Issue #8 • Aug 29, 2025
Welcome Back, Future of Work By HR Stacks!
We cut through the noise to bring you the most important updates in HR Tech, AI, and the changing world of work. From new AI colleagues clocking in to shifts in workforce strategy, here’s what you need to know this week.
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In Today’s Edition:
Employee Privacy Statistics: Key Trends & Takeaways
Deel Secures $300M Investment, Hits $17.3B Valuation
Less Time, Higher Standards: UK Overhauls Post-Study Work Rules
Workplace Flexibility Wins: CDC Reconsiders Telework Ban for Disabled Staff
The Gig Economy Boom: Flexibility or Fairness at Risk?
Tools Spotlight: 7 HR Tech platforms driving workforce agility
✨ Helpful HR Tech Resources
Our List of top HR software solutions: 60+ options included.
A complete resource to find top Employer of Record solutions.
A list of top HR CRM solutions to manage your employees.
Workplace Surveillance: Balancing Oversight and Trust
Workplace surveillance has shifted from an occasional tool to a routine business practice, powered by screen-recording, keystroke logging, and AI analytics. That prevalence is fueling mistrust: surveys find most workers feel watched, and regulators are already punishing overly intrusive systems (for example, France fined Amazon over its monitoring practices).
Transparency, clear purpose limits, and minimal retention are now the essentials for keeping monitoring lawful and humane.
For HR leaders, the action is practical and people-first: explain what you collect and why, run privacy-impact checks, limit how long data is kept, and give reasonable opt-out or human-review paths.
When monitoring is framed as operational safety or fairness, not constant surveillance, it is more likely to protect the business without destroying trust.
Key Employee Privacy Statistics at a Glance
80% of workers say they feel monitored to a moderate or high degree.
60% of employers with remote staff use employee-monitoring software.
One-third of UK firms now use “bossware” to track worker activity.
43% of employees report their employer monitors their online activity.
About 70% of people find workplace monitoring intrusive, per regulator and industry surveys.
Research shows surveillance can erode trust and managerial effectiveness if not implemented transparently.
Deel Secures $300M Investment, Hits $17.3B Valuation
Source: Deel
Deel announced a $300 million Series E funding round, co-led by Ribbit Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Coatue Management, pushing its valuation to $17.3 billion. The company continues to set the pace in global payroll and HR tech, surpassing $1 billion in annual recurring revenue and maintaining profitability for three consecutive years.
This new capital will fuel Deel’s expansion into AI-driven payroll, broader infrastructure ownership, and a vision to support 100 million employees worldwide. In just six years, Deel has transformed how companies hire and pay talent across borders, building one of the most integrated global HR platforms in the industry.
Key Highlights
$300M raised at a $17.3B valuation (Series E round)
$1B+ in annual recurring revenue and ongoing profitability
35,000+ customers and 1.5M+ workers across 150+ countries
Processes $22B in payroll annually
450% growth in global payroll and 600% growth in HR suite products
Investing heavily in AI-powered payroll and real-time global payment infrastructure
Goal to reach real-time payroll processing in 100+ countries by 2029
MORE TRENDING NEWS
1. UK tightens visa language rules and shortens post-study job time.
From Jan 8, 2026, work-visa applicants must show A-level (B2) English; from Jan 2027 graduates get 18 months (down from two years) to find graduate roles, salary thresholds and sponsor fees are rising and ministers say arrivals could fall by up to 100,000 a year. Read More
What for students and employers: Boost English to B2, start job hunting earlier; universities, recruiters and sponsors should adjust hiring timelines and budgets.
2. CDC pauses remote-work ban for disabled staff.
HHS issued a telework change to match the president’s return-to-office memo; CDC paused the rule while seeking HHS clarification; approved telework agreements remain active. Read More
What for HR leaders: Preserve reasonable accommodations for disabled employees; avoid blanket telework bans, consult guidance, train managers, and keep justified remote work in place.
3. The Gig Economy Is Booming - But Is It Fair?
Digital labour platforms and AI agents assign tasks and payments, offering flexibility yet raising job insecurity, opaque algorithms and a 30% gender pay gap in gig work. Read More
What for HR leaders: Push for algorithm transparency, enforce worker protections, design gender-aware policies, and pilot AI oversight to ensure platform jobs offer dignity and equity.
4. Amazon To Cut 15% Of Its HR staff As AI Reshapes Operations.
CEO Andy Jassy says automation will “reduce our total corporate workforce” as AI drives efficiency; the PXT division with 10,000+ employees is first impacted. Read More
What for HR leaders: Expect AI-led restructuring to redefine HR roles, upskill teams in AI literacy, focus on strategy and innovation, and prepare for leaner, tech-driven operations.
USEFUL HR TECH TOOLS
Use RemoFirst as your international HR solution; onboard full-time employees from anywhere in the world and streamline payroll, taxes and compliances policies.
Hire, pay, and manage teams globally with Oyster. Streamline payroll, ensure compliance, and simplify HR in +180 countries, all on one platform.
Hire and manage international employees with ease using Multiplier's global employment solutions. Expand globally smoothly and compliantly.
