The Work Couch

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. Continuing our deep dive into the Employment Rights Act 2025, this week we discuss the imminent wave of employment law reforms coming into effect in April 2026 - and the key actions to take now. Host Ellie Gelder is joined by Charlotte White, partner, and Ramina Krivich, trainee solicitor, both from our Employment, Engagement & Equality team, who share their insights on:Statutory sick pay reforms and the practical steps employers can take to prepare;The establishment of the Fair Work Agency and how this will impact compliance procedures, litigation risk and settlement negotiations, and record-keeping;The doubling of the collective redundancy protective award period and how this could affect decisions on restructures and how consultation is undertaken;Trade union-related reforms and navigating a new landscape for employee relations;The extension of whistleblowing protections;Family-friendly changes; andTop tips to ensure business readiness for the April 2026 reforms.The Work Couch will bring you more updates on the Employment Rights Act (ERA) as they develop. In the meantime, you can keep on top of all of the 25 plus employment law reforms introduced by the ERA - as well as access key watch-outs – by signing up to our ERA tracker, a free resource which is regularly updated by the Employment, Engagement & Equality team.  For a more detailed discussion on the family-friendly changes introduced by the ERA, listen to our previous Work Couch episode with Joanna Holford and Megan Latham here. * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet ExplorerWe hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please subscribe to be notified when new episodes release. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with the latest episodes.All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.ReferencesNext Steps to Make Work PayEmployment Rights Act 2025

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. Kicking off Season 4, we take a deep dive into how the Employment Rights Act 2025 will transform a key area of employment law: family-friendly rights at work. We explain what the changes mean, when they are expected to come into force, and the practical steps employers can take now to stay one step ahead.  Host Ellie Gelder is joined by Joanna Holford, senior associate, and Megan Latham, trainee solicitor, both from our Employment, Engagement & Equality team, who share their insights on:New "day one" rights to statutory paternity leave, unpaid parental leave, bereavement leave and how these will apply in practice;The introduction of extended paternity leave for eligible bereaved fathers and partners, (separate from the ERA but also coming into force in April 2026);Enhanced protections for pregnant workers and new mothers against dismissal;Flexible working reforms;The recently published terms of reference for the government's review into carers leave; andTop tips to prepare for this new era of family-friendly rights.The Work Couch will bring you more updates on the Employment Rights Act (ERA) as they develop. In the meantime, you can keep on top of all of the 25 plus employment law reforms introduced by the ERA - as well as access key watch-outs – by signing up to our ERA tracker, a free resource which is regularly updated by the Employment, Engagement & Equality team. * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet ExplorerWe hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please subscribe to be notified when new episodes release. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with the latest episodes.All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.References1.    Next Steps to Make Work Pay 2.    Employment Rights Act 2025 3.    Government's Parental Leave and Pay Review 4.    The Employment Rights Act 2025 (Parental and Paternity Leave) (Removal of Qualifying Periods etc.) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/15)5.    Work Couch podcast: Pregnancy loss and work (Part 1): Does the law reflect expected work cultures? (14 June 2023)6.    Government consultation on day one right to bereavement leave (Closed on 15 January 2026)7.    Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 20248.    Draft Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave Regulations 20269.    Government Factsheet: Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers10. Government consultation on enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers (Closed on 15 January 2026)11. Work Couch podcast: Carers week special (Part 2): Intersectional nuances, wellbeing and creating carer-friendly workplaces (25 June 2025)12. Terms of reference for government review into employment rights for unpaid carers (19 November 2025)13. Carers UK Report: Juggling work and unpaid care (January 2019)

