UK – Glastonbury Festival accused of exploiting European workers on zero hours contracts (The Independent)

The Glastonbury Festival has been accused of exploiting hundreds of European workers on zero hours contracts who were fired after two days, reports the Independent. The festival organisers allegedly hired approximately 700 workers who were set to help clean up after the festival for two weeks, but up...

UK – Northern Recruitment Group full year turnover up 14%

Newcastle Upon Tyne-based private recruitment firm Northern Recruitment Group reported a 14% increase in turnover to £25.8 million for the full year ending December 2016.

The group also reported that operating profit was up 21% from £0.695 million to £0.845 million.

“2017 is a year of considered investment...

Netherlands – Pay for People acquires Tentoo

Dutch payroll specialist Pay for People Group has acquired Tentoo, a payroll service company also based in the Netherlands.

No further details of the transaction were disclosed. Tentoo will retain its own identity after the acquisition.

Last year, Pay for People acquired Holland Payroll and launched Freek,...

UK – REC warns Post-Brexit immigration policy must be based on evidence

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation has published an analysis of how the 2.2 million EU nationals currently participating in the UK labour market contribute by sector and region.

The REC also warned that decisions about future UK immigration policy should be based on impartial, expert advice...

Germany – Hiring up in June

German companies hired more new employees in June, compared to May, according to figures from the Institute for Economic Research (Ifo Institute).

The Ifo employment barometer increased to 110.9 in June, up from 110.8 in May. The sectors that were hiring new staff were mainly within construction, wholesale,...

UK – Employee accuses Exeter University of exploiting temporary workers (Devon Live)

A worker has accused Exeter University of exploiting temporary staff after being employed on a 'zero hours' basis, reports Devon Live. The worker, who chose to remain anonymous, states that they begun working with a fixed-hours four-month contract after joining the temporary staff bank, but then the...

UK – Harvey Nash issues trading update at AGM, considers further acquisitions

UK-based IT staffing firm Harvey Nash (HVN: LSE) stated in the group’s Annual General Meeting that the company’s outlook for the financial year is positive and that it is performing in line with management expectations.

Julie Baddeley, Chairman, provided the update to shareholders and stated that...

UK – Work Group provides updates on potential acquisition

Work Group plc (LSE - AIM: "WORK"), a London-based recruitment firm, reported its results for the year ending 31 December 2016 following the sale of its business and subsidiaries to Capita PLC in December 2015.

The company has been operating as a non-trading entity following the sale and, accordingly,...

South Africa – Employment decreases by 48,000 jobs in first quarter

Employment in South Africa decreased by 48,000 jobs to 9.6 million in the formal non-agricultural sector during the first quarter ending March 2017, compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest Quarterly Employment Survey from Statistics South Africa.

The decreases in employment were led...

Spain – Short-term contracts make up 25% of all temporary contracts in Q1 (El Diario)

Short-term contracts, or those ending in less than seven days, accounted for 25% of total temporary contracts in Spain for the first quarter of 2017, reports El Diario, with data from Asempleo. The data shows that these types of short-term contracts have seen growth since the economic recovery began,...