Join us on the podcast as Jeya Thiruchelvam, Internal Communications and Engagement Lead at Brightmine, shares powerful insights on how organisations can truly harness the full potential of their people. Discover how employees can grow, thrive, and elevate their careers · all without changing employers. It's a conversation about talent, transformation, and the future of work you won't want to miss. Download the transcript Related Brightmine resources Managing retention: Creating a retention stra...
Jun 30, 2025•24 min
Cathryn Edmondson , lead consultant at Innecto Reward Consulting , joins the podcast to talk about gender pay gap reporting - its history, current challenges and the upcoming legislative changes that organisations need to know about. What to read, listen to and watch next Pay transparency - do the right thing Mind the gap: How are countries implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive? Podcast: Gender pay gap reporting - a global view Webinar: Pay transparency - the value of honesty and some p...
Jun 04, 2025•34 min
Ferzana Ahmed and Mith Ragukaran, solicitors at law firm Fragomen, join us to talk through the latest immigration developments and issues affecting HR professionals, including what's on the horizon. Read the transcript Related resources Transition to eVisas 2024: Key updates and action points for employers Immigration rules and right to work On your radar...
May 13, 2025•22 min
In October 2024 the Government launched a major overhaul of employment law in the form of the Employment Rights Bill. A number of important amendments have been introduced since the proposed legislation was first published. Stephen Simpson , principal editor at Brightmine, joins the podcast to provide an update and help HR departments prepare for the changes. Download the transcript What to read, listen to and watch next On your radar April 2025 employment law changes: Five-point checklist for H...
Apr 17, 2025•26 min
Jo Broadbent, counsel knowledge lawyer at Hogan Lovells, joins us to discuss the new right to neonatal care leave and look at likely forthcoming changes to family-friendly employment rights in the Employment Rights Bill. Read the transcript Related resources Webinar: Statutory neonatal care leave - how employers can prepare Neonatal care leave Neonatal care pay Neonatal care leave: Four scenarios employers could face...
Mar 31, 2025•29 min
Susie Munro, senior legal editor at Brightmine, looks at three cases where employers have lost "discrimination arising from disability" claims after treating workers unfavourably because of disability-related absence. Related resources Disability-related absence: Tribunal round-up On your radar Disability discrimination - line manager training...
Mar 19, 2025•21 min
Justine Woolf , director of consulting at Innecto Reward Consulting , joins the podcast to tell us about pay transparency legislation in the US and EU and why employers in the UK need to be prepared for change - and how their organisations can benefit by taking a proactive approach. To access the white paper discussed by Justine, click here . Read the transcript What to read, listen to and watch next Pay transparency - do the right thing Demystifying the EU Pay Transparency Directive for UK empl...
Feb 27, 2025•26 min
WhatsApp and other informal instant messaging platforms are an invaluable communication resource for individuals and groups. But as some recent legal cases have shown, they can also create problems when they are used in a work environment. Sam Dickinson , an employment lawyer and partner at Mayo Wynne Baxter solicitors, joins the podcasts to talk about the pitfalls - and what employers can do to manage risk. Related resources Sexual harassment liability: Employment tribunal round-up Compensation...
Feb 13, 2025•22 min
A significant proportion of the population have criminal records. So what are the legal requirements when thinking about recruiting someone with a spent or unspent conviction? And are employers that shy away from engaging with ex-offenders failing to make use of a valuable resource and even damaging their organisations? Debbie Sadler of Unlock and Brightmine senior legal editor Laura Merrylees join the podcast to discuss these questions and more. Related resources Job applicants with convictions...
Feb 04, 2025•32 min
Psychological safety is one of the cornerstones of a productive, progressive workplace. Strategist, futurist and data scientist Wilson Wong joins the podcast to discuss how to build it, how to measure it and what can go wrong when it’s lacking in an organisation. Read the transcript Related resources How to create psychological safety at work Developing employee performance: Purpose, psychological safety and belonging Materials referenced/recommended by Wilson Amy Edmondson's book The Fearless O...
