Effective Negotiations with Trade Unions Workshop
Negotiating with unions can go wrong; when it does, the cost to your organisation will be huge. Industrial action, low staff morale, a disrupted workplace and negative reputation can all be avoided.
Time: 0915 - 1600
Cost: £375 + VAT per attendee
For all dates: register here
- Thursday 9th November
The cost-of-living crisis has had a serious impact on workers and businesses alike. We must now work together on measures and resources to protect workers' jobs and conditions.
Over the last two years the impact to both employers and employees post-Covid has been significant. With rising inflation, interest rates and the associated cost of living crisis, we are now seeing trade unions campaigning for significant pay increases and benefits for their members across all sectors. The importance of a good negotiation process and working relationship with your trade union is vital to secure a satisfactory outcome.
Understanding the implications of the cost-of-living crisis on the process, psychology and practicality of effective negotiations will have long-reaching benefits for workers and management alike.
Attend this workshop to:
- Understand the psychology, process and behaviours of the negotiating process
- Gain insight into the impact of the cost-of-living on UK industrial relations and legislation
- Monitor, manage and influence social media challenges
- Maximise your relationship with your workplace unions and develop a joint-problem-solving culture
- Get to grips with key legal changes and developments and ensure your unions relationships are legal and workable
- Gain the tools to apply new skills in resolving real-life negotiations
- Move past brinksmanship and stalemate to facilitate honest, open dialogue
- Take part in practical exercises and scenarios
- Learn how to foster positive union relations both day-to-day and during negotiations
Why train with us
This comprehensive, interactive one day programme, addresses the current challenges facing employers and explores effective negotiation tools and techniques as well as the latest legal updates, solutions, policies and strategies. Hear from our hand-picked industry experts, take part in practical scenario exercises, join in a live Q&A and take away a negotiating toolkit developed with specialists as part of our 25-year track record in industrial relations training.
This workshop is strictly private and run under the Chatham House Rules.
Delegate feedback from our Trade Union Relations Workshops:
"Informative & interesting. Affirmation too of the good things we are already doing" – Nationwide Building Society
"A really useful day with lots of constructive ideas" – HCS Group
"All speakers were well-informed on topic. It made the course interesting and interactive" – Svitzar Marine Ltd
"Well-organised, good facilities" – Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue
"Excellent speakers – focussed, entertaining, knowledgeable" – IPPF
"Good practical focus rather than just looking at legal aspects" – NFU Mutual
"Fantastic, very easy to follow and engaging, was able to digest the information". - NHS Property Services
Platform: Zoom - An encrypted zoom platform with password access. Click here for further information and to test access
Prefer to run this course In-house?
We offer this course as a face to face or online in-house training option for groups of 5 or more – a cost effective training solution for teams. If this would be more suitable, please email catherine.ouston@bfi.co.uk
Which functions will benefit from attending
- Directors, Senior Managers, HR and Recruitment professionals, Employee and Industrial Relations, Employment Policy, Legal, Trade Union Representatives, Employment Law, Operations, Conciliation and Arbitration, Directors and Managers with industrial and employee relations responsibilities
Hear from
Schedule
Welcome & objectives for the day
Elizabeth Smith
Director of Research , Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)
Elizabeth is director of research and a founding co-director at Business Forums International. She is responsible for all programme content and writing, and researches current areas of interest for senior HR professionals in large organisations. BFI is the UK’s leading HR risk specialist conference and training provider, delivering key and timely information to over 3,000 delegates a year both through public and in-house training courses. Before founding BFI in 1996, Elizabeth specialised in researching corporate financial programmes in Asia and the Middle East, based in Dubai. She also worked in advertising and publishing in the Middle East and London. Elizabeth was educated in the West Indies, Saudi Arabia and Belgium before reading Modern Languages at Durham University. She is currently developing an online training course for line managers to raise awareness of menopause symptoms and ways that employers can work to make their workplaces more inclusive.
Approaches to negotiation
Simon Long
Senior Advisor , Acas
Having worked in ACAS for over 20 years Simon has developed particular expertise in helping Trade Unions and Managers achieve the best mutual outcomes from their working relationship. In addition, Simon also carries out mediations, conciliations and plays an integral role in London's training program, delivering courses in our London offices or in-company. Simon has a wealth of experience in tailoring training and business solutions to meet the unique requirements of individual organisations. This comes in part from previously working as an Individual Conciliator in ACAS, dealing with a huge variety of scenarios arising from employer - employee disputes. Simon holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Dispute Resolution and is the designated Adviser for organisations in Islington, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey and Waltham Forest.
