Previous Events

Previous Events:

Employment law update: recent and forthcoming changes

Kindly hosted by our member, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, in Stratford Upon Avon.

The presenter was Lianne Payne, Partner and Head of Employment Law at Askews.

This meeting discussed:

Carers leave regulations
Changes to family friendly rights and protections (including paternity leave, protection from redundancy (pregnancy) and flexible working);
Equality Act Amendments;
Sexual harassment;
Rehabilitation of offenders;
Predictable working patterns;
Notable case law decisions

Flex from day 1 - Are you ready? Jan 2024

With the new Flexible Working Act coming into effect in Spring, are you ready to support flexible working from Day 1 of employment?

Our very own Nicola Pease gave us an overview of the new flexible working legislation and what this means for employers. With almost 50% of people surveyed saying they are considering taking advantage of the new right to request, this session will give you all the information you need to be prepared.

How to protect your organisation when people leave

We were delighted to have had Lianne Payne of Askews Legal join as our guest speaker on Friday, 6th October. Lianne shared her insights on post termination restrictions in an employment contract and answered all your questions on ex-employees.

Lianne was the Head of Employment Law at Askews Legal and had over 17 years’ experience as a specialist employment solicitor, advising corporate clients on a broad range of employment law issues, including TUPE transfers, redundancies, settlement agreements, and exit strategies, complex disciplinary and grievances matters, post termination restrictions, and Employment Tribunals claims. Outside of work, Lianne was passionate about competitive sports, homemade crafts, Christmas, and all things Roald Dahl. When she wasn’t working, she could be found teaching Taekwondo, playing Netball, holidaying in the Isle of Wight, or spending time with her children.

Covert Investigation

We were fortunate to have two speakers who discussed this interesting topic.David Kearns of Expert Investigations provided an insight into how you can lawfully use covert surveillance and overt investigations in the workplace, and the benefit of understanding how to openly gather evidence. Ann was a trained, qualified independent workplace investigator and qualified Mediator, an Associate of the Civil Mediation Council, and a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD. Highly experienced in the conduct of investigations into grievance, disciplinary, whistleblowing, and in particular discrimination.

Ann’s presentation looked at the formal process of conducting the workplace HR investigation, gathering the facts and evidence together to produce a report on the investigation findings that ensured compliance, fairness, and was critical to the resolution of disciplinary or grievance processes. This also maintained employee trust in the company and reduced the risk of legal action being taken against a business.

David Kearns, Anne Reilly, Sue Bradnock, Nicola Pease

Conscious Inclusion

This session was led by Nishi Mehta, who was a diversity and inclusion specialist. Conscious inclusion is about being aware of your biases and doing your best to make everyone feel included. It is a relatively new term in the world of diversity and inclusion, and it is sometimes used in conjunction with unconscious (or implicit) bias.

This session covered:

The filters through which we view and interpret ourselves and others (and the reliability and impact of these filters)
The ‘hows and whys’ of unconscious bias
The different types of biases
The part that micro-aggressions, micro-inequities and micro-affirmations play
How to re-frame our thinking to guard against implicit association and stereotypes
The importance of personal networks and opportunities to broaden our perspectives
Top tips for mitigating unconscious bias and being consciously inclusive of driving positive change

Nishi Mehta

Rewards and Benefits October 2022

Our presenter for this event was Christina Jones, a Reward and Benefit Consultant, helping businesses create frameworks which enable them to reward employees fairly & consistently.
Christina works with clients from different industries and will talk to us about the types of challenges she is asked to help with, what she is seeing companies do to respond to, and anticipate the ever changing market.
She focused on the current reward trends and what she is seeing companies do in response to the market challenges.

Employment Law Update July 2022

Helen Hughes is an experienced Employment Lawyer at Shakespeare Martineau, with a strong history of working in the legal services industry, both in private practice and in house. Her preference is to work with clients on a proactive basis to minimise the risk of disputes arising through training and advisory work, but where they do find themselves facing such disputes, despite best efforts to avoid them, then she is experienced in handling Tribunals.

