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.   In part 3 of our mini-series on whistleblowing, Ellie Gelder is joined by Sybille Raphael, legal director at whistleblowing charity Protect, to run through the five key challenges in the world of whistleblowing for employers to tackle in 2024 and beyond. We discuss ..read more

Addiction comes in many forms; it is often hidden and, due to social stigma, is rarely discussed. In the work context, addiction and dependency can raise complex challenges for line managers and HR teams.   In this week's Work Couch podcast episode, Ellie Gelder is joined by Charlotte Reid, senior associate in RPC's Employment, Engagement and Equality team and Eleena Misra KC, of Old Square Chambers, to explore how employers can respond appropriately to a colleague who is affected by addiction, while at the same time also ensuring that the safety of others are protected, and business inte ..read more

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.  In part 2 of our mini-series on whistleblowing, Ellie Gelder is joined by Sybille Raphael, legal director at whistleblowing charity Protect, to explain how employers can approach whistleblowing complaints proactively and effectively. We discuss:   ·  &n ..read more

Kicking off part 1 of our mini-series on exploring the cost of untapped talent, we look at social mobility at work, inclusive hiring and the commercial drivers for generating social value.   Host Ellie Gelder is joined by two champions for social inclusion, James Fellowes and Chance Bleu-Montgomery from Bridge of Hope, a pioneering organisation that matches job-ready candidates from a pool of untapped talent, who face various social barriers to employment, with inclusive recruiting employers.   We discuss:   ·     James and Chance's contrasting lived exp ..read more

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 extends, and how it overlaps with the "E" (environmental) and the "G" (governance); ·     The conflicting commercial drivers for businesses to engage with today's pressing socia ..read more

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.   In part 1 of our mini-series on whistleblowing, Ellie Gelder is joined by consultant employment lawyer Victoria Othen to take us on a whistlestop tour of the law and explain:   · &n ..read more

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 shares her expertise on how we can all be good allies to trans and non-binary colleagues. We discuss:   Terminology and dispel some of the myths around the trans and non-binary community; Using prono ..read more

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 Employment, Engagement and Equality team, Kelly Thomson, partner and RPC's ESG lead, Charlotte Reid, senior associate and Victoria Othen, consultant. We discuss the following topics and explore the impact on ..read more

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 or know someone who is affected. While everyone's experience is unique to them, pregnancy loss can adversely affect a person's physical and mental wellbeing and the return to work can be especially d ..read more

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 issues? Ellie Gelder talks to Charlotte Bray, associate in RPC's Employment, Engagement and Equality team, about: How the law defines a "genuine" redundancy situation and why the legal defin ..read more