Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

In our second live episode, recorded before a special audience of RPC clients, host Ellie Gelder

is joined by three leading voices in employment law to dissect - and make sense of - the transformational and ground-breaking Employment Rights Bill. The panel comprised:

• Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor of European law and employment law at the University of Cambridge;
• John Bowers KC, of Littleton Chambers. John is Principal of Brasenose College, University of Oxford, and also sits part-time as a judge in the Employment Appeal Tribunal; and
• Shantha David, Head of Legal Services at Unison, the UK's largest trade union.

The panellists each share their insights into the practical implications of many of the key reforms introduced by the Bill, including: "day one" rights to protection from unfair dismissal; restrictions on fire and re-hire; trade union-related reforms; changes to collective redundancy; bereavement leave and the strengthened duty to prevent sexual harassment.

They also provide their key watch-outs and tips for employers and business leaders, as they look to navigate the evolving employment law landscape.

Please note: This episode was recorded on 30 September 2025 in front of a live audience at RPC's London offices as part of the Employment, Engagement and Equality team's panel event exploring the Employment Rights Bill. All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

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References

1. Employment Rights Bill

2. Written evidence submitted by Professor Alan Bogg and Michael Ford KC to The Employment Rights Public Bill Committee (ERB69) (December 2024)

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Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

Host Ellie Gelder is joined by consultant employment lawyer Victoria Othen to explore the government's proposed changes to welfare and disability benefits and how this may impact the duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments. In part one, they discuss:

· The background to the proposed "Right to try work" scheme;

· A reminder of the legal definition of disability as set out in the Equality Act 2010;

· Factors that employment tribunals take into account when assessing if a claimant is disabled within the meaning of the Act;

· The legal components of the duty to make reasonable adjustments; and

· Whether or not employers require knowledge of a disability to trigger their duty to make reasonable adjustments.

Join us for part 2, when we will discuss what reasonable adjustments look like at each stage of the employment life cycle.

* Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer

We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes.

All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Please note: All information is correct at the time of recording. However, please note that this episode was recorded before the recent cabinet reshuffle and consequential changes in ministerial responsibilities, which took place on 5 September 2025.

References

1. Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper (Government consultation opened on 18 March 2025 and closed on 30 June 2025)

2. Employers: Influencing disabled people’s employment through responses to reasonable adjustments, Disability & Society (Research by Disability Research Specialists, 19 July 2022)

3. Work Couch episode: Addiction at work: Disciplinary or wellbeing issue? With Charlotte Reid and Eleena Misra, KC

4. Work Couch episode: Narratives, reasonable adjustments, and the business case for accessibility, with Samantha Renke

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Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

As the Summer holidays draw to a close - and the backlog in employment tribunal cases continues - the Work Couch is going back to school with a lesson on judicial mediation (JM).

JM, which is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), has a reported success rate of 65-70%, but how does it work in practice? Host Ellie Gelder is joined by senior associate Charlotte Reid and trainee solicitor Brodie Walker to explain:

• How JM differs from other forms of ADR;
• How JM works in practice and what employers can expect;
• The role of the judge in JM;
• When, in the life cycle of an employment tribunal claim or dispute, might the employer look to instigate the JM process;
• The pros and cons of JM; and
• The impact that the incoming Employment Rights Bill may have on the use of JM in the future.

* Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer

We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes.

All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

References

1. Guidance on Alternative Dispute Resolution issued by the President of Employment Tribunals in England and Wales (July 2023)

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Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

This year's Carers week theme is "caring about equality" and highlights the inequalities faced by unpaid carers, including a greater risk of poverty, social isolation, and poor mental and physical health. Sadly, and far too often, carers of all ages are missing out on opportunities in their education, careers or personal lives just because of their caring role.

To explore how employers play a critical role in removing these barriers, host Ellie Gelder is joined by two passionate advocates for carers: RPC's own Rachel Pears and Zahra Lakhan-Bunbury from Carers UK.

Rachel is associate director for responsible business and employment counsel at RPC, and is a carer herself. Last year, she spearheaded RPC's collaboration with Carers UK, which culminated in the Mind the Caring Gap report, which garnered widespread press attention.

Zahra, who is an account manager at Employers for Carers, the workplace arm of Carers UK, works with leading organisations including government departments, retailers and local authorities to identify and share best practice for supporting carers in the workplace.

In part 2 of this series, Rachel and Zahra discuss:

· Identifying as a carer and why some people don't see themselves as carers;

· Distinguishing between different types of care and the unique challenges;

· Caring responsibilities in the legal sector and some stark statistics;

· The impact caring can have on the carer's physical and mental wellbeing; and

· Key ingredients to create carer-friendly workplaces.

