The Work Couch

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  Content warning: The following content deals with some challenging themes around disability discrimination. Given the theme of this year's Disability History Month is disability, livelihood and employment, the Work Couch takes a deep dive into disability inclusion at work in a three-part mini-series with actress, writer, broadcaster and disability rights campaigner, Samantha Renke. In part one, Sam talks to host Ellie Gelder about her own lived experiences and insights as a disabled woman living in a disabling world. She also shares her thoughts on the social, medical and legal models of disability, as well as the meaning of the terms ableism and disabilism, and how they can arise in everyday situations.  Join us for part 2 next week when we will look at the narrative around disability, the financial pressures facing the disability community, making reasonable adjustments, and why disability inclusion should be a priority for the C-suite and business leaders. * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer To access further support or information, you may wish to visit Scope or Disability Rights UK. We 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. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.  

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  Handling disciplinary issues in the wrong way can lead to workplace conflict, legal risk and commercial headaches for employers. So what are the most tricky disciplinary issues that commonly arise, and how can employers navigate them? Host Ellie Gelder is joined by Joanna Holford, senior associate in RPC's employment, engagement and equality team, who shares her top tips on handling the following disciplinary issues: ·     The employee raises a grievance partway through the disciplinary process.·     The employee commences a period of sickness absence during the disciplinary process.·     Adjusting the disciplinary process for an employee who has a disability.·     The alleged behaviour is out of character for the employee concerned.·     The disciplinary allegations involve a criminal element.·     Refusal by the employee to cooperate with the employer’s disciplinary process. ·     Reluctant or uncooperative witnesses in a disciplinary investigation. * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer We 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. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice. References ACAS code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures ACAS guidance

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  On 10 October 2024, 100 days - or thereabouts - since Labour gained power, the government published the first draft of the Employment Rights Bill, a Bill which businesses and employment lawyers have been eagerly anticipating, and which commentators are saying heralds the most significant and far-reaching reform to employment rights in over 40 years.  We await further detail on how each of the employment law reforms (28 in total) will operate in practice, and we expect the Bill to evolve and alter as it progresses through parliament and enters the consultation phase. However, to provide an initial overview of seven of the most ground-breaking reforms, host Ellie Gelder is joined by Patrick Brodie, partner and head of RPC's employment, engagement and equality team.  They discuss: ·     Removal of the two-year qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection;·     Requiring employers to allow flexible working "where practical";·     Changes to employer liability for harassment of its employees, including amendments to the forthcoming new proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment of employees during the course of their employment, which is coming into force on 26 October 2024;·     New restrictions on employers using "fire and rehire" measures to impose detrimental changes to employees' terms and conditions;·     Widening the scope of the collective redundancy consultation obligations set out in s.188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;·     Family-focused reforms, including changes to eligibility for paternity leave, ordinary parental leave, statutory sick pay and bereavement leave; and·     Complex reforms to the law on zero hours contracts and guaranteed working hours. * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer We 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. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.  References Employment Rights BillEmployment Rights Bill: Explanatory Notes

Content warning: The following page deals with themes around traumatic births, pregnancy loss, maternal deaths, and racism. Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. As we celebrate Black History Month, the theme of which this year is reclaiming narratives, and as we also approach Baby Loss Awareness Week, the Work Couch is devoting a special episode to a very important but perhaps rarely discussed topic: black maternal experiences and the impact on employees and their families. Guest host, Shanice Holder, associate in our professional and financial risks team and member of our ethnicity community, is joined by Tinuke Awe and Clo Rebecca Abe from charity Five X More, named after the MBRRACE report, which in 2018 found that black women are five times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. This shocking and heartbreaking statistic drove Tinuke and Clo to found their charity to campaign for better maternal outcomes for black women and birthing people. And also joining the conversation, Tonye Alagoa, associate in RPC's risk and compliance team, who shares his experiences as the partner of a black woman. They discuss: ·     Commonly reported experiences of black women during pregnancy, labour and the post-natal period; ·     The complex and multi-faceted reasons behind the statistics, including the role of stereotypes, systemic issues, gaps in knowledge, and misinformation;·     How black women and their partners can prepare to advocate effectively during the pregnancy, labour and afterwards;·     How employers can support colleagues affected by these issues; and·     The importance of raising awareness across the workforce and creating safe spaces for people to talk about their experiences.To access further support and information, you may wish to visit: Five X More, AIMS or Birthrights.   * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer We 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. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.  

