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Talking Work

Talking Work is an employment law podcast by Ius Laboris. Join us and our specialists from around the world as they tackle a range of issues, all to do with the changing world of work.
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Episodes

Trying to close the Pay Gap

The EU’s Pay Transparency Directive is a major shift in the way pay is handled across Europe and all companies with operations in the EU will have to comply with at least some aspects of what it says. Much of it is to do with the gender pay gap, but there are other rules too. We take a look, with the help of expert, Tom Heys. If you'd like to get in touch with Tom Heys, you can find his contact details here . Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be contacted here . To learn more about this topic, exp...

Mar 07, 202513 minEp. 80

Generational expectations

In this episode we ask what Generation Z is looking for from work. As the newest generation in the workplace, Gen Z has the potential to change the system in myriad ways. What will they do? We ask James Davies from our UK law firm. To learn more about this topic, explore our flagship publication Forces for Change: Workforce of the Future ⁠here⁠ and read our article New generations, new expectations ⁠here⁠ If you'd like to get in touch with James Davies, you can find his contact details here. Our...

Jan 22, 202512 min

The ups and downs of remote working

In this episode, Deborah Ishihara chats to Ben Favaro from our UK law firm about all the issues surrounding managing a remote workforce, including how to ensure people continued to feel engaged whilst at the same time knowing how to disconnect at the end of the day. We also explore some of the main legal risks for businesses, such as tax and data privacy issues, amongst others. To learn more about this topic, explore our flagship publication Forces for Change: Workforce of the Future here and re...

Nov 12, 202417 min

Great female role models

To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, we interview two very successful women to discuss the issues women face in the workplace. Both are great role models: Jessica Jacobi, partner from our German law firm and our guest, Bettina Schaller, Head of Public Affairs for The Adecco Group. Enjoy. Discover our 'Equal Pay Day 2023' article ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here. ⁠⁠⁠ If you’d like to contact Jessica, click ⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠for her details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Talking Work is...

Mar 07, 202438 min

The Ageing Workforce

The gradual ageing of the global population is a known phenomenon, but how this might impact the workplace is harder to say. We conducted a survey to find out how ageing workforces are changing employment across the world. James Davies, partner in our UK law firm, comes on the podcast to explain. Discover our 'Ageing Workforce' report and series ⁠⁠⁠⁠ here. ⁠⁠ If you’d like to contact James Davies, click ⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠for his details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ . Talking ...

Dec 12, 202321 min

What if outsourcing were banned?

Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico and Peru all have anti-outsourcing legislation. In this episode of Talking Work we talk to Juan Carlos Girao of Ius Laboris in Peru to find out why, if this is a good idea, and to ask how these rules work in practice. If you’d like to contact Juan Carlos Girao, click ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠for his details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ . Talking Work is a podcast by Ius Laboris, the leading legal alliance in employment law - ⁠www.iuslaboris.com⁠...

Oct 20, 202311 min

Which countries offer a ‘right to disconnect’?

The pandemic provoked the governments of many countries to think seriously about the mental health of employees, particularly those working remotely – and the trend is continuing. In this episode, we talk to Stefano de Luca Tamajo from our Italian firm about a survey we have just completed on how disconnection rights are developing and what kind of rules are being put in place. Discover our 'right to disconnect' map ⁠⁠⁠ here. ⁠ If you’d like to contact Stefano de Luca Tamajo, click ⁠⁠ here ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠...

Aug 23, 20237 min

Stijn Broecke on AI and the labour market

In this episode, Stijn Broecke, a senior economist at the OECD who is leading their Future of Work initiative, talks about recent OECD findings on how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape the world of work, what employers and employees think about this, and the structural changes a rapid wave of AI-driven automation may bring. Against a backdrop of rising inequalities, he considers that role that dialogue can play, alongside investment in skills, in smoothing the transition. Discover ...

Jun 23, 202318 min

Professor Wolfgang Lutz on low birth rates across the world

In this episode, Professor Wolfgang Lutz founder of the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital and all-round expert on demographics, discusses with us the issue of low birthrate in various countries across the world and the possible impacts on the workplaces of the future. Discover our "low birth rate" series page here. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found ⁠here⁠ . Talking Work is a podcast by Ius Laboris, the leading legal alliance in employment law - www.iuslaboris.com...

Apr 12, 202314 min

Changes afoot in Australia

Anti-discrimination law is changing in Australia, with a new positive duty on employers to ensure sex discrimination and harassment are eliminated in their workplaces. Sarah Clarke, partner in our Australian law firm explains what employers need to do to comply. If you’d like to contact Sarah Clarke, click ⁠ here⁠⁠ ⁠for her details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found ⁠here⁠ . Talking Work is a podcast by Ius Laboris, the leading legal alliance in employment law - ⁠ www.iuslaboris.com...

