BESPOKE EMPLOYMENT TRAINING

Every business wants to ensure that its reputation and goodwill is not undermined by it devolving decision making to managers. This can be a challenge particularly in the current economic climate where employees have become increasingly litigious. Investing in training of line managers on key principles of employment law, on the company’s documentation and procedures and ensuring managers understand how to resolve workplace disputes is therefore vital.

Hill Hofstetter has a track record of providing training to HR departments, in-house counsel and line managers. A wide range of courses are available but examples of the ones most commonly requested by companies are:-

    1.   Managing Employees

• An overview of employment law
• How to manage disciplinary & grievance procedures
• How to carry out a fair dismissal

    2.   Managing Absence and Flexible Working Requests

• Overview of employee rights for authorised leave for family reasons (maternity, paternity, parental leave, etc)
• How to deal with applications for flexible working
• Overview of disability discrimination law
• Medical Reports – fit notes/GP, occupational health and independent experts
• Holidays and Sickness

    3.   Dealing with Business Change

• How to successfully implement redundancy programmes
• The role of employee representatives
• The importance of independent and objective selection criteria
• Understanding when TUPE applies particularly in outsourcing of key business functions and the obligations on employees to inform and consult

    4.   Tribunals

• An overview of the tribunal process and powers
• Preparing for an Employment Tribunal
• A mock tribunal: demonstrating the consequences if managers fail to comply with the law and internal policies and processes

    5.   Status of Individuals

• The difference between an employee, worker and a contractor
• What rights each have
• Agency workers’ rights
• Atypical workers (casual workers, fixed term workers, zero hour workers, etc)

    6.   Mediation

• Advantages and disadvantages
• The difference between independent mediation and judicial mediation
• A mock mediation: demonstrating an alternative way to resolve disputes

    7.   Overview of Discrimination Law

• Identifying unlawful behaviour
• Applying the correct policies and behaviours to avoid discrimination allegations
• Understanding the risk of personal liability as well as risk to the company’s goodwill and reputation

    8.   International Assignments

• Seconding employees from the UK to other jurisdictions
• Rights of employees assigned to work in the UK from other jurisdictions
• Territorial scope of UK law

All training sessions are designed to be interactive, an opportunity to challenge pre-conceived ideas, and most importantly are delivered in a commercial and pragmatic way aligned to each company’s particular visions and values.