Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

In the second part of our series on the new statutory right to neonatal care leave, which came into force on 6 April 2025, host Ellie Gelder is joined once again 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.

In part 2, we discuss:

• How to communicate with employees during neonatal care leave;
• Ongoing challenges for parents beyond their return to work;
• Interaction of neonatal care leave with other forms of family-friendly leave;
• Scenarios not covered by the new legislation; and
• Practical considerations, including amending internal policies, providing line manager training, and offering effective support.

Listen to our previous conversation here: Neonatal care leave (Part 1): What is the new right, who is eligible, and does the law go far enough?.

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 2025

Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 2025

Neonatal Care Leave and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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; and
• Key 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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; and
• The 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 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.

All information is correct at the time of recording.

References

Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023

Employment Rights Bill

Employment Rights Bill – Explanatory Notes

TUC 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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; and
• What's in the pipeline for data protection compliance?

Data Download

Our 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 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.

All information is correct at the time of recording.

The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 union

Extension to time limits for bringing employment tribunal claims

Creation of a Fair Work Agency to enforce certain rights

Other 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 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.

All information is correct at the time of recording.

The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 three, which coincides with International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Sam talks to host Ellie Gelder about:

·     The business case for universal accessibility;

·     Adopting a joined-up approach to internal and external accessibility, for example in the retail sector;

·     Understanding the different types of barriers (physical, information and communication, and attitudinal);

·     Adopting a holistic approach to accessibility; and

·     Examples of effective accessibility and allyship at work.

You can also listen to previous episodes in the mini-series:

·     Disability inclusion at work (Part 1): The lived experience, with Samantha Renke

·     Disability inclusion at work (Part 2): Narratives, reasonable adjustments, and the business case for accessibility, with Samantha Renke

* 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 two, Sam talks to host Ellie Gelder about:

·       problematic narratives around disability;

·       the financial pressures facing the disability community;

·       making reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities;

·       unconscious bias and intersectional nuances; and

·       why disability inclusion should be a priority for the C-suite and business leaders.

Join us for the concluding part to this mini-series next week when we will look at what genuine accessibility at work looks like. You can also listen to Disability inclusion at work (Part 1): The lived experience, with Samantha Renke here.

* 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.