Listen to Part 1: Lived experiences, the law and the role of employers.

* Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer

We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes.

All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

References

Mind the caring gap: Exploring the impact of caring responsibilities in the legal sector (Report by RPC, LawCare and Next 100 Years, June 2024)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

This year's Carers week theme is "caring about equality" and highlights the inequalities faced by unpaid carers, including a greater risk of poverty, social isolation, and poor mental and physical health. Sadly, and far too often, carers of all ages are missing out on opportunities in their education, careers or personal lives just because of their caring role.

To explore how employers play a critical role in removing these barriers, host Ellie Gelder is joined by two passionate advocates for carers: RPC's own Rachel Pears and Zahra Lakhan-Bunbury from Carers UK.

Rachel is associate director for responsible business and employment counsel at RPC, and is a carer herself. Last year, she spearheaded RPC's collaboration with Carers UK, which culminated in the Mind the Caring Gap report, which garnered widespread press attention.

Zahra, who is an account manager at Employers for Carers, the workplace arm of Carers UK, works with leading organisations including government departments, retailers and local authorities to identify and share best practice for supporting carers in the workplace.

In part 1 of this series, Rachel and Zahra discuss:

• Their own experiences of caring and the impact on their respective personal and working lives;
• Existing statutory entitlements to time off work for carers, including the Carer's Leave Act 2023, which came into force on 6 April 2024;
• How an increasing number of employers are offering enhanced time off for their employees with caring responsibilities;
• The human and commercial reasons for employers to actively engage with this issue; and
• Why we need to be mindful when using the word 'resilience'.

Join us for Part 2 on 25 June, when we will look at the intersectional nuances of caring, the impact of caring on wellbeing, and how to create carer-friendly workplaces.

* Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer

We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes. All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

References

1. Mind the caring gap: Exploring the impact of caring responsibilities in the legal sector (Report by RPC, LawCare and Next 100 Years, June 2024)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

This week, host Ellie Gelder speaks to Patrick Brodie and Kelly Thomson about the landmark Supreme Court decision in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, which has prompted many questions for UK businesses and employers.

Focusing on the law, Patrick and Kelly provide an accessible, balanced overview of the decision, including:

· A brief background to the case and the key question for the Supreme Court;

· The legal implications of the decision with respect to same-sex facilities;

· Divergence between the definition of 'sex', 'man' and 'woman' in the Equality Act 2010 and in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992;

· Biological sex definition and varying perspectives;

· The interim update guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission;

· Various legal challenges to the decision; and

· Practical measures for employers to balance their legal obligations with their cultural and inclusivity goals, especially in relation to their trans colleagues.

To learn more about trans inclusion and how to be an effective ally, please listen to this previous Work Couch episode, with Emma Cusdin, Global Butterflies.

* Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer

We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes.

All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week and this year's theme of community, host Ellie Gelder is joined once again by Rebecca Norris and Camilla Wells, co-founders of Trauma Informed Law, an organisation which offers specialist support for trauma, burnout and overwhelm in the legal sector.

In the second part of this series, we discuss:

• Identifying the less obvious signs of trauma;
• How to foster effective psychological safety;
• Key dos and don'ts when supporting a person affected by trauma;
• Commercial benefits of being a trauma-informed business; and
• The role of leadership in embedding a trauma-informed work culture.

You can listen to part 1 of this series here: Navigating trauma in the legal world (Part 1): Spotting the signs and understanding the science.

To access further support on mental health, you may wish to visit the Samaritans, Mind, or Rethink. Or you can use the text service from Shout on 85258.

* Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer

We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes.

All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week and this year's theme of community, host Ellie Gelder is joined by Rebecca Norris and Camilla Wells, co-founders of Trauma Informed Law, an organisation which offers specialist support for trauma, burnout and overwhelm in the legal sector.

In part 1, we discuss:

• Terminology and language to describe trauma;
• The various ways that trauma shows up in the legal world, from clients, to witnesses, to colleagues and other lawyers;
• How to spot the signs of trauma;
• The neuroscience behind stress and distress;
• Vicarious trauma; and
• How trauma affects people at different stages of their career.

Join us for part 2 next time when Rebecca and Camilla will explain how organisations can implement a trauma-informed work culture.

To access further support on mental health, you may wish to visit the Samaritans, Mind, or Rethink. Or you can use the text service from Shout on 85258.

* Please note these podcasts will not run on Internet Explorer

We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with all the latest episodes.

All information is correct at the time of recording. The Work Couch is not a substitute for legal advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.