Our annual Employment & Immigration Group Training Day is the unmissable event of the year for in-house employment lawyers and senior HR professionals.  

Agenda

09:30 - 10:00 Registration

10:00 - 10:10 Welcome and introduction to the day

10:10 - 11:10 Key themes and trends in employment law

This session will provide insight and analysis of key themes and trends emerging in employment law from the last 6 months and a review of what is on the horizon in the next 12 months.

11:15 - 12:15 Harassment and Bullying Whistleblowing Investigations – Themes and Strategies

When sensitive personal conduct, bullying and harassment issues arise, the employment, reputational and regulatory impacts can be complex and harmful.  This session explores the law and practice, and provides practical tips on conducting sensitive, strategically planned whistleblowing investigations and drawing these matters to a close without surprises.

12:15 - 13:15 The F Word at work:  Why Fertility Matters in the Workplace

In this session, we are delighted to be joined by Becky Kearns and Natalie Silverman from Fertility Matters at Work to explore how employers can improve experiences for employees needing fertility treatment, ultimately improving employee engagement, retention, attraction and productivity.  The session will look at what infertility is and how common it is, why it is important to recognise fertility treatment as part of the workplace, how employers can encourage disclosure and hold constructive conversations about this topic and work towards becoming more 'fertility friendly', including key pointers for drafting a fertility policy.

13:15 - 14:15 Lunch

14:15 - 15:15 You will have the choice of attending breakout session A or B:

• Session A: Navigating a cross-border restructuring project
  Managing international restructuring and outsourcing projects can be a challenge for organisations.  In this session we take a look at the issues involved, the pitfalls to consider and provide top tips on managing the process, drawing on the expertise from our international offices in Germany, France, Ireland as well as here in the UK.
• Session B: Immigration enforcement – are you ready for a Home Office audit?
  With the number of immigration sponsorship licence applications on the increase, changes to right to work checks and greater scrutiny from the Home Office, this session takes you through the practicalities and best practice for what to do if the inspectors come calling together with a comparison of the position in Ireland.  We will also provide an update about recent changes for sponsor licence holders.

15:30 - 16:30 Embracing Neurodiversity in the Workplace (Panel session with Professor Nancy Doyle from Genius Within)

It is estimated that 1 in 7 people in the UK are neurodivergent.  We also know that neurodiverse teams are 30% more productive than neurotypical ones and make fewer errors. In this session, we will explore what employers can do to provide more support to neurodiverse employees and attract more neurodiverse talent. We are delighted to welcome Professor Nancy Doyle from Genius Within to join our panel to discuss what neurodiversity is and share experiences of different types of neurodivergence before discussing the practical steps that employers can take to build more awareness and break down barriers to support neurodiversity in the workplace.  

16:30 Closing words, followed by afternoon tea.