From enhanced worker protections to evolving rights for parents and carers, 2025 is shaping up to be an interesting year for both employers and employees. In the latest episode of Employment Law Focus, Charlie Rae and Amy Stokes, both partners at TLT discuss employment law developments to look out for in 2025. Key topics include: An update on the Employment Rights Bill and the Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill The uplift to the protective award for failure to comply with the Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement. Increases to statutory rates & national minimum w ..read more

  Amy: Hello and welcome to the Employment Law Focus podcast. I'm Amy Stokes.   Charlie: And I'm Charlie Ray    Amy: and we're both employment law partners at TLT and today we're going to be discussing the Employment Rights Bill and well all 150 pages of it, well not quite but what we've done is we have discussed amongst ourselves Charlie and I and pulled out our top 10 takeaways from it.    By way of background, this was introduced to Parliament on the 10th of October and is the first phase of delivering the government's plan to make work pay. It brings in 28 ind ..read more

In this episode Jonathan Rennie, partner at TLT is joined by Sarah Maddock, senior knowledge lawyer at TLT and Emma Erskine-Fox, managing associate in the Technology and Intellectual Property team at TLT to look at the impact of AI on employment law and discuss:  Key differences between various types of AI technologies. Why generative AI like ChatGPT is gaining increased attention. How AI tools be used to enhance workplace productivity. How employers can address the potential risks and challenges associated with AI in decision-making. How AI systems affect the fairness and reasonableness ..read more

In this episode, we’re joined by Bobbi Pickard, CEO of Trans in the City, to discuss how employers can improve their approach to trans and non-binary inclusion in the workplace. We explore questions like: Is the term LGBTQIA+ a help or a hindrance? What does trans and non-binary actually mean? Are gender-critical beliefs protected by law? Is the law fit for purpose, and how might it change in the future? What does best practice look like? We discuss the importance of vocalising a clear position on trans and non-binary inclusion and educating staff. We also discuss the benefits of creating a ..read more

50 years on from the Sex Discrimination Act, sexism is unfortunately still common at work. And yet studies repeatedly show that more diverse workplaces are more successful. In this episode, we discuss questions like: Do workplace policies sustain gender stereotypes? Has the pandemic successfully de-coupled gender from flexible working? Will the UK government reform gender pay gap reporting this year? Does a holiday really allow for “rest and relaxation” if the employee is suffering from menopause symptoms, menstrual pain or undergoing early-stage IVF treatment? We look at how gender equality ..read more

Can an employer really claim to have strong ESG credentials if they aren’t addressing societal issues like race equality and discrimination, and if they’re simply relying on policies and training? How can employers meet the changing expectations of regulators, investors, employees, job candidates and clients? The legal definition of race is much broader than many people realise. In this episode, Kanika Kitchlu-Connolly, co-chair of TLT’s BAME network, joins our employment team to discuss: Why this is so challenging but important for employers to get right The role of employee networks, from s ..read more

Returns to work are set to become even more challenging with the advent of hybrid and remote working, to the extent that the traditional toolkit may no longer be fit for purpose. In this episode, our employment and regulatory teams discuss five new challenges for HR and legal teams, and share their insights and advice surrounding: Occupational stress Supervision and performance management Personal injury Training and career development Long Covid There are some recurring themes, including: The risk that employers underestimate their legal obligations; The need to think about the individual ..read more

After Me Too and Black Lives Matter, there are growing signs that disability could be the next recipient of a major social media movement, not to mention new legal duties for employers. In the UK, the government has published a new National Disability Strategy including mandatory reporting for employers, the employment gap is impossible to ignore, and the Tokyo Paralympics sparked the campaign WeThe15 representing the world’s 1.2 billion people with a disability. But are employers ready for this? Disability varies wildly from other areas of equality law, and as PageGroup CEO and disability rig ..read more

Employee wellbeing has risen up the corporate agenda during the pandemic. However, this is set to become an even bigger issue in the coming months, as HR and legal teams navigate the impact of hybrid working, the right to work flexibly, the end of furlough, long Covid and more. How can employers address the stigma around mental health and wellbeing? What does proportionate support look like? And what new risks and challenges do they face?  In this episode, we discuss: The right to disconnect – what is it, how does it work, and could it work in the UK? With insights from Deirdre Lynch, pa ..read more

Should HR be more involved in the design and rollout of workplace technology? Will modern technology force us to replace roles (performed by people) with functions (performed by people, technology, robots and algorithms)? At what point do employees start to resent technology impinging on their jobs? When it can do 10%, 20% or 30% of their role faster and better than they can? These are just some of the questions we explore in this episode on workplace technology and its impact on employees. Jonathan Rennie and Sarah Maddock in our employment team are joined by Emma Erskine-Fox from our data pr ..read more