Mar 29, 202315 min

Inflation, indexation and the minimum wage

Inflation is on everyone’s minds these days and we’ve been thinking about how it impacts employees, particularly those on minimum wage. Emanuela Nespoli, partner in our Italian law firm and Alexander Ulrich, partner in our Germany law firm, have been discussing the issues. Discover our Inflation, Wages and the Risk of a Wage-Price Spiral in 2023 report here. If you’d like to contact Emanuela Nespoli, click here for her details, to contact Alexander Ulrich, click here for his details. Our host, D...

Mar 22, 20238 min

Corporate sustainability reporting – what do we need to do?

ESG has become a key focus for lots of organisations around the world, but those in the EU will now need to keep up with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which came into force in January this year. We asked two colleagues from EU countries (Italy and Ireland) to tell us all about it. Discover New sustainability reporting in the EU here. If you’d like to contact Joanna Mackey, click here for her details, to contact Diego Paciello, click here for his details. Our host, Deborah Ish...

Mar 16, 202310 min

Gender pay: EU takes action

The EU introduces a far-reaching Pay Transparency Directive to address the persistent gender pay gap, requiring employers to report detailed pay data by categories of workers and remedy unjustified differences. The discussion highlights new worker rights, such as requesting pay information and banning salary history inquiries, alongside the directive's implementation timelines and existing variations across EU member states. It also explores the practical challenges for international businesses and the significant divergence this marks for UK employment law post-Brexit.

Mar 08, 202313 min

The 8 drivers of change

What are the megatrends driving change to the workplace and what might their impact be? James Davies, partner in our UK law firm has been looking into these very questions and we chat to him about his insights in this episode. Discover more about the 8 drivers of change here . If you’d like to contact James Davies, click here for his details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found here . Talking Work is a podcast by Ius Laboris, the leading legal alliance in employment law - www.iuslaboris.com...

Feb 15, 202312 min

Linking wages to inflation

Which countries have state mechanisms to index-link wages to inflation and if so, is that a good strategy? How likely is it to cause a wage-price spiral? We recently conducted a survey of 27 countries to find out and in this podcast, Deborah Ishihara interviews economist and staff writer at Ius Laboris, Susanna Gevorgyan, who explains all about it. Discover more about Inflation, wages and the risk of a wage-price spiral in 2023 here . If you’d like to contact Susanna Gevorgyan, click here for he...

Jan 16, 20237 min

Crisis management

So many employers across the world are dealing now with crises brought on by inflation, and energy and supply shortages. As we reel from one crisis to the next (pandemic, war, climate change, political instability) it really feels as if we are in ‘permacrisis’. At Ius Laboris, we have just completed a major international project looking at all the permutations of this for employers, including what kinds of temporary measures can be put in place to ease the burden and what the consequences of the...

Dec 06, 202219 min

New HR Healthchecker tool

We’ve just launched a tool to enable HR professionals to quickly check whether they have covered each area of compliance that they need to. It’s quick and easy to use and at the end you can download a report of the findings. Our lawyers explain more. Discover our healthchecker tool here. If you’d like to contact Hannah Price, click here for her details, to contact Markus Janko, click here for his details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found here . Talking Work is a podcast by Ius Laboris, t...

Oct 20, 20229 min

Setting up to work in the metaverse

If your company is thinking of setting up workspaces in the metaverse, what HR issues do you need to consider? We went into the metaverse the other day to record an episode of Talking Work about potential issues of discrimination based on avatar design. It’s our first foray into the challenges of working in virtual reality and we interviewed Tarun Tawakley, partner at our UK law firm, Lewis Silkin. You can hear an audio version here and there is a link to YouTube version here . Read the article ...

Oct 06, 202215 min

How now for the gig economy?

In this episode, we ask lawyers from France and the UK for an update on the law surrounding platform work. We look at recent case law and ask if there is any international consensus yet on how gig workers should be treated. We think about what steps platforms could take themselves to protect their workforce, even where this is not mandated by law and we also look at some new EU rules that will impact gig economy workers. Deborah Ishihara interviews Tarun Tawakley and Boris Muniz this time. Disco...

Aug 08, 202218 min

Avoiding ‘group think’ - How to be diverse and inclusive

How can managers run meetings in a way that allows everyone’s voice to be heard? How can they create an environment in which people feel empowered to challenge others’ ideas, so as to get the best outcomes? We talk to a pensions lawyer intent on making boards of trustees as diverse and inclusive as possible about her ideas. Emily Rowley is a lawyer at our UK pensions firm, Sackers. Discover our D&I monitoring survey here. If you’d like to contact Emily Rowley, click here for her details. Our...

