The Brightmine Podcast (UK)

Louise Haycock, director at Fragomen, takes us through the implications of Theresa May's resignation and the new proposed Brexit date of 31st October 2019.

Issues that can arise during maternity leave range from the mundane, such as keeping lines of communication open, to the dramatic, such as putting an employee at risk of redundancy. We are joined by principal employment law editor Stephen Simpson to discuss common scenarios during maternity leave, and how to deal with them.

Almost one year on from the introduction of the GDPR, we discuss its continuing importance for HR and the potential impact of Brexit on transfers of personal data. We are joined by senior employment law editor Susie Munro to go through some current data protection issues of interest to HR. We look at: potential enforcement action and the importance of staff training; the use of artificial intellig...

XpertHR's annual survey of HR roles and responsibilities covers HR priorities over the coming year, budgets for carrying out activities and ratio of HR practitioners to employees. Senior HR practice editor, Noelle Murphy, takes us through latest findings, key points of note from the research and identifies trends over time. Recruitment challenges for the HR profession and the impact of Brexit are...

Handling disciplinary and grievance situations is a perennial issue for HR, and having robust procedures in place is the cornerstone of a fair process. Max Winthrop, head of employment law at Short Richardson and Forth LLP, joins us to discuss some of the key points you need to have in mind, including how recent updates to the Acas guidance on disciplinary and grievance situations may impact your...

Settlement agreements form an essential part of an employer's toolkit, providing a means to terminate employment on mutually acceptable terms without the risk of tribunal claims. Their success, however, depends on effective negotiation with the employee and compliance with technical rules. Nick Chronias , partner at DAC Beachcroft LLP, joins us to discuss the key features of the settlement process...

How should employers approach political discussions at work? Can employers prevent employees from displaying pro- or anti-Brexit paraphernalia at work? What about staff campaigning or protesting outside working hours? Will employers making redundancies because of Brexit really choose leave voters as the first to go? We are joined by principal employment law editor Stephen Simpson to discuss five s...

With 29 March fast approaching, we talk to Louise Haycock, a director and immigration solicitor at Fragomen, about what employers should be doing to prepare for all Brexit scenarios. Louise discusses the potential implications for employers of the various parliamentary outcomes, including the following: the impact on EU citizens working in the UK and vice versa; managing international assignments...

The recent decision of  Awan v ICTS (UK) Ltd  highlights the risk of dismissing an employee who is in receipt of permanent health insurance payments.  Laurie Anstis , director with Boyes Turner LLP, explains the implications of the decision and the steps you can take to mitigate against the substantial financial risk of getting it wrong. Presenter Laura Merrylees is joined by Laurie Anstis. 

Employee wellbeing is high on the HR agenda, given its relationship with improved business performance. We explore XpertHR's latest research based on the experience of over 400 HR practitioners around initiatives in five key areas: health; job-related financial security; working environment; work-based relationships; and job purpose. We look at the top three reasons for organisations running wellb...

The #MeToo movement has become a global phenomenon and is rarely out of the news. But what should employers be doing to combat sexual harassment in the workplace? Kelly Thomson , legal director at law firm RPC and XpertHR contributing author, gives us some top tips on the steps that employers can take to prevent sexual harassment. Kelly also gives her insight into how employers should deal with co...

Which employment cases will have the biggest impact on HR in 2019? We assess the likely impact on employers of upcoming cases on: the national minimum wage, shared parental leave, holiday pay, restrictive covenants, collective bargaining, covert CCTV, and employment status. The 2019 cases that we discuss pose the following questions: Are sleep-in care workers entitled to the national minimum wage...

In this roundtable podcast, members of the XpertHR editorial team reflect on the key employment law developments of 2018 and the impact of these for HR, including: Brexit; the GDPR; the apprenticeship levy; pay reporting; parental bereavement leave; and family-friendly policies. With many of the changes likely to affect employers of all sizes and in differing sectors, we consider what employers ne...

Charlotte Billot-Taylor, Leader - Employee Relations, Policy & Advice at PwC, discusses her organisation's approach to flexible working and transparency around family-friendly policies. She shares the experience of PwC in introducing new initiatives designed around various flexible working patterns, and offers advice for any organisations looking to evaluate or modify flexible working policies or...

Laurie Anstis, director with Boyes Turner LLP and updating author at XpertHR, focusses on how employers can avoid unfair dismissals when going through a redundancy exercise. Laurie covers when to seek volunteers, how to go about the consultation process, identifying and applying selection criteria, scoring those at risk of redundancy, avoiding redundancy problems and dealing with appeals against d...

Employers have awarded only modest pay rises over recent years, but what do they have in store for 2019? XpertHR managing editor for pay and HR practice Sheila Attwood joins us to discuss what organisations are planning on the pay front in 2019, including the likely level of pay awards and the factors that are putting pressure on organisations to make higher or lower increases. Presenter Laura Mer...

XpertHR reward consultant Penne Cecil-Hutton joins us to share her insight into the steps employers are taking to address or improve the gender pay gap within their organisations, and the most common queries that employers have with preparing or interpreting gender pay gap figures. We also round up what employers need to do to prepare for the next date of publication of gender pay gap reports in 2...

In the recent decision of Talon Engineering Ltd v Smith, the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld an earlier tribunal finding that an employer's refusal to postpone a disciplinary hearing because of the unavailability of the employee's companion led to the employee being unfairly dismissed. Consultant editor, Darren Newman, explains the background to the case and its legal implications. We go on to d...

Senior HR practice editor Noelle Murphy discusses the trends in key HR metrics gathered by XpertHR for over a decade. We cover movements in sickness absence rates, labour turnover - including rates among employees with less than 12 months' service - and changes in the ratio of HR practitioners to employees, and consider what these changes mean for HR and the wider business. Presenter Laura Merryle...

Embedding an effective mental health first-aid structure in your organisation is a key step to ensuring the mental wellbeing of your workforce. Mental health first-aid instructor and management trainer, Peter Larkum, takes you through what you need to know about mental health first aid at work.

Louise Haycock, a senior manager at Fragomen and updating author at XpertHR, outlines where all things Brexit stand as of now for employers, what the end of free movement will mean for current and future employees from the European Economic Area and the implications of a "no deal" Brexit. Louise also covers what steps HR can take to reassure any employees who may be directly affected by the end of...

The right to know who holds data about you and how it is being processed has long been a fundamental part of data protection law. The GDPR has brought in a renewed focus on transparency, and employers need to be prepared to respond quickly, should an employee or job applicant make a data subject access request. We discuss the main changes in the procedure for responding to a subject access request...

The headlines are being dominated by "gig economy" employment status cases, but there are plenty of other important employment law cases coming up. We discuss the potential implications for employers of forthcoming rulings on whistleblowing, data protection, restrictive covenants, covert CCTV and violence at work-related social events.

In the recent decision in Hextall v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police and another, the Employment Appeal Tribunal opened up the question of whether or not an employer's policy of giving a period of full pay to mothers on maternity leave, but paying only statutory shared parental pay to partners, is indirectly discriminatory. Douglas Leach, who represents Mr Hextall in the case and is a barr...

With the World Cup 2018 starting on 14 June, we can safely say that football fever is about to arrive in the workplace. We discuss how employers can make the World Cup a home win by taking advantage of all the employment engagement opportunities that this event can bring. We look at some issues that might arise during the World Cup and we take a look at two employment law cases, Post Office v Lidd...