Brightmine legal editor Lilia Dangi joins the podcast to talk through recent and upcoming trade union-related reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025. She discusses how these changes are modernising industrial relations and rebalancing the relationship between employers and unions, and looks in particular at:

• the new duty to inform workers of their right to join a union;
• unions' right of access to the workplace; and
• the role of the Fair Work Agency.

Tune in to hear what employers need to know, and how these reforms could reshape the future of industrial relations.

Related resources

• Employment Rights Act 2025 hub
• Employment Rights Act 2025 trade union law changes - your questions answered
• The ERA era - takeaways from our trade union reforms roundtable
• How to lead HR planning for the Employment Rights Act 2025
• Webinar: Employment Rights Act 2025 - a user's guide

Some major changes are coming to the harassment laws in October. Global inequalities specialist – and licensed skipper – Georgie Williams joins the podcast to talk about what it's like to draw up an anti-harassment policy on a ship. What does it mean when you can't "clock off" and go home in the way you can with land-based office jobs? How does this change dynamics? What challenges does this raise?

Resources

• Sexual harassment risk assessment form
• How to lead HR planning for the Employment Rights Act 2025
• On your radar - Employment Rights Act 2025 updates and HR mythbusting
• Anti-harassment and anti-bullying policy

Organisation design expert and From-To founder Lilian Duckart joins Brightmine HR strategy and practice editor Laura Kimpton to discuss how HR departments can use organisation design to meet the changing needs of their business - and how AI can help.

Resources

• Leading practice guide - organisation design: What is it?
• How to lead HR planning for the Employment Rights Act 2025
• On your radar - Employment Rights Act 2025 updates and HR mythbusting

Research suggests that AI is making a nonsense of the traditional equivalence between output and productivity and creating a new category of worker: the person who is thriving themselves into exhaustion.

Jeremy Hollander joins the podcast to discuss how HR can tackle these issues by upgrading productivity measurements to distinguish sustainable high performance from intensity that is destined to end in burnout.

Related resources

• Webinar: Maximise HR efficiency - AI solutions that drive business growth and increase employee satisfaction
• Webinar: Mapping the path from Excel to AI - An expedition into people analytics
• AI fundamentals: How to identify AI needs in HR
• Use of AI chatbots at work policy

Pay gap reporting is about to get an important upgrade.

Michelle Gyimah, pay gap strategist and founder of Equality Pays, joins the podcast to break down what the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes really mean - and how HR can get ahead of the likely next wave: ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Resources

How to measure and report a gender pay gap

How to lead HR planning for the Employment Rights Act 2025

On your radar - Employment Rights Act 2025 updates and HR mythbusting

With early pay awards showing signs of growth, Sheila Attwood joins the podcast to dig into what the data tells us about pay award plans for the year ahead, and how employers can navigate the growing tension between affordability and employee expectations.

Pay trends March 2026: Pay awards edge up in early 2026 but outlook remains cautious

Pay award forecasts for 2026

On your radar - Employment Rights Act 2025 hub

The Employment Rights Act 2025 marks a major shift in unfair dismissal law. From January 2027, the qualifying period will drop from two years to six months - applying retrospectively to employees hired from July 2026 - and the cap on compensatory awards will be removed altogether. Stephen Simpson, principal editor at Brightmine, joins the podcast to break down the changes and share practical steps HR should be taking now to prepare.

Related resources

How to manage probationary periods

How to lead HR planning for the Employment Rights Act 2025

On your radar - Employment Rights Act 2025 hub

Webinar: Employment Rights Act 2025 - a user's guide

Caroline Green, author of The Career Confidence Toolkit for Women, joins the podcast to discuss measures in the Government's Employment Rights Act 2025 - harassment and flexible working reforms, menopause action plans - and set out ways in which employers and employees alike can benefit from the forthcoming legislative changes.

Read the transcript

Related resources

HR for HR: The Employment Rights Act 2025 - will it improve the lives of women in the workplace?

How to lead HR planning for the Employment Rights Act 2025

On your radar - Employment Rights Act 2025 hub

Neurodiversity. Menopause. Men's health. What are organisations doing and what should they be doing to truly support the wellbeing of their people? Brightmine HR data insight analysts Hannah Mason and Vernujaa Nagandiram join the podcast to reveal surprising trends and share their latest research insights. Tune in now and discover what your organisation could be doing better - starting today.

Read the transcript

• Webinar: Supporting men's health in the workplace - a holistic approach to wellbeing
• Workplace wellbeing: Who gets left behind?
• Menopause policy
• Model neurodiversity policy

What's on the horizon for HR and reward professionals in 2026?

In this episode, Brightmine experts Bar Huberman and Sheila Attwood break down the latest research and reveal the top priorities shaping the year ahead. Plus, CEO Scott Walker joins the conversation to explore one of the most transformative trends of recent years - AI in the workplace.

Tune in for actionable insights, expert analysis, and a look at what's next for HR strategy.

On your radar - Employment Rights Bill updates and HR mythbusting

How to lead HR planning for the Employment Rights Bill

Training guides and PowerPoint presentations: The complete list

Top HR priorities for 2026