- Trade unions response to the cost-of-living crisis
- Understanding & expectations: the difference between communication, consultation & negotiation
- How can union policies & processes impact your negotiation?: local vs. national policies, dealing with different levels of union representation
- Why do talks break down?: Encouraging and communicating directness & transparency, failure to share information, use of specific terms
- How to approach negotiations – attitudes & pre-conceptions: building better relationships with trade unions prior to negotiation & consultation
- Q&A
Comfort break
What legal issues must employers consider right now?
David Hopper
Partner , Lewis Silkin LLP
David Hopper is a Partner at Lewis Silkin in London, which Legal 500 2022 recognises as being noted by some as having ‘the strongest team in the UK for some industrial relations issues, particularly union recognition’. David specialises in advising on industrial relations, with Chambers UK having repeatedly commended him for his expertise in collective employment law and referred to him in 2022 as ‘outstanding’. He is regularly called upon by employers to develop proactive industrial relations strategies. This includes negotiating collective agreements and advising on their operation in practice. He also advises on all aspects of industrial action, including union balloting, picketing and the strategic considerations involved in deciding whether to seek a strike injunction. David regularly advises employers with both unionised and non-unionised workforces on business reorganisations, business transfers and labour cost reductions. He also regularly defends collective employment law proceedings in the Central Arbitration Committee and Employment Tribunal. He has acted for clients at all levels up to the Supreme Court.
- The difference between recognition, collective and national agreements;
- The legal framework, how a collective agreement works (ie. Incorporation), the formalities required to make a collective agreement;
- How collective bargaining works in practice;
- Dealing with disputes, internal and external dispute resolution
- Are your employees and representatives prepared for negotiation: what legal & contextual awareness should be in place?
- Recent case law: what lessons can be learnt?
- 15 minute interactive legal Q&A
Lunch
Masterclass I: Principles of negotiation
Derek Luckhurst
Training and Development Director , IPA
Derek Luckhurst has been the Training & Development Director of the IPA (Involvement And Participation Association) since December 2000 responsible for consultancy services. Previously he was the Manufacturing, Science And Finance Union’s National Secretary for Legal & General since 1996. He was instrumental in the establishment of a breakthrough partnership agreement, which was signed at L&G in 1997. At IPA he has developed partnership workshops for the Inland Revenue, the Audit Commission, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Aintree NHS Trust, Bolton NHS Trust and Santander. In conjunction with the workshop, he has written a partnership induction programme specifically tailored for people working on partnership initiatives. He is the author of “A Practitioner’s Guide To Sustaining Industrial Partnership” published by the IPA with DTI support in 2004, updated and re-published in 2011. He also wrote a Staff Representatives’ Handbook, which has been commissioned by Sanctuary Housing, Halfords, BP, Coral Racing and Avon Cosmetics. He has worked with many organisations helping them with employee relations including United Welsh Housing Association, Steria, Standard Life, Santander, Norwich Union, Royal College Of Surgeons, The General Medical Council, The Prince’s Trust, Egg, Blue Arrow, Royal National Institute For Deaf People, Bank Of Ireland UK Financial Services, The Independent Police Complaints Commission, The Healthcare Commission, Avon Cosmetics, The Royal Fleet Auxiliary, The National Asthma Campaign, National Grid, Peabody Trust, British Bakeries, The Employers Organisation, Pizza Express, The Communication Workers Union, The Post Office, De La Rue Cash Systems, Peabody Housing, Corps of Commissionaires, The Cancer Research Campaign, South East Water, Inland Revenue, Eurotunnel, Siemens, Pfizer, Terrence Higgins Trust, Electoral Reform Services, Opportunity Links, Kelloggs, the CBI, Skandia, AOL Broadband, Vodafone, Kimberley Clark and BP, Pearson, City & Guilds and HCL. Derek has also introduced the option-based consultation model for the effective involvement of the representatives of employees, be they union or non-union in identifying opinions and influencing the decision making process at a strategic level within organisations. Described by Keith Sisson, Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations at Warwick Business School as a ‘landmark in UK industrial relations’, Derek has been busy training managers and employee representatives in option-based consultation in organisations like the Healthcare Commission, Standard Life, Bank Of Ireland, United Welsh Housing and many others. Derek leads the IPA’s influential Best Practice Network and, with them, developed the “15 Strategic Questions” that have proved popular with representatives and senior managers alike. He is also the author of “The 5 Key Steps To Employee Engagement”, published in 2007, which explores the unique role representatives can play in ensuring staff lose the cynicism that blocks engagement. He was a key player in developing a framework for flexible working in Legal & General and was responsible for the training of both managers and union representatives in how the concept should work in practice. A new anti-harassment and bullying procedure was established during his term of office together with improved grievance and disciplinary processes.