This meeting was a general employment law update for HR professionals, covering legislation changes and key cases over recent months to learn from, as well as horizon scanning for pending developments that will affect the employment law landscape.
Some of the topics discussed was: holiday pay, hybrid workplaces, menopause (and the possibility of menstrual leave), fire and re-hire and equality act cases.

This meeting was kindly hosted by Sarah Smith, Head of HR, at Wanzl's offices in Warwick.

Helen Hughes, Sue Bradnock, Tom Fardoe, Sarah Smith

Employer Branding

The competition to attract new talent is growing fiercer than ever, we looked at ways to improve employer branding.

In today’s increasingly competitive job market, a positive employer brand is essential. You will need to have a strong brand out in the marketplace to attract the talent your organisation needs, both now and in the future.

When it comes to developing your employer brand, you need to be direct on how you want your organisation to be perceived in the market - what the key messages are that you want to communicate? In addition to this, it is important to ensure this accurately reflects the internal reality, not forgetting that each employee is a potential ambassador out in the marketplace, reinforcing your brand and reputation daily.
In this session we provided practical guidance and steps on how to develop an employer brand. And discussed what we need to think about to ensure that employer brands are communicated effectively and projected into the marketplace.

Employment Law Update

Coming out of Lockdown

Tina Chander, Head of Employment Law, and Sophie Wahba, Employment Law Solicitor, discussed the hot legal topics that are emerging, as businesses face the new challenges of dealing with subjects, that have seldom been dealt with previously.

HYBRID VERSUS STATUTORY FLEXIBLE WORKING

As a result of the pandemic the phrase “working from home” and abbreviation “WFH” are now common, however with the lifting of restrictions, companies are considering the benefits of having a hybrid working policy but what should they include in it? By publishing a clear policy this will help manage expectations about what is and is not possible, in the post pandemic world and mitigate the risks of complaints and claims in the future.

VACCINES

As the UK’s COVID-19 vaccination and booster rollout continues, employers should prepare for and manage its impact on the wider population and their workforce. Companies face an on-going obligation to ensure that their employees are safe but what are the consequences of vaccines and the refusal of workers to have them? Employers must incorporate plans on the implications for their staff, visitors and workplace as a whole, covering: communication to encourage take up of vaccines and boosters; risk assessment; and vaccine policy.

Invisible Disabilities and Mental Health

Ted Smith led a seminar on the practical steps that we can to take to make our workplaces more inclusive, for those with hidden or invisible disabilities (e.g. multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, hypermobility). He covered the changes necessary to ensure the mental health of employees who are increasingly working from home.
Ted is an HR Consultant who previously held senior HR positions with Glaxo, the Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust. He is the author of "Human Resources A to Z, a Practical Field Guide for People Managers", as well as nine other books, and is currently researching a book on practical inclusion in the workplace. "Human Resources A to Z, A Practical Field Guide for People Managers" is the book Ted wanted to be able to buy when he started out in HR. It's full of insider tips and tricks and aimed at HR and OD professionals who want to progress their careers. 25% of royalties from sales of the book go to Macmillan Cancer Support, a great charity.

COVID-19 - A wake up call for all businesses

The COVID-19 global pandemic has proved how unprepared we are to handle a crisis that causes world-wide implications with impacts on all businesses.

Lee Wallings and Duncan Turner led a seminar on four different factors impacting not just yourself, but also your employees and clients as we learn to navigate these unprecedented times as a business community.

