The Xperthr Podcast

Enabling the return to work of employees on long-term sickness absence remains an ongoing issue for employers, despite the Government's decision to close the Fit for Work assessment service, following low referral rates. Eversheds Sutherland partner Naeema Choudry joins us to discuss what the demise of the service means for employers and the options available when assessing employees on long-term sickness absence.

In the recent decision of The Sash Window Workshop and another v King, the ECJ opened up the risk of unpaid holiday claims being brought by "workers" treated as self-employed. Nick Chronias, employment partner at DAC Beachcroft LLP, explains the implications of the decision and the steps employers can take to mitigate against the risk. Presenter Laura Merrylees is joined by Nick Chronias.

The quality of leadership can distinguish a successful organisation from a struggling one. Nigel Paine, a learning and development specialist, author and broadcaster, joins us to explain why leadership development is so important and how organisations can deliver it to maximum effect.

Using mediation to resolve workplace conflict can be a highly effective tool for employers. Aled Davies, an expert in mediation, joins us to explain how mediation can take place at work and the benefits it can offer. Presenter Laura Merrylees is joined by Aled Davies.

We predict the key cases for 2018 and assess their likely impact. We explain why employment status will remain in the spotlight, and we discuss the ramifications of the ECJ's recent decision on holiday pay.

With organisations having already published or preparing to publish their first gender pay gap reports, Mark Crail, content director for XpertHR, takes a look at where we are now, including: the number of reports that have been published; what reports should contain; how to identify target audiences for reports; and examples of good and bad reporting. Presenter Zuraida Curtis is joined by Mark Crail.

Handling redundancies where affected employees include those who are pregnant or on maternity leave can give rise to some tricky issues. Understanding what the law allows you to do, including the special protections that can apply, is crucial to ensuring a fair process. Jo Broadbent, who is a professional support lawyer with Hogan Lovells, explains the key features of the law including: how the selection process operates; the duty to offer suitable alternative employment; entitlement to notice pay and statutory maternity pay; and strategies to deal with some of the common pitfalls. Presenter Laura Merrylees is joined by Jo Broadbent.

Kate Pritchard, director of research at ORC International, joins us to discuss emerging trends in employee engagement, including: the "Engage for Success" movement; the impact of technology; survey response rates and turnaround times; the frequency of surveys, together with the use of pulse surveys; and the potential impact of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Presenter Noelle Murphy is joined by Kate Pritchard.

Special guest Brad Taylor, Head of People at CIPD, joins us to discuss the findings of the XpertHR HR careers survey 2017 and provides a valuable insight into the HR profession.

In the second part of our two-part podcast on TUPE, special guests Patrick Brodie and Kelly Thomson clear up some common TUPE myths.

In part one of our two-part podcast on TUPE, we discuss how to inform and consult employees on a TUPE transfer to ensure as smooth a transfer as possible. Special guests Patrick Brodie and Kelly Thomson, TUPE specialists at law firm RPC and XpertHR contributing authors, run through their top tips on informing and consulting.

In the recent decision in Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth, the High Court held that the suspension of a teacher was a "knee-jerk" reaction and in breach of the implied term of trust and confidence between the employer and employee. Nicky Green, professional support lawyer at Capsticks, explains why this case is an important reminder of the steps an employer should take before deciding whether or not to suspend an employee. Nicky also discusses the process that an employer should follow when it decides that suspension is necessary and appropriate. Presenter Fiona Cuming is joined by Nicky Green.

Employers have a degree of flexibility when deciding how to deal with employee grievances. We look at how to take a common sense approach to grievances, including when to take informal action, what to do if employees are reluctant to get involved with a formal procedure, and the potential outcomes to consider. Presenter Qian Mou is joined by Susie Munro.

Employers continue to be confused by the concept of constructive dismissal. Max Winthrop, employment partner at Short Richardson & Forth LLP, explains constructive dismissal, including: what action on the part of an employer may entitle an employee to resign; the level of connection required between the employer's actions and the employee's resignation; and strategies for defending a constructive dismissal claim in the employment tribunal.

Employers are increasingly required to deal with employees covertly recording disciplinary and grievance meetings. With the prevalence of sophisticated recording devices, including mobile phones, this trend is likely to continue. In this week's podcast, we discuss how an employer should deal with covert recordings. In particular we look at the cases of Punjab National Bank (International) Ltd and others v Gosain and Zia and others v Brighton University Foundation Trust and others and offer practical advice for employers to follow. Presented by Laura Merrylees and Zuraida Curtis.

In the recent decision in Dudley Council v Willets and others, the Employment Appeal Tribunal found that regular voluntary overtime carried out by employees should be included in the calculation of holiday pay. Nick Chronias, employment partner at DAC Beachcroft LLP, explains the legal implications of the decision for employers. We go on to discuss what employers should be doing differently as a result of the decision. Presenter Jeya Thiruchelvam is joined by Nick Chronias.

In a landmark judgment on 26 July 2017, the Supreme Court, in the case of R (on the application of Unison) v Lord Chancellor, found that employment tribunal fees prevented access to justice and were unlawful. Laurie Anstis, employment lawyer and part-time employment judge, takes us through what this judgment means for employers including the likely short-term and long-term implications.

We discuss how employers are training managers to deal with this important issue.

Fiona Rushforth, senior associate at law firm Wedlake Bell, joins us to discuss the key principles and recommendations of Matthew Taylor's review of modern employment practices. We look at what this review means for employers and in particular, we discuss the following recommendations: the renaming of worker status to dependent contractor status; changes to the worker status test; closing the loophole that allows agency workers to be paid less than employees doing the same job; the calculation of pay in the gig economy; the payment of a higher national minimum wage for non-guaranteed hours in a contract; and tribunal fees and the enforcement process for awards. Presenter Laura Merrylees is joined by Fiona Rushforth.

In this week's podcast, we look at how employers can manage poorly performing employees in an effective and proactive manner. In particular, we cover: giving feedback to underperforming employees; the standard of performance that is expected of employees; following a fair performance management process; and redeployment in the context of poorly performing employees. We also briefly look at Matthew Taylor's review of modern employment practices. Presenter Jeya Thiruchelvam is joined by XpertHR consultant editor Darren Newman.