Howes Percival National Employment Conference 2014

Howes Percival will be holding their popular National Employment Conference on Wednesday, 15 October 2014 at Towcester Racecourse.

The National Employment Conference is an all day event starting at 8.45am and ending at 4.30pm.

This annual event gives delegates the opportunity not only to receive an update on recent developments in employment law by respected employment law barrister David Monk, but also to attend workshops to explore key employment topics in more detail.

Once again the conference will be held at the highly rated venue of Towcester Racecourse which is only a few minutes from the M1 and M40 motorways and which benefits from free parking for delegates.

Our dedicated team of employment specialists will lead the workshops which give delegates the opportunity to share experiences and interact within small groups.

The Employment Team at Howes Percival is rated in the ‘top tier’ in the latest edition of the Legal 500. It goes on to state that department head Paula Bailey is a “strong negotiator” and that Director Alex Payton is “reassuring”. The Legal 500 has also previously highlighted the employment team’s “human touch” and that Employment Partner Graham Irons is “very responsive, has deep knowledge of UK employment law, and offers practical and creative advice”.

The Day – 15 October 2014

8.45am – Registration and Breakfast

9.15am – Employment Law Update

David Monk, head of the employment team at New Walk Chambers in Leicester and lecturer in employment law at the University of Leicester. David will address delegates on recent developments to employment law over the past 12 months and look ahead to proposed changes that will come into effect over the next few years.

11.05am – Workshops

1. Protecting your Business (from your employees!)

2. Stress Relief

1.00pm – Lunch

2.00pm – Workshops

1. Taking the Grief out of Grievances 2. Sensitive Issues in the Workplace

4.30pm – Finish

Workshops – Morning Session

Protecting your business (from your employees!)

Whether it be a secret recipe, a key customer list or confidential business plans, employees are exposed to a wealth of sensitive information in the workplace and this information can often hold the key to a company’s success. Trying to protect this information can be a tricky business both during employment and after the employment relationship has come to an end.

This interactive session, run in conjunction with our Intellectual Property team, will focus on what employers need to do in order to protect the confidential information, client lists, trade secrets and other intellectual property contained in their business. We will cover the following:

• What pre-employment checks should employers make?
• Top tips on drafting effective restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses.
• How can employers capture all of the IP created by their employees?
• What effect has social media had on IP and business protection?
• What remedies are available to employers and how can rights be enforced?

Stress Relief

One of every three absences at work are due to stress according to an official Government survey. In this workshop, we aim to take the stress out of managing stress related issues. We have joined up with Medigold, occupational health provider, to provide you with a session focussed on:

• What is stress (and how to spot it);
• An employer’s obligations in relation to stress;
• The legal claims which can be brought as a result of stress and how to reduce the risk of such claims;
• Best practice when managing short and long term absence;
• Practical guidance on how to get the most out of occupational health referrals; and
• How to deal with grievances and disciplinary issues involving employees with stress.

Workshops – Afternoon Session

Sensitive issues in the workplace

• Do you have the hangover of dealing with an employee with alcohol issues?
• Are you choking at the thought of approaching an employee with personal hygiene issues?
• Ever felt like you had become a family counsellor when personal relationship breakdowns start impacting the workplace?

This workshop will seek to tackle those sensitive issues that can be the stuff of nightmares if handled the wrong way. Working through a series of practical case studies, we hope that you will be equipped to resolve the most personal of HR issues.

Taking the Grief out of Grievances

Providing practical tips on handling tricky grievances, this session will explore some of the particularly difficult issues facing employers when dealing with complaints from employees. This will be an interactive workshop with a case study to enable delegates to consider how to effectively manage the whole grievance process, including:

• Investigations – getting the right information;
• Dealing with reluctant witnesses;
• Evidence – evaluating and collating relevant evidence; and producing grievance outcomes.

Cost – £250 plus VAT.

The price includes breakfast on arrival, lunch, tea/coffee and refreshments.

Book before 31 August and receive one place free for every paid place booked (i.e. book 2 delegates for £250 + VAT, book 4 delegates for £500 + VAT)

To book a place, please email [email protected].

Please confirm in the email your choice of one morning workshop and one afternoon workshop and specify any dietary requirements.

We look forward to seeing you there!