World – Uber to buy Dubai-based rival Careem in $3.1 billion deal (Bloomberg)

Human cloud ride-sharing firm Uber Technologies Inc. is set to announce a $3.1 billion cash-and-share deal to acquire Dubai-based Careem Networks FZ as early as this week, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. Uber will pay $1.4 billion in cash and $1.7 billion in convertible notes...

UK – EU and Theresa May agree to Brexit delay

EU leaders have agreed with UK Prime Minister Theresa May on a plan to delay the Article 50 process, which will delay Brexit beyond the previously formally agreed upon date of 29 March 2019.

The UK will be offered a two-tier extension that will see an offer to delay the process until 22 May 2019 if MPs...

UK – Study shows 7.4% of jobs are at high risk of automation

A new study from the Office of National Statistics has found that 7.4% of jobs in England are at high risk of automation.

For the study, ONS analysed the jobs of 20 million people in England in 2017. ONS also found that the proportion of jobs at a high risk of automation decreased slightly between...

Europe – SIA kicks off 10th annual CWS Summit tomorrow in London

The field of contingent workforce management is rapidly evolving as is candidate behaviour. Apart from keeping an eye on changes in technology, online staffing and legislation progress, CW managers must keep an eye on what the talent – in varied age groups – want.

To help leaders –in HR, procurement,...

Ireland – Government to consider proposals clamping down on bogus self-employment practices (The Irish Times)

New proposals aimed at clamping down on bogus self-employment practices in Ireland are to be considered by the government this week, reports The Irish Times. Bogus self-employment arrangements are where workers are forced by an employer to declare themselves self-employed rather than employees. Unions...

UK – MP calls on government to take action on “rampant injustice” in the gig economy (The Guardian)

Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee MP Frank Field has called on the government to take action to end the “rampant injustice” facing some workers in the gig economy, reports The Guardian. Field today proposed a reform programme, relating to employment law and its enforcement. In the report,...

UK – NHS report proposes new measures including ramping up overseas recruitment to stop workforce crisis

A radical expansion of nurse training as well as overseas recruitment and a tripling in the number of people training as postgraduates are among the urgent measures needed to prevent the health and care workforce crisis from worsening in the UK, according to a report from Nuffield Trust, The King’s...

UK – Majority of business leaders fear their organisation will become irrelevant if it fails to shift to human-AI workforce: Capita

Business leaders in the UK believe that the transition to a hybrid ‘human-AI’ workforce will be their biggest strategic challenge over the next five years. The majority of them, or 67%, fear that their organisation will become irrelevant if it fails to shift to this hybrid workforce, according to...

Europe – Job vacancy rates rise for both euro area and EU28 in Q4

The job vacancy rates in the euro area (EA19) stood at 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase from 2.0% from the same period in 2017. At the same time, In the EU28, the job vacancy rate was also 2.3% and also up from 2.0% the previous year, according to the latest data from Eurostat, the statistical...

People – SG Recruitment, Cobalt Recruitment

SG Recruitment, a UK-based international recruitment firm focusing primarily on the healthcare sector, announced that Steve Howson will step down as CEO on 31 March 2019 in order to pursue new opportunities outside of the company. Howson will retain close links with the company and will remain a Board...