Ethics in the digital workplace
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
Healthcare Environmental Services (HES) has confirmed that it has ceased to operate resulting in the loss of all 400 jobs. The company, which had its headquarters in North Lanarkshire as well as ten regional centres across the UK, had lost contracts with National Health Service Scotland and 17 National Health Service trusts in England to dispose of clinical waste after it was found to be stockpiling waste. Workers have been given notices of redundancy, though it is not clear how services will be maintained in the future and whether some workers might be transferred to new contractors under the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) provisions.
Eurofound (2018), Healthcare Environmental Services , Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 96287, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/96287.