Employment Law Bitesize Series – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Senior Associate Moji Oyediran and Associate Katie Good from our Employment & Business Immigration team discuss the immigration sponsorship and right to work compliance regime for employers, exploring the recent spike in licence cancellations and revocations due to identified compliance breaches. The pair also break down the process for how these compliance audits are conducted, the potential ramifications of non-compliance or compliance breaches, and how employers can avoid finding themselves in this situation.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

In this final episode, Knowledge Counsel Anna West and Associate River Clarke from our Employment team talk with Director Sarah-Jane Denton from our Operational Risk & Environment team. They discuss potential developments in the modern slavery regime, as well as the ongoing expansion of sustainability and ESG reporting, and the increasing focus on supply chain diligence.

In this episode, Associates Hanna Bates-Martens and Holly Robson in our Employment team discuss ESG in the context of remuneration and benefits with Partner Mahesh Varia from our Tax team and head of the Incentives and Remuneration group. Our speakers explore the ways in which businesses are increasingly using ESG metrics in their compensation structures to encourage desired behaviours and help achieve their ESG objectives.

In this episode, Senior Associate Matthew Davis and Associate Olivia Rhys-Evans from our Employment team delve into the meanings and implications of diversity and inclusion in the context of organisational composition. The pair discuss mandatory D&I reporting (such as gender pay gap information) with companies increasingly adopting these figures in their annual reports, as well as reporting and regulatory requirements companies must oblige with at all levels. This is especially pertinent due to the new regulatory framework proposed by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for DNI in the financial sector which will be published this year.

In this episode, Senior Counsel Sarah Baker and Associate Harriet Willis from our Employment team discuss diversity, equality and inclusion with a focus on the implications and differences of positive action and positive discrimination according to UK law. While positive action can be used to increase diversity in the workplace, an understanding of the nuance between positive action and positive discrimination is imperative to avoid the risk of discrimination claims from groups not benefiting from it.

Listen to hear our recommendations on how to mitigate the risks in implementing positive action measures and how to benefit while remaining compliant.

In this episode, Knowledge Counsel Adam Rice and Trainee Solicitor Daisy Robinson from our Employment team explore the topic of how employers should approach their treatment of workers from an ESG and ethics perspective, covering three key areas:

• correct worker classification,
• treatment of zero-hours and casual workers,
• fire-and-rehire and the proposed code of practice to regulate this.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

In this episode, Associates Chris Wilkinson and Sophie Macpherson from our Employment team shift the focus to flexible working and family friendly policies. The hosts consider upcoming changes to the right to request flexible working in the UK, as well as a number of other family friendly developments in the pipeline, including the implementation of carer's leave, neonatal leave, changes to paternity leave and enhanced redundancy protection. These changes predominantly come into effect from April 2024.

In episode four, Senior Counsel Sarah Baker and Trainee Solicitor Hattie Rawlings from our Employment team interview Jackie Buttery, Head of Benefits and Rewards at Travers Smith, to understand how we are incorporating ESG into our employee benefits strategy. Our speakers explore legal obligations employers have towards their employees' mental health, discuss the potential of green initiatives within the employee benefits space, and unravel the tie between ESG and employee wellbeing. Furthermore, they shed light on the ways companies can bolster their support for employees via benefit packages and underscore the role communication plays in successfully implementing ESG strategies.