Employment Law Focus

Flexible and agile working

Episode Summary

Flexible and agile working is on the rise. What do HR teams need to plan for as the Covid-19 pandemic subsides? We cover topics from discrimination and harassment to protecting employees’ physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Episode Notes

HR teams need to plan for the inevitable rise of flexible and agile working after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Risks and questions abound, from discrimination and harassment to protecting employees’ physical and mental health and wellbeing.

In this episode, we look at:

• The right to request flexible working, and whether this goes far enough (compared to countries like Finland);
• The grounds for refusing a request, and whether this will be harder moving forwards;
• The risk of claims relating to indirect sex discrimination, health and safety (both mental and physical) and protected characteristics;
• Whether remote surveillance of employees is legal, and how to manage the risks; and
• The need for a robust approach to data protection and information security.

We also look at what recent news stories have taught us about the wide scope of equalities protections and the need for a dress code for virtual meetings.

In our listeners’ questions, we discuss the use of personal devices for work purposes when working remotely and the expected rise in whistleblowing claims as a result of the pandemic.

Useful links:

ICO’s tips on working from home securely

TLT’s ‘Fit for the future’ hub

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