UK – Recruitment firm HR GO merges with AC Appointments

Ashford-based recruitment firm HR GO has merged with AC Appointments, a recruitment firm established in Hertfordshire.

No financial details of the transaction were disclosed.

HR GO Recruitment is part of the HR GO Group of companies founded in 1957.

AC Appointments was founded in 1966 in Bishop’s Stortford,...

Scotland – Spending on bank and agency nurses rises to record levels, nurse and doctor vacancies also increase

NHS Scotland spent a total of £175.7 million on nursing and midwifery bank and agency staff during the latest financial year, an increase of 5.5% compared to 2016/2017, according to data from Scotland’s Information Services Division.

The £175.7 million figure is a record high for NHS Scotland and...

Netherlands – Agrifood staffing firm AB Oost rebrands as Abeos

Dutch food and agriculture staffing firm AB Oost announced that it has rebranded as Abeos.

The rebrand aims to reflect Abeos’ expansion into the north, south and west of the Netherlands, hence why the name Oost (east in English) did not fit the company’s offerings anymore.

Abeos said the new name is...

UK – Amazon delivery firms facing legal action over employment rights

Trade union GMB announced that it is taking legal action against three Amazon delivery companies over employment rights.

GMB will be arguing on behalf of its members working for Prospect Commercials Limited, Box Group Limited and Lloyd Link Logistics Limited. The claimants all worked for the companies...

UK – Staffline Group’s non-executive director and former CEO steps down

Staffline (STAF:LSE), the staffing and employability organisation, announced that Andy Hogarth has decided to step down as a non-executive director of Staffline Group plc with effect from 30 June 2018, in order to explore other business opportunities.

Hogarth joined the group as finance director in 2002,...

UK – Recruitment and payroll firm Kinetic Group becomes employee-owned

Greater Manchester-based recruitment and payroll services group Kinetic announced that it is now an employee-owned company.

Managing director Neil Smith said the move would preserve the culture and independence of the group while ensuring staff share in its success. Smith was the majority shareholder...

Spain – Court rules against Deliveroo in employment rights case

A Spanish court yesterday ruled in a landmark case that a rider for food courier firm Deliveroo should have been treated as an employee and not as self-employed.

The decision is the first ruling over the rights of Deliveroo’s riders in Spain.

The case involved rider Victor Sanchez, who was fired for...

UK – Most employers support rights for agency and zero-hours contract workers to request stable contract

Two-thirds of employers back the introduction of a new right for agency workers and zero-hours contract workers to request a stable contract, according to survey data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

The right to request a stable contract potentially allows agency workers to...

Sweden – Poolia and Uniflex to merge

Swedish staffing firms Poolia and Uniflex have announced an agreement to merge to create a Nordic staffing powerhouse.

The boards from each firm unanimously decided on the merger and plan to have each share in Uniflex replaced with 1.7 new shares in Poolia.

The merger is subject to approval at the extraordinary...

Belgium – Temporary workers’ hours up in April

The number of temporary agency hours worked  in April recorded an increase of 0.13% compared with April of 2017, according to Federgon, the Belgian Federation of Staffing Agencies.

Federgon reported that the number of hours worked by temp workers in the blue-collar sector decreased by 0.21% in April...