Jan 15, 2025•30 min
Laura Kimpton, HR strategy and practice editor at Brightmine, discusses how organisations, and line managers in particular, can support and champion neurodiversity in the workplace. Topics include: employers' legal duties under the Equality Act; the value of adopting a "needs-led" approach; making reasonable adjustments; approaches to onboarding and communication. Read the transcript Related resources Neurodiversity policy Introduction to neurodiversity - line manager training Supporting neurodi...
Dec 11, 2024•22 min
The Labour Government published its highly anticipated Employment Rights Bill on 10 October 2024. In this edition of the podcast, Brightmine employment law experts Zeba Sayed and Stephen Simpson analyse the key proposals in the Bill and offer advice on how HR can begin to prepare for the changes. Read the transcript The accompanying slides can be downloaded here Related resources Podcast: Employment Rights Bill Q&A Employment Rights Bill published: 10 highlights for HR from the first draft O...
Nov 20, 2024•42 min
The Labour Government published its highly anticipated Employment Rights Bill on 10 October 2024. In this edition of the podcast, Brightmine employment law experts Zeba Sayed and Stephen Simpson answer questions on different aspects of the Bill, from the timeline for the measures coming into effect to the nuances of the proposed unfair dismissal and fire and rehire changes. Read the transcript Related resources On your radar Podcast: What changes should HR prepare for from the Employment Rights ...
Nov 20, 2024•32 min
What will the people profession look like in 2035? How will AI transform HR practices over the next decade? And how can HR teams prepare for the ethical challenges posed by emerging technologies like AI? Tessa Hilson-Greener joins the podcast to answer these questions and many more besides. Related resources AI fundamentals: How to identify AI needs in HR Three areas of focus for the AI workplace revolution Revolutionising AI rules for global employers Use of AI chatbots at work policy...
Nov 12, 2024•19 min
With changes to the law regarding sexual harassment in the workplace coming into effect this autumn · and further changes promised in the Government·s Employment Rights Bill · we are joined by Lisa Bell from Tell Jane to discuss the new legal duty on employers, the impact of technology and generational shifts in attitude. Related resources Building a working environment free from harassment and sexual harassment – Leading practice guide New sexual harassment prevention duty: 10-point checklist f...
Oct 24, 2024•30 min
The phrase ·four-day week· has been trending in the media of late · and being used to refer to quite different things, to the confusion of many! In this edition of the podcast we aim to clear up some common misunderstandings. Related resources Right to request flexible working Flexible working requests policy Compressed hours policy Managing hybrid/flexible workers - line manager training...
Oct 14, 2024•28 min
Justine Woolf, director of consulting at Innecto Reward Consulting, offers tips for HR to boost employee engagement and ensure that organisations get a better ROI on their benefits. Related resources Webinar: Why now is the time to align your rewards with your EVP Podcast: Evolving your EVP to meet the needs of a multigenerational workforce How to develop a reward strategy Rebuilding in 2024: Strategies for reshaping worker expectations...
Sep 23, 2024•24 min
Andrew Walker, new business development director with Personal Group , joins us to discuss the significant changes and trends shaping the future of work, and to explore strategies to evolve your employee value proposition (EVP) to meet the diverse needs of a multigenerational workforce. Related resources Webinar: Why now is the time to align your rewards with your EVP How to develop a reward strategy Rebuilding in 2024: Strategies for reshaping worker expectations What is an employee value propo...
Aug 28, 2024•35 min
From wellness and neurodiversity to ·hotelification·, Rachel Basha, founder and CEO of the architecture and design practice Basha-Franklin, discusses the ways in which the shifting needs and character of the 21st-century workforce are reshaping office design. Related resources Deskless and disengaged - how can you stop me from leaving? Introduction to neurodiversity - line manager training Health and wellbeing policy Webinar: Hybrid working - how to personalise the employee experience...
Jul 31, 2024•20 min
Bags for life, tea containing a surprising substance and more: Susie Munro, senior legal editor at Brightmine, discusses four recent employment tribunal cases where employees were dismissed for misconduct after making what they said were mistakes. Related resources Misconduct dismissals following employee mistakes: Employment tribunal round-up How does a tribunal gauge whether an employee has been unfairly dismissed on the basis of misconduct? Misconduct - line manager training...
