Back-To-Basics Training

For Line Managers

Our back-to-basics training gives managers the confidence they need to handle day-to-day employment law issues.

These fixed-fee online modules give managers the knowledge to proactively manage the fundamentals of employment law, identify key risks, and know when to raise these with HR.

They’ll help managers understand why policies and procedures matter, how they address legal need and how they can support the organisation in mitigating risk on people issues. Most modules come with a workbook, allowing managers to put their knowledge into practice and reinforce their learning. You can find out more here.

Our modules

Handling disciplinaries

Content:

  • Why it’s important to get it right
  • What’s in a disciplinary policy and the stages of a disciplinary process
  • Conducting an investigation
  • Suspension
  • What are the allegations?
  • Right to be accompanied
  • Decision making – the legal tests and expectations
  • Appeal
  • Penalties for unfair dismissal
  • Avoidance tactics – the common issues for non-attendance or delays and how to deal with them.

Outcomes: Understand how to conduct investigations, how to hold a disciplinary hearing, what makes a fair dismissal and what factors you should consider in your decision making & how to manage employee “avoidance tactics”.

£500 + VAT

Handling grievances

Content:

  • Understand the basic principles of a grievance process
  • How to recognise a grievance
  • How to deal effectively with grievances using best practice
  • Address common problem areas
  • Understand the risks of dealing with grievances improperly.

Outcomes: Be able to identify a grievance, investigate it and tackle common tricky issues which managers can encounter.

£400 + VAT

Managing sickness absence

Content:

  • An overview of the cost of ill health
  • A recap on the meaning of disability under the Equality Act 2010
  • Managing short-term absence
  • Understanding sick pay
  • Managing long-term absence
  • Making worthwhile Occupational Health referrals.

Outcomes: Be able to identify and manage both short-term and long-term sickness absence, get the most out of Occupational Health referrals and understand the requirements of a fair absence/ill-health capability dismissal. You’ll also explore some common tricky areas.

£500 + VAT

Performance management

Content:

  • Performance management overview
  • Identifying poor performance/legal risks
  • Informal performance management and having difficult conversations
  • Formal performance management process
  • Performance (capability) dismissals.

Outcomes: Know the importance of nipping performance issues in the bud at an early stage. You’ll understand the importance of holding difficult conversations on performance before things escalate, and the formal processes that you need to follow to dismiss fairly for capability reasons.

£500 + VAT

Flexible working

Content:

  • What is flexible working and why employers need to be considering their approach to it
  • Different types of flexible working
  • Legal requirements when handling flexible working requests
  • How to manage conflicting requests and grounds for refusal
  • Employee rights and limiting the risk of discrimination claims.

Outcomes: Know how to respond to flexible working requests and ensure compliance with the statutory framework.

£500 + VAT

Employment Tribunal claims

Content:

  • The employment tribunal process and your potential role in this
  • Understand the different stages and what’s involved
  • Time limits
  • ACAS and early conciliation
  • Settlement.

Outcomes: Know what to expect if you become involved in supporting the business with a Tribunal claim. You’ll have a basic understanding of the Tribunal process and how line managers may be involved in this (such as a witness) and what “disclosure” means. You’ll also understand what to expect from being a witness in an Employment Tribunal. A great module if you’re facing an ET claim and want those involved to feel as prepared as possible.

£400 + VAT

Menopause in the workplace

Content:

  • Why menopause is a relevant issue for businesses
  • How employee’s performance and wellbeing may be impacted unless steps are taken to support from an employer’s perspective
  • How employees can be encouraged to take steps for their own wellbeing in support of managing symptoms
  • How managers can approach discussions with employees on this issue.

Outcomes: Know how to confidently and sensitively manage and support an employee who is experiencing menopausal symptoms.

We also offer a free video for line managers with the purchase of this module, where you can watch a played out scenario of how to/how not to have a conversation with a menopausal employee you’re concerned about.

£500 + VAT

Data Subject Access Requests

Content:

  • What a DSAR is
  • How long you have to respond
  • How and where to search for personal data
  • Where to search
  • The consequences of failing to comply with a DSAR.

Outcomes:

You’ll understand what a Data Subject Access Request is, how to respond, and the costs of getting it wrong.

£500 + VAT

Investigations for Managers

Content:

  • What an investigation should look like and achieve
  • The practical tools and scenarios to work through to apply principles about collation of events, interviewing witnesses and drawing conclusions, including application to an investigation matrix
  • Feeding this into disciplinary or grievance scenarios, ensuring the investigation process is thorough, objective and fair.
  • The common problem areas which can inflate issues or cause unnecessary delay
  • Consider what is the right policy to progress issues under – capability, disciplinary or grievance.

Outcomes:

You’ll understand what makes a good, thorough investigation, the potential pitfalls, and the costs of getting it wrong.

£750 + VAT

Harassment in the Workplace

Content:

  • The legal definition of harassment, including sexual harassment
  • Worked examples of how it arises, with scenarios
  • Subtler forms of harassment, such as microaggressions
  • Unconscious bias and how this can lead to harassment
  • The importance of preventing harassment, including the legal risks
  • Why people do not report harassment
  • How to respond if you see harassment, or if harassment is reported to you.

The module will include a training video and an accompanying workbook and answer booklet.

Outcomes:

You’ll understand the obligations on employers and your role in preventing harassment in the workplace.

£600 +VAT

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (a guide for employees)

Content:

  • Key terms – diversity, equity and inclusion – what do we mean by this?
  • Why does it matter in the workplace?
  • Unconscious bias – what is it and why does it affect everyone?
  • Protected characteristics – what are they?
  • Promoting respect including around opinions and differences
  • Why some may be entitled to reasonable adjustments when you think they don’t have a protected characteristic (hidden disabilities)
  • Focus on harassment – what to expect and how to avoid unwanted conduct
  • Summary of everyone’s role in equality and diversity.

Outcomes:

You’ll have a better awareness of the importance and purpose to promoting equality diversity and inclusion in the workplace. You’ll understand what amounts to harassment and how to support the employer in demonstrating steps taken to prevent it.

£950 +VAT

Sexual Harassment at Work (for employees and managers)

This training aligns to the requirements under the legal framework in the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which imposes a positive legal obligation on all employers to take reasonable steps to protect their staff from being sexually harassed at work.

Content:

  • What is sexual harassment, with examples. This will include examples of unwanted conduct of a sexual nature and also conduct which is because someone has, for example, rejected a person’s sexual advances as well as third party harassment.
  • The standards of behaviour your staff are expected to follow
  • What your staff should do if they experience it or witness sexual harassment
  • Raising a complaint or seeking support to stop it (which includes directing them with their employer policies).

Managers (additional module) – we recommend you purchase this in addition to the above. It builds on the same principles and content, explaining to managers:

  • The risks for the organisation if it doesn’t do enough to prevent sexual harassment
  • The preventative measures that organisations should take to reduce the risk of sexual harassment happening in our workplace and the roles they play in support
  • How managers should respond if they become aware of conduct which could amount to sexual harassment
  • How do to deal with third-party harassment.

Outcomes:

You’ll understand the obligations on employers and your role in preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.

£1,200 +VAT for both modules. You’ll receive these together with a risk assessment tool (optional use – the need for assessing risk will be referenced in the managers’ module).

We offer a 20% discount if you purchase six modules or more. If you’re interested in any of our modules, please get in touch with your key contacts.

Jenny Arrowsmith

Partner

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Gordon Rodham

Sales Manager

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