This included:
• Human Resources: Issues facing companies today and beyond from Furlough to Working From Home Policy, employment law and redundancy.
• IT Risks and Security: Why you, your business, and staff are at risk and what you should be doing to protect your business
• GDPR: What are the things we need to consider to be compliant with the regulations
• Business Continuity: What is it, why businesses should invest in one, and how to create a business continuity plan

Lee is the founder of I&I Consultancy and COO of an Education focussed business. He has held senior positions within the Investment Banking and FinTech industries for 30 years before starting his Consultancy late in 2019. Lee is also a qualified Mental Health first aider.
Duncan is CEO of Harwood HR Solutions; he is a CIPD qualified HR leader with over 25 years of senior-level experience across a range of sectors, from food, retail to luxury cars, working with Companies such as Sytner Group and Porsche Cars GB. Duncan’s most recent position before founding Harwood HR Solutions was Chief Operating Officer in the Financial Services sector.

Business as usual – maintaining best people practice in difficult times

In our previous meeting in June, we focused on the considerable challenges businesses have faced over the past five months, and the great lengths they have gone to in order to get things back on track. It is very easy in these difficult times to overlook other keys aspects of your people policy and your legal obligations - looking after your employees but also protecting your business, particularly in a new, more agile, working environment.

Employment Partner Rebecca Sawbridge, Managing Associate Fiona Goodman from Freeths LLP, and Katy McMinn, Founder of Task HR spoke at our October webinar which focused on key issues for employers to keep in check, even in these uncertain times and practical ways to address these:

The Employment Law and HR seminar covered:

·         Agile working – legal and practical issues to consider including homeworking agreements, data protection during remote working, and health and safety, as well as the importance of effective management and support during these ever changing times
·         Keeping your business protected - confidential information, restrictive covenants and common issues in employment contracts
·         Diversity and discrimination – why equality and diversity is more important than ever, how to bring this to life within your organisation and a reminder of the legal position in relation to discrimination

Guiding your workforce into a post Covid-19 world

This was the first meeting to be held on Zoom and the participation rate was good!

As the UK begins to come out of lockdown, businesses will face challenges - many of them considerable - in trying to get their workforce back into a safe workplace and restarting their production/output at sustainable levels.

Employment Partner Rebecca Sawbridge and Managing Associate, Fiona Goodman from Freeths LLP, as well as Anna Harrington, Occupational Health Advisor from WHIB, presented a seminar focusing on the HR and legal issues that are occurring as the lock down is eased.

The Employment Law seminar covered:

Issues faced by employers as their staff return to the workplace including discrimination and health & safety
Dealing with increased home working requests and staff who do not feel comfortable returning to the workplace
Agreeing changes to working practices and individual changes to terms and conditions
The end of job retention and furlough
Looking to the future and related legal considerations including restructuring, redundancy, and collective consultation

The Occupational Health session covered:

Why risk assess and what should be covered in the risk assessment
Principles of risk reduction
Risk status of employees
What should businesses be considering from the well-being perspectives
Personal Protective Equipment
Temperature checks - to do or to avoid

Sue Bradnock, Organiser

Employment Law

The event was kindly hosted by fellow member: Wanzyl, at their Head Office in Warwick.
Rebecca Sawbridge , Partner and Head of Employment at Freeths LLP, has 20 years’ experience in advising on employment law, having specialised in this area since she qualified. She spoke about what to expect from post-Brexit changes to employment law.

This presentation included:

Consideration of key requirements for the retention of existing European employees post-Brexit to ensure employment remains lawful

Recruitment of new European employees post-Brexit: immigration and right to work considerations

An update on recruitment of European and non-European nationals under the new points based system (from January 2021)

Sue Fardoe - Sarah Smith HR Manager Wanzl, Emma and Rebecca from Freeths LLP

How To Make Employee Engagement happen

Following on from the previous meeting where we discussed the importance of employee engagement and what it means, this interactive session covered how to make it actually happen in your workplace. Katy McMinn, consultant with Task HR, talked about how to identify current levels of employee engagement within an organisation, and identify specific areas that may be impacting on this engagement. We also discussed the importance of culture as well as the need to identify any blockers that might be in place which may be having an impact on engagement across an organisation.

