Ashurst Legal Outlook Podcast

Quantum leaps in technology, as well as rising cost pressures, are prompting many leaders to take a fresh look at how their organisations are structured and resourced. However, restructures and redeployment are notoriously tricky processes to manage well. In this episode, we reflect on lessons learned from the High Court’s recent Helensburgh Coal vs Bartley decision. [https://www.ashurst.com/en/insights/redundancy-redefined-high-court-of-australia-clarifies-redeployment-rules/] Ashurst Employment partners Peter McNulty [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/peter-mcnulty/] and Julia Sutherland [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/julia-sutherland/] explain why and how Australia’s employment laws require a more nuanced approach to restructuring than in years gone by. Together, they tackle everything from redeployment and penalties for late payment of entitlements to contractor arrangements and employee consultation. They also discuss health and safety matters, including psychosocial risk, and they emphasise the importance of robust, documented plans. To listen to this and subscribe to future episodes, search for “Ashurst Legal Outlook” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast player. To find out more about the full range of Ashurst podcasts, visit ashurst.com/podcasts [https://www.ashurst.com/podcasts]. The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Our globetrotting podcast mini-series pays a visit to India, to take in the data centre landscape there. In less than 25 minutes, we highlight the market dynamics, trends, policymaking, infrastructure, and incentives that investors need to be across in this fast-growing market. There’s a lot of excitement around India’s data centre in market and with good reason. India already has around 1.2 gigawatts of live IT load capacity. In 2025 alone, the nation has already added roughly 250 megawatts and experts predict capacity will rise to 1.8 gigawatts by 2027, before reaching 4.5 - 5 gigawatts by 2030. In this episode, podcast host Ruth Harris [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/ruth-harris/] is joined by Ashurst colleague Kalpana Unadkat [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/kalpana-unadkat/] to explain what is driving India’s extraordinary surge in data demand, how the government is responding, the types of facilities being built, and who the movers and shakers are among investors. Along the way, Kalpana offers an assessment of how mature the market is, and picks out some notable joint ventures and occupiers. She also reflects on the trends that will shape data centre activity in the years ahead. To listen to this and subscribe to future episodes about data centres, search for “Ashurst Legal Outlook” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast player. To read more about data centres, head to Ashurst's data centre insights hub [https://www.ashurst.com/en/insights/data-centres-article-series/]. To find out more about the full range of Ashurst podcasts, visit ashurst.com/podcasts [https://www.ashurst.com/podcasts]. The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In this episode, we explain how the Data (Use and Access) Act changes marketing practices and the use of cookies in the UK. Host Rhiannon Webster [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/rhiannon-webster/] is joined by Ashurst colleagues Nicolas Quoy [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/nicolas-quoy/] and Shehana Cameron-Perera [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/shehana-cameron-perera/] to discuss how the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amends Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and changes marketing practices and uses of cookies. Shehana provides a snapshot of the amendments to PECR and what these mean for marketing practices. She also runs through the list of what cookies are categorised in PECR as being "strictly necessary cookies” and explains that, for analytics and appearance cookies, there are additional exceptions from obtaining consent. Nicolas draws some constructive comparisons between French and UK marketing and cookies practices and regulatory approaches and describes the EU’s enforcement approach which attracts substantially higher fines. Whilst the Data (Use and Access) Act appears to bring the UK in line with France from a cookie perspective, there are probably still differentiations across Europe which will require a country-by-country approach when looking at cookie compliance. Rhiannon explains how the Data (Use and Access) Act has aligned enforcement powers under PECR to the UK GDPR, and how this might inform compliance efforts and impact the ICO's approach to fining, particularly for marketing infringements. To listen to this and subscribe to future Data Bytes episodes, search for “Ashurst Legal Outlook” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player. To explore more from Ashurst’s podcast library, visit ashurst.com/podcasts [https://ashurst.com/podcasts]. The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In this episode we delve further into the UK’s Data (Use and Access) Act – this time exploring how the Act will impact organisations developing and deploying artificial intelligence (AI). Ashurst partner Rhiannon Webster [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/rhiannon-webster/] has assembled an expert team to unpack what the Data (Use and Access) Act means for AI, including data protection and IP-related matters. This includes Rhiannon’s Digital Economy team colleagues Will Barrow [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/william-barrow/] and Tom Brookes [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/tom-brookes/] alongside Ashurst IP expert Aaron Cole [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/aaron-cole/]. Together, they explain what’s changed and what lies ahead for organisations developing and deploying AI. Aaron lays out the copyright policy options the government is weighing up in the coming months, and highlights pertinent court cases over how copyright protected materials are used by AI platforms. Tom summarises data protection changes relating to automated decision-making and AI. He explains why this could prompt organisations to expand the way they use such AI tools, and what the impacts might be of rules splintering between the EU and UK. Tom also describes the more permissive environment for taking automated decisions using personal data, which has implications for HR and Finance leaders in particular. To listen to this and subscribe to future Data Bytes episodes, search for “Ashurst Legal Outlook” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player. To explore more from Ashurst’s podcast library, visit ashurst.com/podcasts [https://ashurst.com/podcasts]. The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In this episode in our Industrious Conversations series, Partner Tamara Lutvey [https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/tamara-lutvey/] is joined by Mackenzie Small [https://australiandisabilitynetwork.org.au/about-us/our-team#dialog-29], Relationship Manager at the Australian Disability Network, to explore how organisations can better accommodate neurodivergent employees in workplace investigations. Drawing on Mackenzie’s extensive experience in disability inclusion and workplace strategy, they unpack why traditional investigation models often overlook the needs of neurodivergent participants and what simple, practical steps employers can take to change that. Tamara and Mackenzie discuss key issues like preparing participants for interviews, designing inclusive meeting environments and framing questions with clarity. The conversation also covers the importance of process flexibility and why offering adjustments should be standard practice for all participants. To listen to this and subscribe to future episodes, search for “Ashurst Legal Outlook” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player. To explore more from Ashurst’s podcast library, visit ashurst.com/podcasts [https://ashurst.com/podcasts]. The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.