Employment Law in Practice from Recruitment to Termination Training Course

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Why you should attend

This event has been specifically designed for HR professionals to explain employment law in an accessible, user-friendly format – mixing knowledge with a solid, practical approach – so you have the most up-to-date information and practical skills to take back to your workplace.

Over two days, the course will logically take a journey through the employment life cycle and consider along the way the key areas of impact from recruitment to termination. More often than not, people are the most expensive and important asset in an organisation and now that the fees regime at the Employment Tribunal has gone, careful management is all the more important.

Although there is substantial knowledge-based learning during this event, the two days are designed to be engaging and participative as well as informative. The course will equip you with the knowledge, skills and confidence to deal with all the important employment issues so you can act effectively and positively within the law. Attending this programme is an invaluable use of a busy HR professional’s time and is also relevant to line managers with an HR responsibility.

Benefits of attending:

• Develop your knowledge of the latest employment law and practice
• Understand how the law is applied both procedurally and practically
• Be up to date with this fast-changing area of the law and its implications
• Raise your profile within your organisation
• Look at how to improve what you do in your workplace to avoid conflict
• Communicate and advise your line managers on how to comply and stay within the confines of the law
• Learn the tips and techniques that sit behind successful execution of some of your key practices

Who should attend?

All HR advisers and specialists from business partners to HR directors will find this a highly useful two days, including:

• HR managers and directors
• HR business partners
• HR specialists
• HR controllers
• HR advisors
• HR officers and other HR professionals

This course is also applicable to line managers and directors of SMEs who need to fully understand their people management responsibilities and the risks to avoid.

Module 1: When employment begins

This is the first critical point in any employment life cycle, getting the right people into the right roles with the right potential. In this module we will look at what you need to know in terms of legislative impact.

• Equality Act 2010
• Data Protection Act 2018 /GDPR
• Safe interviewing
• Employment status issues
• Contracts of employment: part-time, fixed-term, zero hours, etc

Module 2: Discrimination and equality

Expanding on the topics covered in the first module we will focus on what the legislation requires of employers when it comes to avoiding discrimination and promoting equality.

• Discrimination
• The protected characteristics
• Types of discrimination
• Reasonable adjustments relating to disability
• Harassment
• Bullying
• Equal pay
• Gender pay gap

Module 3: Managing change

Things rarely stay still for long in any workplace. In this module we will explore how to deal with some of the more common impacts on employees when it comes to change.

• Reorganisation within your company
• Changing terms and conditions

Module 4: Employee complaints

However good an employer you are, there are always issues employees want to raise where they are dissatisfied or have concerns or complaints. This module explores how to deal with these circumstances.

• Grievances – what the law requires
• Grievances – the ACAS code and procedural issues
• The right to be accompanied
• Investigations
• Appeals
• Understanding whistle-blowing – the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998

Module 5: Capability

If managing performance starts with recruitment it ends with formal capability or under-performance management. In this module we will explore how to achieve fair and lawful management of poor performance.

• Capability – what the law requires
• Capability – the ACAS code and procedural issues
• Capability – lessons to learn from case law
• Performance improvement plans
• Appeals
• Gross negligence

Module 6: Conduct

Misconduct and gross misconduct issues need to be managed in accordance with good policies and procedures. The ACAS code gives important guidelines for employers and failure to follow can lead to increased compensation in a successful unfair dismissal claim at the Employment Tribunal.

• Disciplinary – what the law requires
• Disciplinary – the ACAS code
• Progressive vs gross misconduct
• Disciplinary – lessons to learn from case law
• Suspension
• Investigations
• Appeals

Module 7: Ill health

Most employees at one time or another have to take time off when they are ill. In some cases this time mounts up and, whether it is short-term or long-term, could need your intervention as the employer.

• Absence management
• Short-term and persistent absence
• Long-term absence
• Disability-related absence
• The ‘sickie’
• Return-to-work procedures
• Rehabilitation
• Occupational health
• Access to medical reports
• The fit note
• Ill-health dismissal

Module 8: Family-friendly issues

This is an area heavy with legislation and process. The aim of this module is to ensure you understand what the rights are.

• Maternity
• Paternity
• Parental
• Shared parental
• Ante natal
• Dependant
• Flexible working
• Working-time issues

Module 9: When employment ends

An inevitable conclusion to some employment journeys is dismissal and fairness is imperative in these circumstances.

• The five potentially fair reasons to dismiss as set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996
• Managing fair dismissal both procedurally and substantively
• Settlement agreements – what to say
• Avoiding undue pressure
• Settlement agreements – the documentation

Module 10: Redundancy

The right to redundancy payment was introduced in 1965 and since then a variety of other rights in relation to redundancy have entered our legislation through statute and case law.

• The situations that may give rise to a redundancy
• Lay-off and short-time working
• Process
• Selection
• Consultation – individual and collective
• Notification to the Secretary of State
• Statutory redundancy pay and/or enhancements
• Alternative employment
• Time off
• Automatically unfair redundancy

Module 11: TUPE

Business sales, acquisitions, mergers and service provision changes are all too commonplace, particularly in certain industries and business sectors. In this module an overview of the legislative and practical aspects will be explored.

• When does TUPE apply – identifying a ‘relevant transfer’
• What are the employee protections enshrined in the legislation?
• Identifying relevant employees
• What transfers?
• Pre-transfer dismissals
• Post-transfer dismissals
• Harmonisation
• Employee liability information obligations
• Information and consultation of appropriate representatives
• Effect of the employee objecting

Module 12: Employment Tribunal

With the removal of the Tribunal fees regime, the number of claims dramatically increased. In this module we will consider:

• What to do when ACAS call
• ET1 and ET3
• Preparation
• Bundles
• The hearing