This event was held at Poet’s Arbour at Shakespeare New Place and was hosted by one of our members, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Anne Doughty, HR Manager, The Shakespeare Trust, Katy McMinn, Task HR and Sue Bradnock, organiser

Employee Engagement in Turbulent Times

This session gave members an opportunity to share their challenges and good practice in relation to employee engagement in their organisations.
Sarah Brewster, Organisation Design and Development Consultant, offered a brief overview of the science behind employee engagement: she took us through some of the latest research into why it matters, particularly in times of uncertainty and change. With the Brexit news in such an uncertain and turbulent state, we looked at what we can do to calm the waters, as well as helping the business continue to engage staff who may be feeling concerned about where their future may lie.
The session showcased some of the latest tools on the market that can help you track engagement. And, finally, it will gave us some practical steps to take away from the day to help frame the conversations you have with the business.

This meeting was kindly being hosted by Unique Senior Care who are members of the Talent and People Alliance.

Sue Bradnock, Phil Maundrill, Sarah Brewster

Brexit’s impact on immigration and HR: immigration compliance and reputational risk

Sue Bradnock, Yemi Alli, Alison Field

Alsters Kelley Solicitors Ltd kindly hosted the meeting at their Leamington Spa offices. Yemi Alli, Associate Solicitor in their Immigration department spoke about the impact Brexit will have on employing people who are not British Citizens.

The legal status of EU citizens working in the UK will change post-Brexit; under the government’s current proposals, many EU Workers won’t have automatic statutory rights, equivalent to what they currently have in EU law. Instead, they will have a permission-based form of status. Firms need to assess the employment status of their non-British Citizen staff, assisting them with their options and status once this becomes clearer.

During these uncertain times, companies may require assistance regarding rights to work in the UK, visas, sponsorship and global mobility issues.

Yemi Alli is an Immigration Solicitor with a wealth of knowledge to share on these and other immigration related matters. She joined the company in 2014, specialising in both personal and business immigration. Yemi has dealt with applications under the Point Based System; Tier 1 (Investors & Entrepreneurs), Tier 2 (Work Permits), Tier 4 (Students), Tier 5 (Temporary Workers), indefinite leave to remain, entry clearance, family reunions, unmarried partner, married partner, domestic violence and EEA applications, to name but a few.

Mental Health in the Workplace

Wednesday 16 November 2018
Kindly hosted by BakerHicks at their offices at Gallows Hill in Warwick

Lisa Whittleton

Raising awareness to proactively support mental ill health within your organisation.
Did you know that;
Over £70 billion is the estimated costs to the UK's economy as a result of mental health each year?
Or that over £29 billion is the estimated cost due to absenteeism to UK businesses per year?
And 25% of the population experience mental health problems each year?
There is a growing awareness of Mental Health in the workplace, but stigmas do still exist and businesses are only just starting to tackle the challenge of improving how they cope with the impact of poor mental health amongst their workforce.
By effectively supporting the mental wellbeing of their staff, businesses will have a happier, engaged and thriving workforce - contributing to continued growth and success.
In this interactive session Lisa Whittleton, Director at Illuminate VR Services Ltd, will raise awareness of mental health generally: providing insight into the impact of mental ill health within UK businesses. The session will include discussions around some of the barriers faced by organisations and how to best overcome them.

Emily van de Venter

Emily van de Venter is the Associate Director of Public Health with Warwickshire County Council and South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group. Emily leads on promoting positive mental health and wellbeing within Warwickshire and will provide an overview of local priority issues and the tools and support available to support mental wellbeing. The discussion will encourage employers to consider how such tools can be used to shape organisational policies and practices.

An overview of the Warwickshire Mental Health Employment Support Service, Individual Placement Support (IPS), will also be provided. IPS is provided by Rethink and can support anyone aged 16 years old or older, who lives in Warwickshire, has accessed secondary mental health services and is motivated to work, or anyone who is in employment and has an emerging mental health issue, that could mean their employment may be at risk. Rethinks' IPS workers will support employers to make reasonable adjustments and develop action plans to appropriately support individuals to maintain positive wellbeing.

