UK – Two get jail for exploiting workers after fleeing to Spain: Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

Two have been jailed for exploiting 41 workers from Romania, the UK Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority reported Wednesday.

Alexander Goran recruited workers from Romania. Once the workers were in the UK, Goran controlled their wages; directed them to live in cramped, substandard housing; and gave...

UK – Startup announces funding round to serve research crowdsourcing market (TechCrunch)

An Oxford-based startup called Prolific raised USD 1.2 million in a seed funding round and plans to challenge Amazon’s Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing service in online recruitment for research, TechCrunch reported. Prolific was founded in 2014 when its founders, doctoral students at Sheffield and Oxford...

UK – Disabled workers paid 12.2% less, ONS finds

The median pay for disabled employees stood at £10.63 an hour in 2018, below that of the £12.11 an hour rate for non-disabled employees, a pay gap of 12.2%, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

The disability pay gap was wider for men than for women, this was largely driven by...

Ireland – Jobless rate sinks to 4.8% in November

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Ireland for November 2019 was 4.8%, down from 5.6% in November 2018, according to data from the Central Statistics Office.

When compared to the previous month, the unemployment rate remained unchanged.

The data showed that the seasonally adjusted number of persons...

Netherlands – Self-employed freelancers are increasingly positive about their financial situation

More self-employed freelancers in the Netherlands were positive about the financial situation of their company in 2019 than they were four years ago, according to data from Statistics Netherlands.

“With the recovery of the economy and the increase in purchasing power in the last few years, the mood...

UK – A third of employees think they are paid fairly, CIPD finds

While half of permanent employees say they are being paid fairly, even fewer (34%) think that everyone in their organisation is paid fairly, according to a new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

The report finds the perception of unfair pay is being driven by employers’...

World – Randstad announces €120 million cost savings plan by 2021

Staffing giant Randstad provided an update on the progress and results of digital initiatives, long-term strategy, and on how the company aims to secure competitive and profitable organic sales growth.

During its analyst seminar today, Randstad said it will look to identify €120 million in cost savings...

World – Nearly half of boards ignore climate change, Harvey Nash finds

Nearly half of boards across the world, or 40%, spent zero hours discussing climate change this year, according to Harvey Nash. This was lower than last year’s 55%.

Harvey Nash’s report is based on a survey of 640 chairs and non-executives from across the globe.

Nordics are leading the way when it...

Spain – Number of temporary contracts for disabled professionals on the rise: Randstad

The number of contracts signed by professionals with disabilities in Spain exceeded 100,000 for the first time in history, according to the Randstad Foundation.

During the first ten months of the year the hiring of these professionals increased by 1.7% compared to 2018.

When broken down by type of contract,...

Ireland – Majority of employers expect increased salaries next year, Hays finds

The majority, or 71%, of employers in Ireland expect salaries among their staff to increase again in the year ahead, according to research from Hays Ireland. This was down from 74% of employers who increased salaries in the last year.

Hays’ survey of 2,700 employers and employees found that overall...