UK – The Gym Group comes under fire over its use of self-employed contracts

Parliament’s Work and Pensions Committee has criticised The Gym Group, an operator of ‘low-cost’ gyms across the UK, over its contracts which classify personal trainers as self-employed.

Worcester News reports that under the contract the personal trainers must sign as “self employed” workers,...

UK – Unite serves claim against temp employment agency ADR Network Limited and its holding company

British and Irish trade union Unite has served a claim against temporary employment agency ADR Network Limited and its holding company PPF Limited.

The claim is being served on behalf of Gary Sharrock, a self-employed driver engaged by the firms. Unite argues that Sharrock had to set up his own company...

People – Servoca, Bullhorn, Caldwell Partners, Eurostaff

UK-based Specialist recruitment and outsourcing firm Servoca announced that its Chief Financial Officer Glenn Swaby is set to retire after nine years at the company. Swaby will be replaced by Chris Hinton, who will join the board with immediate effect. Hinton previously worked at technology recruitment...

France – DLSI reports increase in third quarter revenue

French staffing firm DLSI SA (ALDLS: PAR), announced results for the third quarter ending 30 September 2017 reporting a revenue increase of 14% compared to the same period last year.

The group did not release official third quarter revenue figures but it reported turnover for the first nine months which...

UK – Deliveroo riders take legal action against the company over their employment status

Food courier Deliveroo is being taken to court by 45 Deliveroo riders who are seeking employment rights with a preliminary hearing set to begin today.

Deliveroo classifies its riders, who are tasked with delivering meals from restaurants for the firm, as self-employed and free to choose their own hours....

UK – Analysis highlights different segments of the self-employed workforce

The self-employed workforce in the UK could be divided into nine different segments according to a report from the Centre for Research on Self-Employment in conjunction with the Institute for Employment Studies.

The report, The True Diversity of Self-Employment, identified nine distinct segments which...

South Africa – Unemployment rate remains steady at 27.7% for third quarter

The jobless rate in South Africa stood at 27.7% in the third quarter, steady from the previous two-quarters while remaining a 14-year high, according to figures from Statistics South Africa.

The number of unemployed increased by 33,000 in the third quarter of 2017, from the last quarter, to reach 6.2...

Netherlands – ABU reports temp workers hours up 6% and turnover up 7%

The total amount of hours worked by temporary workers in the Netherlands grew by 6% in period 10 (weeks 37-40), compared to the same period last year, according to the Dutch Federation of Private Employment Agencies (ABU).

ABU divides the year into four-week periods, with the 10th period the most recently...

Europe – Euro area unemployment reaches lowest level since 2009

The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 8.9% in September 2017, down from 9.9% last year. It is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since January 2009 according to figures from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Meanwhile the EU 28 unemployment rate...

Switzerland – Q3 Jobseeker confidence reaches highest level in 2017

More than half, or 52%, of jobseekers are confident about improving their overall professional situation over the next 6-12 months, according to the PageGroup Confidence Index Q3 2017. This is the highest level in 2017 and an increase of 8% between Q2 and Q3 2017.

The index showed that candidates in the...