GCSE pupils in English schools. It describes the situation as a "death spiral," and is urging the government to intervene. The report says access to language subjects is "far from equitable" across schools in England, and this inequity raises concerns about the future of language education and its accessibility for all students.

The I

INTERNATIONAL

Korean workers take legal action against US over Georgia raid

More than 300 South Korean workers who were detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint venture battery plant in the US state of Georgia have started filing administrative claims with nine federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection, the FBI and the Departments of Justice and Labor. The claims, which are a necessary step before pursuing lawsuits under the Federal Tort Claims Act, allege unlawful detention and poor conditions at an ICE facility. An attorney representing the workers aims to submit all claims by year-end. Both companies have sought to distance themselves from the legal actions. An LG Energy Solution official told The Korea Times the company would not become involved because the legal actions were based on individual decisions by the workers. The raid, which occurred on September 4, 2025, was the largest single-site enforcement action in ICE's history.

Chinadaily US Edition

The Korea Times

Bosch workers urge political action to stem job losses

Bosch labour representatives are calling for the drafting of EU regulations to promote local production to stem job losses ‌in the auto supply sector. "The transformation of our industry will only succeed if we keep value creation and jobs in Europe," said Frank Sell, ⁠head of the general works council at the firm's Mobility unit, which represents around 70,000 workers in Germany. He called for "clear 'Made in the EU' rules that give us the time we need to work together to become competitive." Bosch plans to shed 13,000 jobs in its core automotive business by the end of the decade.

Reuters

AI shifts cybersecurity hiring toward more experienced professionals

Companies are increasingly using AI to automate entry-level cybersecurity work, including alert triage, log reviews, and data enrichment, while hiring more experienced professionals to oversee AI systems and handle complex threats. A survey of more than 500 chief information security officers found that nearly three-quarters do not expect AI to reduce team sizes, while more than 80% anticipate greater demand for new cybersecurity roles and skills. Cybersecurity hiring remains relatively resilient, with US job postings rising to 13,923 in August from 13,169 in July. However, industry experts warn that reducing junior roles could weaken the pipeline of future senior professionals, creating a potential “talent chasm.” As AI becomes more embedded in cybersecurity, workers are expected to need stronger judgment, business knowledge, AI fluency, and the ability to validate and govern automated outputs.

Wall Street Journal

Adidas cuts jobs in India tech team

German sportswear manufacturer Adidas is cutting roles in its technology team in India. "The impact of these changes is less than 20% of our India Technology organisation," the company said. Adidas did not say how many jobs were affected. The company's website indicates that ⁠nearly 650 people worked at its Gurgaon and Chennai ⁠hubs.

Reuters

OTHER

Powell told to revamp English curriculum

Commons Education Select Committee chair Helen Hayes has written a letter to Education Secretary Lucy Powell which urges her to “look again” at the ongoing review of the English curriculum to ensure the opportunity it affords for change is “not wasted.” Hayes’ letter warns that, following an MPs’ inquiry into reading for pleasure, the committee “heard that the secondary English curriculum is ‘dispiritingly dull’” and that pupils’ experience is often limited to “short, exam-length texts which do little to foster a love of reading.” The letter added: “Our report recommended that the department ensure that its work on developing the new English curriculum is considered through the lens of reading for pleasure and encouraging further study and that it take steps to revise the GCSE English literature curriculum to improve the diversity and range of texts that pupils study.”

Tes

The Human Times is designed to help you stay ahead, spark ideas and support innovation, learning and development in your organisation.

The links under articles indicate original news sources. Some links lead directly to the source material. Others lead to paywalls where you may need a subscription. A third category are restricted by copyright rules.

For reaction and insights on any stories covered in the Human Times, join the discussion by becoming a member of our LinkedIn Group or Business Page, or follow us on X.

Online

Advertise

This e-mail has been sent to [[EMAIL_TO]]

Click here to unsubscribe