Jul 27, 202211 min

The low-down from New Zealand

We take a look in this episode at business in New Zealand and, in particular, businesses that are struggling to get back up and running smoothly after COVID. As with other places in the world, New Zealand’s travel and hospitality industries are at the sharp end of this and we talk to Scott Worthy from our New Zealand firm to find out what’s happening what businesses can do about it from an HR perspective. Discover our macro-economics series page here. If you’d like to contact Scott Worthy, click...

Jul 11, 20229 min

Trying to be balanced

The EU’s work/life balance directive comes into operation in August and so, in this episode, we take a look at what it says. We also think about gender disparity at home more generally and how this impacts the workplace. Our guests today are Sara Baldus from Denmark and Katarzyna Dobkowska from Poland. Discover our Work/life Balance series page here . Read more about the Time Off Work chapter of our Global Guide here. If you’d like to contact Sara Baldus, click here for her details, and to conta...

Jun 14, 202211 min

Employment issues for M&As

Every business is ultimately about its people and M&As, spin-offs and carve-outs are no exception. But what employment and personal data issues need to be considered when handling a corporate transaction of this kind and what are the potential pitfalls? We asked two specialist employment lawyers to answer our questions. Discover our M&A page here . Go to Global Guide Restructuring and Data Privacy chapters. If you’d like to contact Lee Nair, click here for her details, or Ben Favaro, cli...

May 23, 202217 min

ESG in Hong Kong and APAC

In this episode, Catherine Leung, partner in our Hong Kong law firm, talks to us about how environmental, social and governance issues are being handled by employers in Hong Kong and the APAC region. We find out what kind of initiatives are being taken and discuss also the impact of the pandemic on the way workplaces now operate. Discover our ESG series page, here . If you’d like to contact Catherine Leung, click here for her details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found here . Talking Work ...

Apr 06, 202210 min

Covid in Argentina - How the pandemic has impacted employment

From one of the longest lockdowns in the world, to strong protections against dismissals and layoffs, we hear from Verónica Puerta Basaldúa from our Argentinian law firm Funes de Rioja about how the pandemic has played out there and what the situation is now. If you’d like to contact Verónica Puerta Basaldúa, click here for her details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found here . Talking Work is a podcast by Ius Laboris, the leading legal alliance in employment law - www.iuslaboris.com...

Mar 29, 202212 min

How is the pandemic shaping diversity & inclusion within workplaces?

In this episode, lawyers from the UK, the US, Denmark and Hong Kong discuss some of the benefits of the new ways of working that have emerged from the pandemic, along with some of the challenges. For instance, is greater flexibility always a plus? What about the right to disconnect? And how has gender equality been affected and how have people with disabilities fared? Our panel discuss these issues and more. Discover the Diversity series page here . If you’d like to contact Lucy Lewis, click her...

Mar 21, 202236 min

Employment law in Chile is set to change

Chile is getting a new president and his views about how employment should look are very different from those of his predecessors. We talk to Marcela Salazar, partner in our Chilean law firm, to find out what’s likely to happen, as the new president takes office on 11 March. If you’d like to contact Marcela Salazar, click here for her details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found here . Talking Work is a podcast by Ius Laboris, the leading legal alliance in employment law - www.iuslaboris.co...

Mar 16, 202214 min

Women in the workplace in India

How does the law protect women in India and what is the legacy of #metoo? We ask Debjani Aich, partner at our Indian member firm Kochhar & Co., to come on the podcast to discuss these things and to tell us what her clients are doing to promote equality in their workplaces. Discover the Diversity series page here . Read more about the D&I monitoring survey here . If you’d like to contact Debjani Aich, click here for her details. Our host, Deborah Ishihara, can be found here . Talking Work...

Mar 08, 202214 min

Restructuring, M&As and more

Burkard Göpfert from our German law firm joins us today to talk about restructuring and focuses on some of the ways to avoid the pain of workforce reduction. We also look at the challenges for unions in representing remote workers and whether employers need to provide them with electronic means of contacting workers. Listen in for this and more. Read more about the New Workplace, restructuring and labour relations here . If you’d like to contact Burkard Göpfert, click here for his details. Our h...

Feb 21, 20229 min

Macro-economics and building resilience

How can businesses build back after Covid in a way that enables them to deal with the large-scale challenges ahead? Burkard Göpfert from our German law firm gives us some insights. We ask him what environment sustainability means for the practice of HR and find out about rules in some countries that require businesses to check the ethics of their supply chains. Read more about the Resilience report here . If you’d like to contact Burkard Göpfert, click here for his details. Our host, Deborah Ish...

Feb 10, 202210 min
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