The Brightmine Podcast (UK)

Uxshely Carcamo, a lawyer, psychotherapist and registered nutritionist and author at XpertHR, talks about the impact of the pandemic on mental wellbeing, the need to challenge the misconception that mental wellbeing is wholly mental ill health, potent

Noelle Murphy, senior HR practice editor at XpertHR, explores the findings from XpertHR's recent HR careers survey including the impact of the pandemic and hybrid working practices on HR professionals and discusses priorities and challenges on the HR agenda.

What are the employment law issues you need to know about when managing reluctant returners? Darren Newman , employment lawyer, guides you through the key legal considerations to have in mind when handling employees who are reluctant to return to the workplace following a period of remote working, including issues relating to: the contract of employment; custom and practice; vulnerable employees;...

CEO of the CIPD Peter Cheese joins us to talk about his new book  The New World of Work , which explores the many factors shaping work, workplaces, workforces and our working lives. Peter explores the principles around which we can build a future that is good for people, for business and for societies. Peter is the co-chair of the Flexible Working Taskforce, a partnership across government departm...

Louise Haycock , partner and immigration solicitor at law firm Fragomen, joins us to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the post-Brexit immigration regime for employers, including the impact of the EU settlement scheme and right to work checks. Louise also explores how HR can use an effective immigration strategy to help with recruitment and retention issues, and highlights the key immigr...

We highlight key cases due to be decided this year and discuss their impact on HR. These include cases on: vicarious liability, holiday pay, agency workers, age discrimination, and coronavirus-related health and safety cases. The 2022 cases that we discuss will decide the following questions: When is an employer vicariously liable for its employees' actions? How should employers calculate holiday...

Adrian Martin , head of the employment team at law firm Burges Salmon, shares his top tips on some tricky legal issues that can arise in the recruitment process relating to: managers making unauthorised promises to candidates; remote working arrangements; inducing a breach of restrictive covenants; and flexing the length of probationary periods.

How is HR responding to the opportunities and challenges presented by the move to hybrid working?  Noelle Murphy , XpertHR's senior HR practice editor, discusses the findings of our recent survey and unpacks what these mean for HR practitioners. We explore: issues around consistency of approach; cultivating a culture of collaboration; avoiding the risk of a two-tier workforce; creating meaningful...

How are employment tribunals approaching claims arising from the coronavirus pandemic? We explore the most important decisions handed down so far this year and discuss their practical implications for HR, including cases relating to: health and safety; the furlough scheme; varying terms and conditions; and flexible working requests.

Tricia Halpin, chief people officer at  Masthaven Bank , explains how her team has implemented the Women in Leadership initiative, a programme to improve gender diversity across senior roles. She shares her tips on how HR can tackle the issue of poor gender diversity to make a meaningful difference. We also hear from two participants on the programme who explain the impact that the initiative has...

Most people want to say and do the right thing when it comes to diversity and inclusion but often hold back from asking questions out of a fear of being judged. We put some of those often unasked, and sometimes provocative, questions to  Joy Stephens , a US-based diversity, equality and inclusion consultant. Joy discusses, among other things, what being "woke" really means; what separates tokenism...

Jo Broadbent , counsel knowledge lawyer at Hogan Lovells, guides you through the fundamentals of handling flexible working requests and discusses the future of flexible working in the post-pandemic workplace. We discuss the law and best practice when responding to requests; practical steps to avoid indirect discrimination complaints; learning points from the recent case of  Thompson v Scancrown Lt...

Doron Davidson-Vidavski, executive trainer and facilitator at  Strevas , takes us through the communication skills that line managers need to be effective as a people manager in a hybrid working model and how to develop and coach such skills.

When was the last time you reviewed your employees' contracts of employment? Do they reflect changed circumstances and current business needs?  Max Winthrop , partner and head of the employment law team at Short, Richardson and Forth LLP, examines why it is important to understand and review your employees' contracts of employment, including those terms that may evolve through custom and practice....

Professor Cary Cooper, CBE, Professor of organisational health and psychology at Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester, President of the CIPD, President of the Institute of Welfare and Chair of the National Forum for Health and Wellbeing talks to us about the future of the workplace, the role of line managers in its success, and the key skills required by line manager...

Rochelle Murinas , HR professional and managing director at Innov8 Human Resources, talks to us about the skills required to manage a redundancy process effectively and empathetically, while minimising the emotional impact on all those involved.

Joanne Lockwood, transgender awareness specialist and founder of  SEE Change Happen , shares her experience as a transgender woman in the workplace and explores how organisations can cultivate transgender inclusive practices. We discuss how employers can "smile, engage and educate"; the importance of creating psychologically safe workplaces; the support employers can offer to a trans person's fami...

This summer sees employees who holiday abroad facing quarantine when they return, work-life balance issues for parents during school holidays, two major sporting events, and the furlough scheme winding down. Principal employment law editor Stephen Simpson explains the unique challenges the summer of 2021 provides for HR.

Dee Caunt, chief executive at the  Dyslexia Association , shares her thoughts on how organisations can support neurodiverse employees and benefit from their unique strengths. We discuss: the concept of neurodiversity; the benefits of employing neurodiverse people; the challenges that neurodiverse employees may face at work; making reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process; handling perform...

Louise Roberts, people development director at housing provider  Orbit , explains how her team has implemented hybrid working and shares her tips on how HR can capitalise on this opportunity to improve engagement, productivity and collaboration. We also discuss how to support staff who are unable to work from home and how to ensure employees' wellbeing.

Kate Gamester , knowledge development lawyer at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP, discusses what employers need to know about carrying out right to work checks in the UK, including: the process for conducting checks; coronavirus-related concessions; and conducting checks on European nationals following Brexit.

What process should employers follow when moving their workforce to hybrid working? Principal employment law editor Stephen Simpson joins us to discuss the legal aspects of implementing hybrid working and answer HR's questions about making the move. The coronavirus pandemic provides an unprecedented opportunity for employers to examine their approach to flexible working. Many employers are now pla...

How has HR risen to the challenges of COVID-19? Senior HR practice editor, Noelle Murphy, takes us through the latest findings from XpertHR's annual survey of HR roles and responsibilities. We also discuss key metrics for the profession, including the ratio of HR practitioners to employees, budgets and key priorities for the year ahead.

Max Winthrop , partner and head of the employment law team at Short, Richardson and Forth LLP, discusses the circumstances that may justify a some other substantial reason dismissal including: changing an employee's terms and conditions; third-party pressure to dismiss; a breakdown in working relations; and where an employee refuses to have the coronavirus vaccine.

Vicki Robinson, deputy director at the  Miscarriage Association  and  Jo Broadbent , counsel knowledge lawyer at Hogan Lovells, share their thoughts on how HR, line managers and colleagues can support employees affected by miscarriage or stillbirth. Topics discussed include: employees' rights to time off; emotional support and communicating sensitively; returning to work; the rights of partners an...