Overview
Course duration: 1 day.
This course is run in partnership with JSB.
This year has already seen key European opinions in the areas of disability and annual leave as well as continued debate over the status of agency workers. With the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act recently coming into force along with the Employment Bill reforms it is essential for HR to keep up to date on how these changes will impact in the workplace.
Every year senior HR professionals from UK’s leading organisations come together at JSB’s Annual Employment Law conference for their yearly update on the latest developments in employment law from an exceptional line-up of speakers – and to take advantage of an excellent networking opportunity to catch up with their HR colleagues in other organisations.
This year’s Annual Conference will provide a legal update on discrimination, ill-health, the contract of employment, TUPE, redundancy, corporate manslaughter, equal pay, immigration and the statutory dispute resolution procedures and hear best practice case studies from BT and East Sussex County Council on flexible working and absence management.
Is it right for me?
The conference is suitable for:
- Personnel and HR managers and directors
- Employee relations officers
- Employee relations officers
- Employment law specialists
- Senior line managers
- In-house lawyers
- All those who have an interest in employment law and practice
What will I learn?
Highlights of the conference include:
- Keep up to date with the Employment Bill reform and the status of the statutory dispute resolution procedures
- Understand the key developments in age, disability and religious discrimination
- Learn how to manage ill health effectively and tackle tricky issues such as sick pay and unfair dismissal
- Gain a comprehensive update on the contract of employment covering issues such as temporary staff, restrictive covenants and garden leave
- Understand the current law in relation to TUPE and redundancy
- Gain an insight into future employment law developments in the areas of immigration, equal pay and corporate manslaughter
- Hear best practice case studies on flexible working and absence management from BT and East Sussex County Council
What will it cover?
09.45 Chair’s opening remarks
10.00 Managing discipline and grievances and the future for dispute resolution
Peter Frost, Partner, Herbert Smith
Anna Henderson, Professional Support Lawyer, Herbert Smith
- An update on recent legislative developments: the Employment Bill reforms and what this means for the workplace
- Evaluating recent case law and top tips on common pitfalls
- Conducting workplace hearings and investigations effectively and how to exercise best practice
- Understanding alternative dispute resolution and the business case for ‘in-house’ mediation techniques
10.45 Coffee and networking
11.00 Discrimination law: key changes and case law developments
Sarah Keeble, Partner, Olswang
- Looking back on the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006: ‘Heyday’, Bloxham and how to demonstrate best practice
- What is the position on redundancy and the ‘first in last out’ rule?
- Understanding disability discrimination: the Disability Discrimination Act, ‘reasonable adjustment’ and the impact of Coleman v Attridge Law
- A round-up of the recent legislative developments in discrimination law: a Single Equality Bill and future implications for the workplace
11.45 Managing ill-health within the workplace
Susan Fanning, Partner, DLA Piper
- Understanding the law: what duties, legal and implied, do employers owe?
- Practical advice for HR on absence policies and implementing disciplinary procedures for absence related issues
- Sick pay: the rights of ‘Workers’ and ‘Employees’ and the Stringer case
- Unfair dismissal and ill-health: the ‘band of reasonable responses’, procedural defects and common pitfalls
12.15 Managing long-term sickness absence and creating a well-being culture at East Sussex County Council
Leatham Green, Assistant Director, Personnel and Training, East Sussex County Council
- What were the main challenges for HR and how were strategies put in place?
- The absence process and exercising well-being practices and initiatives
- How can HR and Occupational Health work together to achieve results?
- Evaluating the business case: how has the Council benefited and what’s in the pipeline?
12.45 Lunch
13.45 A comprehensive update on the contract of employment
Catherine Wilson, Partner, Eversheds
- Employment status: evaluating the latest European developments on temporary workers and the implications of the Court of Appeal decision in James v London Borough of Greenwich
- An update on annual leave and how this affects the employment of temporary labour
- Using restrictive covenants and ensuring compliance with the law
- What is the current position on notice clauses and enforcing ‘garden leave?’
14.30 Flexible working at BT: responding to the demands of the workforce and keeping abreast of legislative developments
Christine Moore, Head of Diversity Enterprises and Consulting, BT
- The Work and Families Act 2006: assessing the impact on the workplace and potential developments for 2008
- The position of carers and parents with older children
- How BT has implemented a work-life balance ethos within the workplace: home
working, job sharing and changing organisational attitudes
- Managing flexible working requests: who qualifies and what are the appropriate responses?
15.15 Coffee and networking
15.30 TUPE and Redundancy: where are we now?
Simon Jeffreys, Partner, CMS Cameron McKenna
- TUPE and change of service provision: a case law update and best commercial practice
- Changing terms and conditions post-transfer: Jackson v Computershare and Regent Security v Power
- Understanding the law on TUPE and insolvency and the position on ‘offshoring’ after Holis Metal v GMB
- A current update on redundancy: information and consultation, alternative employment and protective awards and liquidation
- Relocation, mobile employees and contractual redundancy schemes
16.30 What’s in the pipeline? Future employment law developments
Charles Wynn-Evans, Partner, Dechert
- An update on recent developments in equal pay law including ‘night work,’ ‘hypothetical comparators,’ and the ‘material factor’ defence
- The new Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act: the key changes and likely impact on the workplace
- Changes to immigration law and practical advice on employing overseas workers
- An update on working time and holiday pay issues
17.15 Chair’s closing remarks and close of conference