Global – More than half of businesses have a digital strategy in place

According to the latest Randstad WorkMonitor for Q4, 84% of employees worldwide acknowledge the importance for their current employer to have a digital strategy, with 59% stating that the company they work for has one in place.

The findings show that employers that score high on this scale of digital...

Germany – Nearly half a million refugees still looking for a job (Sputnik News)

More than 400,000 refugees in Germany are still looking for a job since December 2015, reports Sputnik News Service. Director of German Federal Employment Agency's Institute for Research Joachim Moller said that since December 2015, 34,000 refugees have found a job. "It would be an illusion...

Europe – Agency workers’ hours rise over year, report says

The average number of hours worked by Europe’s agency workers rose 5.3% year over year, according to the December 2016 European Agency Work Business Indicator published by World Employment Confederation-Europe.

Denmark reported the strongest increase; Poland and Norway contracted slightly.

Growth in...

UK – Work Group reports possible acquisition, suspends share trading

Work Group plc reported it signed a memorandum of understanding for the potential acquisition of a group of companies in the business services sector, according to a regulatory announcement. In addition, share trading in Work Group plc stock was temporarily suspended starting Friday.

“We are pleased...

Global – Real wage growth at lowest level in four years, ILO report says

Global real wage growth started to recover in 2010 after the recession, but has decelerated since, according to the Global Wage Report by the International Labour Organisation. Real wage growth fell to 1.7% in 2015 — it’s lowest rate in four years. The numbers change when excluding China, where wage...

France – Minister says Uber should work with unions

French Transport Minister Alain Videlies issued a statement last week calling on Uber to enter into discussions with all trade unions. Vidalies’ statement came after a group of drivers met the minister to complain the human cloud, ride-sharing firm was meeting with only one trade union organization....

UK – Locum tenens holding NHS ‘to ransom’ (Guardian)

Locum doctors are holding the UK’s National Health Service “to ransom”, the Guardian reports, saying some locum tenens doctors receive up to £155 per hour. NHS Improvement Chief Executive Jim Mackey said doctors who demand high rates for stand-in shift are being unfair to permanently hired medics...

UK – Defence lab brings in crowdsourcing firm (Ministry of Defence)

The UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is working with crowdsourcing firm Kaggle to develop an algorithm or software that will automatically detect and identify objects in satellite images. The challenge features a prize of $100,000. Staffing Industry Analysts defines crowdsourcing as part...

UK – Gig economy growth means 1.5 million workers at risk of missing out on employment protection

One in ten workers in the UK are in “insecure employment” due to the growth of the gig economy, with 1.5 million workers at risk of being denied employment protection, according to a report from the Trades Union Congress.

The report, “Living on the Edge,” states that 3.2 million UK workers (1...

Netherlands – Randstad to buy BMC

Randstad Holding N.V. announced today that it was buying BMC in the Netherlands as part of its strategy to expand into professional recruitment. The deal gives BMC an enterprise value of €65 million.

BMC has two main businesses, professional and consultancy. Its professionals business focuses on...