Emotional Resilience in the workplace

Alan Dovey

We were delighted to welcome Alan Dovey to our meeting to discuss this topical subject concerning Mental Health issues in the workplace. He is the lead psychological therapy practitioner for Jaguar Landrover Plc and West Midlands Fire Service as well as working with other organisations including Arconic, West Midlands Police Force and Western Power Ltd. Alan has worked in the clinical field for 30 years and for the last 20 years in occupational health as a specialist practitioner and Clinical Director to Working Minds UK. He has become more involved in the subject of emotional resilience with organisations, as this is a more proactive approach to preventing mental health problems developing or at least picking up problems early before they develop into chronic disorders. Working Minds UK recently developed the first 4 day programme on emotional resilience with University of Staffordshire.

This short workshop focused on defining the term “stress” and resilience and applying a practical biopsychosocial approach to manage mental well-being both from the organisation and the individual level. He applied a cognitive behavioural framework to help structure this and promoted insight into what triggers and what maintains mental health problems

Rebecca Sawbridge, Employment Law Partner, at Freeths

David Kearns, Managing Director, Expert Investigations

On Friday 9th February 2018 in the iconic historical setting of the Guildhall at Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick, our speaker David Kearns, Managing Director, Expert Investigations, discussed and demonstrated some of the gadgets used to lawfully covertly monitor employees for evidence gathering in both physical and mental health absenteeism cases and fraud. This topic tied in well with a previous presentation from Expolink as 39.1% of occupational fraud is discovered by tip off, of which 47% are through Whistle Blowing Hotlines. David also discussed computer forensics, vehicle tracking and provided interesting and entertaining case studies. Our second speaker was Rebecca Sawbridge, Employment Law Partner, at Freeths, who spoke about privacy in the workplace and the legal side of surveillance, trackers, telephone monitoring, drug and alcohol testing. This once again followed on from the previous meeting about GDPR as best practice becomes law under the new GDPR and HR departments will need clear policies on email monitoring, recording of meetings, test results and stored data.

We were delighted to welcome Paula Tighe, Director of Information Governance at Wright Hassall, to our Talent and People Alliance meeting on 11 October 2017, she spoke about “GDPR and the impact on HR.” In May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable and HR departments are faced with this real deadline of overhauling many of their data operations. This may require a comprehensive review of HR records and all unconsented data will have to be wiped clean and HR professionals will be tasked with carefully managing their data processes. It is imperative that HR professionals understand the policies and procedures that define GDPR before it becomes enforceable in May 2018. The GDPR will have a major impact on all critical business processes and the challenge is to remain on the right side of the regulation and avoid financial sanctions.

In June 2017, John Wilson, CEO of Expolink, spoke about Whistleblowing in the workplace. He discussed that as an employer it is good practice to create an open, transparent and safe working environment where workers feel able to speak up. Although the law does not require employers to have a whistleblowing policy in place, the existence of a whistleblowing policy shows an employer’s commitment to listen to the concerns of workers. By having clear policies and procedures for dealing with whistleblowing, an organisation demonstrates that it welcomes information being brought to the attention of management.

John Wilson, CEO of Expolink

In February 2017 at Chesford Grange Ian Besant from Wright Hassall LLP spoke about The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017, which came into force on the 6 April 2017. These Regulations impose obligations on employers with 250 or more employees to publish information relating to the gender pay gap in their organisation. Employers are required to publish the difference between the hourly rate of pay paid to male and female employees, the difference between the average bonus paid to male and female employees, the proportions of male and female employees who receive bonuses and the relevant proportions of male and female employees in each quartile pay band of the workforce.

Ian Besant and employment law team

Derek Eccleston

In October 2016 at Warwick Castle, Derek Eccleston, one of the original members, who is a regular presenter of Employment Law up-dates for CIPD, spoke about recent issues such as Family Rights and recent cases on Discrimination and Dismissal, as well as the possible implications of Brexit.