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  Host Ellie Gelder is once again joined by consultant employment lawyer Victoria Othen to talk about disability at work and what reasonable adjustments look like at each stage of the employment life cycle. In part two, which is packed with practical examples, they discuss: Relevant factors when assessing the reasonableness of an adjustment;Risks and exceptions relating to pre-employment health questions during the recruitment process;Case law on reasonable adjustments in respect of performance and attendance management, and redundancy processes; Reasonable adjustments to policies and procedures;Low or zero cost adjustments; andVictoria's top tips for employers to comply with their duty to make reasonable adjustments. Listen to our previous Work Couch episode: Disability at work (Part 1): "Right to try work" and the law on reasonable adjustments. Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer All information is correct at the time of recording.  The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice. References 1.     Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on workplace adjustments2.    Noor v Foreign & Commonwealth Office EAT/0470/103.     Dominique v Toll Global Forwarding Ltd EAT/0308/134.    AECOM Ltd v Mallon [2023] EAT 1045.     Adjusting your recruitment process for a candidate with a disability: What is reasonable? (RPC article, 18 September 2023)6.    Waddingham v NHS Business Services Authority ET/1804896/13 & ET/1805624/137.     Shearer v South Lanarkshire Council 4107433/23 (Scottish ET)8.    Archibald v Fife Council [2004] HL 329.    Rentokil Initial UK Ltd v Miller [2024] EAT 37  

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. In our second live episode, recorded before a special audience of RPC clients, host Ellie Gelder is joined by three leading voices in employment law to dissect - and make sense of - the transformational and ground-breaking Employment Rights Bill. The panel comprised:Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor of European law and employment law at the University of Cambridge; John Bowers KC, of Littleton Chambers. John is Principal of Brasenose College, University of Oxford, and also sits part-time as a judge in the Employment Appeal Tribunal; andShantha David, Head of Legal Services at Unison, the UK's largest trade union.The panellists each share their insights into the practical implications of many of the key reforms introduced by the Bill, including: "day one" rights to protection from unfair dismissal; restrictions on fire and re-hire; trade union-related reforms; changes to collective redundancy; bereavement leave and the strengthened duty to prevent sexual harassment. They also provide their key watch-outs and tips for employers and business leaders, as they look to navigate the evolving employment law landscape.Please note: This episode was recorded on 30 September 2025 in front of a live audience at RPC's London offices as part of the Employment, Engagement and Equality team's panel event exploring the Employment Rights Bill. All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.* These podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes. References1. Employment Rights Bill 2. Written evidence submitted by Professor Alan Bogg and Michael Ford KC to The Employment Rights Public Bill Committee (ERB69) (December 2024)

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  Host Ellie Gelder is joined by consultant employment lawyer Victoria Othen to explore the government's proposed changes to welfare and disability benefits and how this may impact the duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments. In part one, they discuss: ·     The background to the proposed "Right to try work" scheme; ·     A reminder of the legal definition of disability as set out in the Equality Act 2010;·     Factors that employment tribunals take into account when assessing if a claimant is disabled within the meaning of the Act;·     The legal components of the duty to make reasonable adjustments; and·     Whether or not employers require knowledge of a disability to trigger their duty to make reasonable adjustments. Join us for part 2, when we will discuss what reasonable adjustments look like at each stage of the employment life cycle.  * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes. All information is correct at the time of recording.  The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.Please note: All information is correct at the time of recording. However, please note that this episode was recorded before the recent cabinet reshuffle and consequential changes in ministerial responsibilities, which took place on 5 September 2025. References 1.     Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper (Government consultation opened on 18 March 2025 and closed on 30 June 2025)2.    Employers: Influencing disabled people’s employment through responses to reasonable adjustments, Disability & Society (Research by Disability Research Specialists, 19 July 2022)3.     Work Couch episode: Addiction at work: Disciplinary or wellbeing issue? With Charlotte Reid and Eleena Misra, KC4.    Work Couch episode: Narratives, reasonable adjustments, and the business case for accessibility, with Samantha Renke

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  As the Summer holidays draw to a close - and the backlog in employment tribunal cases continues - the Work Couch is going back to school with a lesson on judicial mediation (JM). JM, which is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), has a reported success rate of 65-70%, but how does it work in practice? Host Ellie Gelder is joined by senior associate Charlotte Reid and trainee solicitor Brodie Walker to explain: How JM differs from other forms of ADR;How JM works in practice and what employers can expect;The role of the judge in JM;When, in the life cycle of an employment tribunal claim or dispute, might the employer look to instigate the JM process;The pros and cons of JM; andThe impact that the incoming Employment Rights Bill may have on the use of JM in the future. * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes. All information is correct at the time of recording.  The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice. ReferencesGuidance on Alternative Dispute Resolution issued by the President of Employment Tribunals in England and Wales (July 2023)