We round up the week’s biggest recruitment news stories from the UK and beyond.

Recruiters criticise Government’s slow response to legal question

The recruitment industry has raised a collective warning over the lack of apparent progress on an Employment Bill.

Various voices have raised concerns over the absence of employment-related legal changes being announced in last week’s Queen’s speech.

Topics in need of greater legal clarification include protections for contractors, and greater oversight of the umbrella sector.

Changes would close loopholes enabling tax evasion. The UK government is collecting evidence before a proposed Single Enforcement Body (SEB) is set up to tackle misuse of umbrella organisations.

EasyJet sparks wage war in the skies

Low-cost airline EasyJet has fired the first shots in a potential wage war among European airlines this week.

The Luton-based airline is set to welcome new recruits with a £1,000 “Golden Hello”, the BBC reports.

It is the first clear signal of the level of competitiveness for skills within the sector. The move comes in the run-up to the busy summer holiday period. Some commentators believe that the end of COVID-related restrictions could see a surge in air travel activity this year.

Airlines – many of which furloughed or laid off staff during the pandemic – are now scrambling to address staffing shortages.

EasyJet has hired 1,700 new workers in recent months – surpassing its own internal goals of 1,500 new staff and crew. The new incentives package suggests the brand will not slow its hiring in the near future.

Earlier this year, UK airports in Manchester and Birmingham witnessed severe delays which were attributed to staff shortages.

Russia’s army recruitment drive goes up in smoke

Russia’s army recruitment programme has taken a hit after one of its offices was targeted by protestors, the Daily Express reports.

Videos which emerged on May 4th show an army recruitment station in southwestern Siberia being set alight by angry demonstrators. The unidentified figures threw molotov cocktails into the reception area of the military building. Nobody was reported injured in the attack, which took place during the early hours of Wednesday, May 4th.

The incident is the latest in a string of civil disturbances in Russia to have targeted military premises.