The Work Couch

The term "social washing" is increasingly used to name and shame businesses – with substantial commercial consequences. But what does it actually mean? And how can businesses avoid the pitfalls?   Ellie Gelder is joined by Kelly Thomson , partner and RPC's ESG lead, to explore the issue of social washing, including:   ·     What the "S" in ESG means, how far it e...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. Whistleblowing commonly features in today's top news stories, recent examples including the Post Office and Horizon dispute, and the harrowing Lucy Letby case. It's also a notoriously complex, and sometimes misunderstood, area of employment law, which can present challenges for line managers, HR teams and business leaders....

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. This week, Ellie Gelder is joined by Emma Cusdin , director at Global Butterflies , champion for trans and non-binary rights, and award-winning role model in the business sector for LGBTQ+ people.   Drawing on Emma's lived experience as an openly trans woman and her 30 plus years' experience of working in HR, she shar...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment.  We kick off season 2 with a look ahead to 2024 and discuss five key employment law changes and HR trends on the horizon.    Ellie Gelder is joined by Kelly Thomson , partner and RPC's ESG lead, to explain how HR professionals and business leaders should start preparing now for the following:   · &nbsp...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. In our feature-length Christmas special, we give you the download on 12 important employment law and HR development from the year of 2023. Essential listening for those of you who need to catch up on the many changes in the last 12 months.   Ellie Gelder is joined by Patrick Brodie , partner and head of RPC's Employme...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. As we mark Baby Loss Awareness Week, in part 2 of our mini-series on pregnancy loss, we look at the practical ways in which businesses can support their people who are affected by pregnancy loss.   With around 20 to 25% of all pregnancies sadly ending in miscarriage, we will either experience pregnancy loss ourselves...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. However well-planned your redundancy process is, there are a number of issues that can really throw a spanner in the works: from employees submitting grievances or making data subject access requests, to historical underperformance issues that haven’t been dealt with properly.   So how do employers tackle these thorny...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. We will all, unfortunately, experience bereavement at some stage in our lives, but how does this impact our working lives and what can employers do to support colleagues who have lost a loved one?   Ellie Gelder is joined by Rosie Gill-Moss, host of the WidowedAF podcast, and Victoria Othen , consultant at RPC and par...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. Since the pandemic prompted a major shift in how we work, there have been growing calls to boost the support for employees who are balancing work with their caring commitments. So what reforms might we see in the near future?   Ellie Gelder is joined by Joanna Holford , senior associate at RPC, to discuss potential ch...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. In part 2 of our series on fertility challenges and work, Ellie Gelder is joined once again by partner Jonathan Crompton in RPC's Hong Kong office to explain how businesses can implement effective support for employees who are experiencing fertility challenges. Jonathan discusses:   The importance of actively implemen...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's podcast that covers everything employment. With the World Health Organisation reporting that around 17.5% of the adult population experience infertility, this week we are shining a light on those challenges and in particular, how fertility issues can affect someone at work and what businesses can do to support people. In part 1 of our series on fertility challenges...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment. In the second part of our mini-series on business protection, we explore how businesses can support and retain their senior talent. Ellie Gelder is joined by two age inclusion champions: Liz Gray , who heads up EY’s support for retiring partners, and Simon Long , growth director at 55 Redefined , an organ...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment. In part two of our mini-series on TUPE (transfer of undertakings and protection of employment), we explore the TUPE journey itself, including the practicalities of the due diligence exercise, as well as the obligation to inform and consult with affected employees. We also provide our "golden rules" on how...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment. With around 20 to 25% of all pregnancies sadly ending in miscarriage, we will either experience pregnancy loss ourselves or know someone who is affected. While everyone's experience is unique, people commonly report feelings of shock, grief and isolation which can be further compounded by work worries, fo...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment. The topic of workplace sexual harassment continues to feature in today's headlines: from NHS staff reporting 20,000 alleged incidents of sexual misconduct by patients in the last five years, to recent research by the TUC that found more women had experienced sexual harassment at work, than those who had n...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment. Following last week's announcement by the government of its plans to limit the extent of non-compete post-termination restrictions, we take a look at the proposals as well as how the current law protects businesses when a senior executive leaves.   Patrick Brodie , partner and head of RPC's employmen...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment. Since the pandemic prompted a major shift in how, when and where people work, the ability to work flexibly is now a key driver for recruitment and retention. The Government has confirmed its intention to make the right to request flexible working a "day one" default right, while a growing number of busine...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment.   In recognition of April being sexual assault awareness month in Australia, we decided to devote our fourth episode to the topic of workplace sexual harassment at work. Teaming up with our TerraLex partner firm Lander & Rogers , we take a look at how the relevant employment law protections in th...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment. In our third episode and part one of our mini-series on TUPE (transfer of undertakings and protection of employment), we explore why TUPE matters to businesses and their people; the circumstances in which a TUPE transfer can arise; and how the law protects employees who are affected by a business transfer...

Welcome to The Work Couch, RPC's recently launched podcast that covers everything employment.   In our second episode, we lift the lid on how the cost of living crisis is affecting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB); the red flags employers should look out for; and the practical steps organisations can take to help alleviate the impact of the economic crisis for their workforce...

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast that covers everything employment. In celebration of International Women's Day, we have chosen to devote our first episode to menopause in the workplace and how the law currently protects affected employees.     We also hear first-hand from one of our RPC colleagues about how the menopause has impacted her at work, the challenges she faced, and...