Jul 16, 2024•18 min
Steve Allan joins us to talk about HR's role in mergers and acquisitions and offers five top tips for getting M&As right. We talk about: company culture; the impact of AI; understanding TUPE; and how to get integration right. Related resources Hiring across borders: Five compliance challenges and how to solve them Podcast: Global hiring - AI, EORs and worker misclassification risks Guide for global employers: Recruitment and selection...
Jul 03, 2024•30 min
Miranda Zolot, general counsel at Oyster, talks about the benefits and challenges of distributed working and global hiring. Join her as she discusses subjects including: • EORs and PEOs; • compliance issues; • employee/contractor misclassification risks; and • AI. Related resources What is an employer of record? Hiring across borders: Five compliance challenges and how to solve them Guide for global employers: Recruitment and selection Guide for global employers: International assignments...
Jun 12, 2024•26 min
According to research, almost half of the skills used by the workforce today will no longer be relevant in a couple of years. Given this context of a fast-evolving workplace with shifting needs, it's perhaps unsurprising that organisations are struggling to hire people with the right skills. What is to be done? Career mentor Laurie Macpherson joins us to discuss ways for HR and employees to begin to rethink recruitment and reskilling. Read the transcript here Related resources Four steps HR can ...
May 23, 2024•34 min
A raft of employment law changes have come into effect over the past few months. In this edition of the podcast, Zeba Sayed and Stephen Simpson discuss some developments that have perhaps received less attention than others: the changes to special redundancy protection for family-related leave that came into force on 6 April 2024. Read the transcript here Want to learn more? April 2024 employment law changes: Eight-point checklist for HR Redundancy policy Redundancy: Letter offering suitable alt...
May 07, 2024•24 min
International and domestic politics, issues of gender and sexuality: people disagree about lots of things. Understandably, many organisations worry about the impact of controversial beliefs being expressed in the workplace - perhaps because of the effect on other employees, perhaps just because of the distraction that disputes can cause. In this edition of the podcast, employment law specialist Darren Newman joins us to discuss how organisations can navigate conflicts of belief in the workplace....
Apr 15, 2024•41 min
Running an employment tribunal claim can be complicated and requires careful management. We are joined by part-time employment tribunal judge Tina Elliott, who offers practical tips on how to prepare effectively. The topics we discuss include: case management hearings; document disclosure; witness statements; and video hearings Read the transcript here...
Apr 02, 2024•31 min
We are joined by Louise Haycock, immigration solicitor and partner at law firm Fragomen, to discuss the latest immigration changes affecting employers and the workforce, and how HR can prepare for them. Read the transcript here Want to learn more? Record of all workers' right to work in UK form Employment law guide: Immigration rules and right to work More XpertHR podcast episodes...
Mar 12, 2024•11 min
The rules around COVID-19 were very clearly drawn in 2020. But what is the state of play now, not just in relation to COVID but to illness in the workplace generally? What should organisations do about employees who are nervous about returning to the workplace? Or about at-risk employees, particularly when infection rates are high? Or about long COVID - is it now treated as a disability? Bar Huberman, strategy and practice head of content at XpertHR, offers guidance. Read the transcript here Res...
Mar 01, 2024•18 min
According to a YouGov survey, 15% of people meet their partners at work. Given how widespread the phenomenon is, to what extent does HR need to take an interest in office romances? Stephen Simpson, principal strategy and practice editor at XpertHR, joins us to discuss the finer points of workplace relationship etiquette and to answer the (somewhat unromantic) question: Should the UK introduce US-style "love contracts"? Read the transcript here Resources How to manage personal relationships at wo...
Feb 13, 2024•14 min
Rebekah Martin, senior vice president of reward, inclusion and talent acquisition at AstraZeneca, joins us to talk about the changing motivations and requirements of the workforce - connection to purpose, skills-based learning, recognition and more. She discusses her role at AstraZeneca and sets out a series of ways in which organisations can try to ensure that they are employers of choice for Gen Alpha, the next generation to join the workforce. Resources Managing retention: Employee developmen...
Jan 31, 2024•31 min