- Perceptions – TU strengths & weaknesses
- Strategic planning: Core Business Objectives: Identifying the actual issue from the 'noise'
- How to prepare for a negotiation using principles: 15 questions & their multiple uses including:
- Moving away from point-scoring to constructive dialogue and building shared outcomes - avoiding confrontation
- Supporting representatives facing issues with members
- A detailed insight: How does the negotiation process work?
- How can this be practically applied in the workplace?
- Option-based negotiation model: Decision making timescales – in the moment vs. considered; ensuring best outcomes & better operations
Comfort break
Masterclass II: Negotiation scenario exercise - likely trade union situations
Derek Luckhurst
Training and Development Director , IPA
Derek Luckhurst has been the Training & Development Director of the IPA (Involvement And Participation Association) since December 2000 responsible for consultancy services. Previously he was the Manufacturing, Science And Finance Union’s National Secretary for Legal & General since 1996. He was instrumental in the establishment of a breakthrough partnership agreement, which was signed at L&G in 1997. At IPA he has developed partnership workshops for the Inland Revenue, the Audit Commission, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Aintree NHS Trust, Bolton NHS Trust and Santander. In conjunction with the workshop, he has written a partnership induction programme specifically tailored for people working on partnership initiatives. He is the author of “A Practitioner’s Guide To Sustaining Industrial Partnership” published by the IPA with DTI support in 2004, updated and re-published in 2011. He also wrote a Staff Representatives’ Handbook, which has been commissioned by Sanctuary Housing, Halfords, BP, Coral Racing and Avon Cosmetics. He has worked with many organisations helping them with employee relations including United Welsh Housing Association, Steria, Standard Life, Santander, Norwich Union, Royal College Of Surgeons, The General Medical Council, The Prince’s Trust, Egg, Blue Arrow, Royal National Institute For Deaf People, Bank Of Ireland UK Financial Services, The Independent Police Complaints Commission, The Healthcare Commission, Avon Cosmetics, The Royal Fleet Auxiliary, The National Asthma Campaign, National Grid, Peabody Trust, British Bakeries, The Employers Organisation, Pizza Express, The Communication Workers Union, The Post Office, De La Rue Cash Systems, Peabody Housing, Corps of Commissionaires, The Cancer Research Campaign, South East Water, Inland Revenue, Eurotunnel, Siemens, Pfizer, Terrence Higgins Trust, Electoral Reform Services, Opportunity Links, Kelloggs, the CBI, Skandia, AOL Broadband, Vodafone, Kimberley Clark and BP, Pearson, City & Guilds and HCL. Derek has also introduced the option-based consultation model for the effective involvement of the representatives of employees, be they union or non-union in identifying opinions and influencing the decision making process at a strategic level within organisations. Described by Keith Sisson, Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations at Warwick Business School as a ‘landmark in UK industrial relations’, Derek has been busy training managers and employee representatives in option-based consultation in organisations like the Healthcare Commission, Standard Life, Bank Of Ireland, United Welsh Housing and many others. Derek leads the IPA’s influential Best Practice Network and, with them, developed the “15 Strategic Questions” that have proved popular with representatives and senior managers alike. He is also the author of “The 5 Key Steps To Employee Engagement”, published in 2007, which explores the unique role representatives can play in ensuring staff lose the cynicism that blocks engagement. He was a key player in developing a framework for flexible working in Legal & General and was responsible for the training of both managers and union representatives in how the concept should work in practice. A new anti-harassment and bullying procedure was established during his term of office together with improved grievance and disciplinary processes.
Delegates will have the chance to put what they have learnt throughout the day into practice and develop their negotiation skills and approaches in this valuable training exercise. Attendees will receive detailed feedback including lessons learnt from other examples and insight into how we can get tricky negotiations right.
Wrap-up and outstanding questions
End of workshop
Contact us to book or discuss our events & services
01983 861133
info@bfi.co.uk
Informative & interesting. Affirmation too of the good things we are already doing
Good practical focus rather than just looking at legal aspects
A really useful day with lots of constructive ideas
All speakers were well-informed on topic. It made the course interesting and interactive
Excellent speakers – focussed, entertaining, knowledgeable
