The World Employment Confederation, the organization representing the staffing industry globally, last week condemned the use of armed forces to disrupt peace, the multilateral order and territorial integrity. Many other businesses in the industry have also responded to the war in Ukraine by curtailing operations in Russia and rendering aid to those affected by the invasion.

“The private employment services industry is now focusing on how it can lend its support to people, including those displaced by the crisis,” the WEC stated. “The first priority of private employment agencies in the region is to support their own colleagues and agency workers, as well as their families as many attempt to flee Ukraine.”

It noted staffing firms around the world are taking several steps, including working with clients to ensure continued employment opportunities for Ukrainians who were in neighboring countries prior to the invasion. Some staffing firms are offering transportation and accommodations as well as legal and psychological assistance for family members of colleagues and agency workers, the WEC noted. In addition, websites and local support centers are being put in place.

Responses from businesses in the contingent workforce ecosystem include:

Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd. Tokyo-based Recruit, one of the world’s largest staffing firms, announced its operating companies have suspended business in Russia and added new content moderation procedures in light of the Ukraine war. This includes Indeed and Glassdoor.

Indeed has disabled its Russian website and removed all jobs from Russian military and state-owned enterprises, Recruit reported. Indeed has also denounced the invasion of Ukraine using messaging on its global websites, and replaced all job postings on its Russian website with a message denouncing the invasion.

Recruit said its Glassdoor business is also taking steps. Human moderators at Glassdoor are now conducting enhanced reviews of all user content submitted to Russian employers sanctioned by the US government. In addition, moderators are rejecting all reviews featuring propaganda, political references or advocacy-related references. Glassdoor is also removing company descriptions and business information on profiles of Russian employers sanctioned by the US government.

GreenLight.ai. The US-based worker classification and payroll platform is extending its employer-of-record services to support and employ Ukrainian professionals wherever they are located; it is also waiving fees and operating at cost. GreenLight.ai, which operates in 23 countries, is partnering with RemoteUkraine, a nonprofit project that functions like a talent marketplace with task- or time-based work options. It’s free to post jobs, search for candidates and receive applications.

UK-based staffing firms. A group of more than 45 large businesses, including staffing providers, are pressing the UK government to make it easier to hire those driven out by Russia’s invasion. Staffing giants Robert Walters and Impellam as well as Marks & Spencer, Asos and Lush are among the firms involved.

Toby Fowlston, chief executive of Robert Walters, said the firm had “committed to hiring displaced Ukrainians into our own business and as a recruitment company we will also represent them as potential employees to our clients. We will need government support to help expedite working visas to ensure we can act quickly.”

ADP. Payroll processing firm ADP recently announced that it has suspended all new sales of ADP services in Russia.

“We are deeply saddened by the escalating crisis in Ukraine and stand with our global community in calling for an end to the violence,” according to a statement by ADP. “We support humanitarian aid efforts providing critical relief to the people of Ukraine, and to date, we have provided nearly $1.5 million through donations from the ADP Foundation and our own associates to UNICEF USA, International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps and US Association for [United Nations Refugee Agency].”

Jobindex. The Denmark-based job board updated a job site that it had made a few years ago for Syrian refugees. Now operating as jobsforukrain.dk, it enables companies to place job ads for Ukrainians.

Upwork Inc. B2B talent platform Upwork announced last week that it is suspending business operations in Russia and Belarus. The move, which will fully take effect May 1, is starting with the shutting down of support for new business generation in each country.

A number of companies outside the ecosystem have suspended business in Russia as well. Here’s a list by Forbes of firms cutting ties with Russia.

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