The Work Couch

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  In the first part of our series on the new statutory right to neonatal care leave, which comes into force on 6 April 2025, host Ellie Gelder is joined by Joanna Holford, senior associate, from our employment, engagement and equality team, and Catriona Ogilvy, founder and chair of charity The Smallest Things.  Catriona and her team have worked tirelessly to campaign for better support for employees whose babies require neonatal care, while Joanna is frequently advising employer clients on all family-related rights.  We discuss: ·     Catriona's own lived experience of having a baby in neonatal care and why the law needed to change;·     Who is eligible for neonatal care leave and how neonatal care is defined by the legislation;·     The timing of neonatal care leave and an explanation of "Tier 1" and "Tier 2" leave;·     Pay during neonatal care leave and eligibility requirements;·     How partners may use neonatal care leave in addition to other forms of family-friendly leave; and·     Whether the new legislation goes far enough in supporting people. Join us for part 2 next time when we'll discuss the practicalities of implementing neonatal care leave. For in-depth information and support, please visit The Smallest Things or Working Families, the UK's national charity for working parents and carers.  * 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. References Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (General) Regulations 2025Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. In the first instalment of our series on what to expect at an employment tribunal, host Ellie Gelder is joined by Kim Wright, Senior Associate, from our Employment, engagement and equality team, and Joseph England, a Barrister from 3PB Chambers who specialises in employment law, to talk about appearing as a witness. We discuss: How employment tribunals differ from civil courts;Who may be required to appear as a witness;Preparation of witness statements;What to expect on the day of the hearing itself;Tricky but common scenarios, including: illness, travel disruption, and giving evidence from overseas; andKey dos and don'ts when giving evidence at, or attending, a virtual hearing. * 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.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  In the second part of this series on data protection, host Ellie Gelder is joined once again by Jon Bartley, partner and Helen Yost, senior associate, both from our data advisory team to discuss data protection compliance in the employment context, and how to successfully navigate the key risk areas. We discuss:  Why data protection is such a hot topic for employers now; Data subject access requests; Potential consequences of getting data protection wrong; Top tips for avoiding the worst consequences; and What's on the horizon for data protection law? To stay up to date with all the latest in data protection law, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter Data Dispatch. * 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.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. Host Ellie Gelder is joined by Charlotte Reid, senior associate, to explore the ground-breaking changes to the law on preventing sexual harassment of employees, which came into force on 26 October 2024, and further important changes on the horizon. They discuss:The various types of conduct that the term 'sexual harassment' can include;Legislative reforms introduced by the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 and what they mean for employers;Proposals under the Employment Rights Bill to: (i) further boost the obligation on employers to prevent sexual harassment, (ii) include third party harassment in the Equality Act 2010 and (iii) introduce changes to the rules on whistleblowing to protect those who call out sexual harassment;The term 'reasonable steps' and the practical ways for employers to comply;How the reforms align with the broader regulatory landscape and increasing scrutiny into ESG credentials, for example, in the financial services sector; andThe current pushback against DEI efforts in certain parts of the world and how this may affect DEI initiatives in the UK.* 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.ReferencesWorker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023Employment Rights BillEmployment Rights Bill – Explanatory NotesTUC poll on sexual harassment, bullying and verbal abuse at work (May 2023)TUC research on tackling and preventing sexual harassment (2022)Fawcett Society: Tackling sexual harassment in the workplace: recommendations for employers (2021)19th research on disability and sexual violence in the workplace (September 2023)Work Couch episode: Avoiding the pitfalls of social washing, with Kelly Thomson 

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. In the first of a two-part series, host Ellie Gelder is joined by Jon Bartley, partner and Helen Yost, senior associate, both from our data advisory team to discuss data protection compliance in the employment context, and how to successfully navigate the key risk areas. We discuss: Why data protection is such a hot topic for employers now;Examples of particularly significant enforcement in relation to employee data;Overview of the key data protection principles;Sensitive/special category data in the employment context;Data protection in recruitment and during the employment life cycle; andWhat's in the pipeline for data protection compliance?  Data DownloadOur Data and Privacy Group will be hosting our exclusive conference, Data Download, on 27 February 2025, with sessions from 2pm. The RPC specialist data teams and the ICO will examine key data protection challenges, from compliance to managing cyber incidents and disputes. Attendees will gain practical insights through an immersive case study, hear directly from Padi Dolatshahi, Principal Lawyer at the ICO, and explore upcoming developments in 2025—all while networking with leading professionals in the field. For further details and to RSVP, please click here.  To stay up to date with all the latest in data protection law, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter Data Dispatch.* 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.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. We kick off Season 3 with a look ahead to 2025, we will explore the employment law changes on the horizon as well as what you can be doing to prepare. Ellie Gelder is joined by Kelly Thomson, partner and RPC's ESG lead, and trainee solicitor in our employment team, Mimosa Canneti, to discuss:Strengthened trade union rights proposed by the Employment Rights Bill, including those relating to:Blacklisting; Strike action; Rules for statutory union recognition; Access rights; and Informing employees of their right to join a unionExtension to time limits for bringing employment tribunal claimsCreation of a Fair Work Agency to enforce certain rightsOther changes on the horizon To hear more about the reforms proposed by the Employment Rights Bill, including unfair dismissal protection, flexible working, "fire and rehire" restrictions and much more, listen to our previous episode click here with partner and head of RPC's Employment, Engagement and Equality team Patrick Brodie.* 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.