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. Ahead of ADHD awareness month in October, we are devoting our latest deep-dive mini-series to the topic of neurodiversity. Given 15 to 20% of the UK population are neurodivergent - and more than half of Gen Z identify as "definitely" or "somewhat" neurodiverse - it is essential for employers to understand how neurodiversity interacts with, and affects, employment law and the world of work. In the concluding part of our mini-series, we discuss how employers can implement effective neuro-inclusion at each stage of the employment life cycle. Host Ellie Gelder is joined by Russell Botting, neuro-inclusion services director and Steve Hill, chief commercial officer, who are both from Auticon, and RPC's own Victoria Othen, who is a consultant lawyer in our employment, engagement and equality team. We discuss:·        Why neurodiversity is so important to the C-suite and to an organisation's commercial success and ESG strategy;·        Practical ways of fostering a neuro-inclusive culture at work, for example inclusion passports during the onboarding process;·        Talent attraction, interview techniques and training for interviewers;·        Adjusting performance criteria and sickness absence triggers;·        Examples of effective wellbeing measures to support neurodivergent colleagues;·        Coaching and transitional support on promotion; and·        Neuro-inclusive reorganisations. You can listen to previous episodes of our mini-series on Neurodiversity at work  here (Part 1: Myths, misconceptions and the lived experience) and here (Part 2: The law, HR considerations and wellbeing).  * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer We 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. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. Ahead of ADHD awareness month in October, we are devoting our latest deep-dive mini-series to the topic of neurodiversity. Given 15 to 20% of the UK population are neurodivergent - and more than half of Gen Z identify as "definitely" or "somewhat" neurodiverse - it is essential for employers to understand how neurodiversity interacts with, and affects, employment law and the world of work. In part two, host Ellie Gelder is joined by Kelly Thomson, partner and RPC's ESG strategy lead, and Victoria Othen, consultant employment lawyer at RPC, to discuss the legal, HR and wellbeing considerations in relation to neurodiversity at work. Looking at each stage of the employment life cycle, we discuss: ·       Neurodivergence and the legal definition of disability;·       How different types of disability discrimination may arise;·       Recruitment and the duty to make reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent applicants;·       How performance management can trigger legal risks;·       The interplay between neurodivergence and mental health;·       Promotion and progression of neurodivergent talent and potential challenges; and·       Managing a reorganisation where neurodivergent workers are at risk of redundancy.  Join us for part 3 next week when we will look at how to implement effective neuroinclusion at work. And if you missed Neurodiversity at work (Part 1): Myths, misconceptions and the lived experience, you can listen here.  * Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer We 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. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment. Ahead of ADHD awareness month in October, we are devoting our latest deep-dive mini-series to the topic of neurodiversity. Given 15 to 20% of the UK population are neurodivergent - and more than half of Gen Z identify as "definitely" or "somewhat" neurodiverse - it is essential for employers to understand how neurodiversity interacts with, and affects, employment law and the world of work.In part one, we explore the lived experience of neurodivergence and dispel some common myths and misconceptions. Host Ellie Gelder is joined by a panel of four special guests: Ashlea Cromby and Tracey West of Auticon, Alice de Coverley of 3PB Chambers and RPC's own Victoria Othen (further details below).We discuss:Terminology;The challenges of gaining a diagnosis;Associated difficulties post-diagnosis – in Alice's words: "It's like learning the plot twist at the end of the book and then re -reading that book with a new and fresh understanding of who you are and who you have always been";How neurodivergence affects a person's day-to-day experience at work;Masking neurodevelopmental conditions;Requesting reasonable adjustments and examples of supportive measures; andHow our guests perceive the interaction between neurodivergence and disability. Our panelAshlea Cromby, neuroinclusion advisor and Tracey West, careers coach, from Auticon, a global IT consulting business and social enterprise that exclusively employs adults on the autism spectrum in permanent roles as IT consultants.Alice de Coverley, specialist education equality and public law barrister from 3PB Chambers. As an ADHDer herself, Alice is treasurer and trustee of Neurodiversity in Law. She's passionate about advancing the representation of all neurodivergent lawyers and recently won the Legal 500 ESG 2024 Disability Neurodiversity Bar Champion of the Year Award. RPC's own Victoria Othen, employment law consultant who frequently advises employers on disability discrimination claims, an increasing number of which involve neurodivergence. * 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. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Trigger warning: The following content deals with some challenging themes including racism, crime, and alcohol and drug addiction. Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.  In our first live episode, recorded before a special audience, we were thrilled to kick off the British Retail Consortium's second annual diversity and inclusion conference held in partnership with RPC.  Host Ellie Gelder was joined by three inspirational guests:  ·     Trevor D Sterling, Senior Partner at Moore Barlow, first black Senior Partner in a top 100 UK law firm and founder of social mobility platform U-Triumph;·     Tskenya-Sarah Frazer, Entrepreneur, Author and Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Founder and CEO of TSKENYA Footwear and Pride of Britain award winner; and ·     Mark Ash, who from being unable to read or write, to sleeping rough after over a decade of addiction, now supports others as a Lived Experience Coordinator at Forward Trust.For some highlights of the conversation, including our guests' lived experiences of social barriers to employment, how to overcome those barriers, and their key takeaways for employers and colleagues, watch these short videos: ·     The Work Couch Live 2024 - Lived experiences of social barriers to employment - https://vimeo.com/989588843/768de7f6cf?share=copy ·     The Work Couch Live 2024 - How to overcome social barriers to employment - https://vimeo.com/989588881/d918cfbe6c?share=copy ·     The Work Couch Live 2024 - Key takeaways for employers and colleagues - https://vimeo.com/989588890/9bb0a24d2e?share=copy * 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. We 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.