Introduction to Trade Union Relations, Ground Rules & Negotiations
Is your HR department fully-equipped to forge strong relations with their Trade Unions?
Time: 0930 -1245
Price: £275 + VAT per attendee
For all dates: Register here
- Tuesday, 2nd July
Introduction to Trade Union Relations for HR and Line Managers
Pay demands, cost of living increase, workloads, morale, disputes and breakdowns in union relations are all causing huge headaches for HR. Too many HR professionals feel under-equipped to tackle TU relations and lack the experience and knowledge to feel confident in tackling disputes and negotiations.
Right now, 61% of staff are disengaged – that costs the UK economy £340 billion per year. Good TU relations can reduce this figure. In fact, union reps can reduce voluntary exits by between 11,000 to 22,000 employees per year, saving employers around £49-98 million. So there’s a solid business, as well as moral case for making your TU relations as positive as possible.
This course covers:
- Current and future legal changes
- The post-Covid trade unions landscape: where strike action and workforce disputes will arise
- The role of conflict and how to manage it
- The process and principles of conflict resolution and the skills and confidence to tackle the process in their own organisations
Recent feedback from Effective Trade Union Relations training
"Great, some very practical tips on handling negotiations and especially from someone who has been a TU rep" - Victrex Manufacturing Ltd
"Entertaining, fast paced in a good way" - Paragon Customer Communications
"Informative, practical with lots of helpful tips to support working with TUs" - Essex County Council
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE 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 – 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
- Union reps with little or no experience, HR personnel who need a refresher or overview of current challenges, Delegates who lack confidence in managing conflict, Employers who need to understand the new trade union landscape, Employers facing currently in conflict who need workable and fair solutions
Schedule
Welcome and objective-setting
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.
A chance to revisit your reasons for attending the course, meet fellow delegates and establish and agree learning objectives
Introduction to the current unions landscape: A legal and practical overview
Vince Toman
Barrister , Lewis Silkin LLP
Prior to becoming a barrister, Vince worked in industry where he had first-hand experience in collective employment law and trade unions: as a shop steward; an adviser to independent trade unions; and an employment lawyer for a leading trade union firm of solicitors. Having then worked for a number of years in the Employment Department of a large city practice, he joined Lewis Silkin in January 2001. Specialties: He is an expert in trade union and collective employment law issues. He advises on industrial disputes, Information and Consultation Regulations matters (ICE and TICE), as well as European Work Council issues. He also has experience in health and safety issues, including disaster management and corporate manslaughter.
- Sea changes in employer: union relations - what dynamics have changed
- Employment and labour law updates: What are your legal obligations, duties and parameters?
- What legal changes might provoke strike action or provoke a workforce dispute?
- Industry-specific challenges to be aware of
Comfort break
Understanding the employer relationship and where issues will come from in future
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.
- History and development of industrial relations
- Unions and collective bargaining
- Implications of diversity and globalisation
- Organisational context
- Covid legacy: impact and conflicts:
- Workers versus furlough
- WFH vs mandate to return to work
- Vaccine policy and implementation
- Redundancies
- Pay and conditions
- The role of networks
Exercise: brainstorming possible areas of conflict and identifying ways in which your organisation’s culture and values play a role
Comfort break
Understanding, preventing and dealing with conflict
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.
- What happens when we avoid conflict?
- Where do conflicts arise and why?
- What are the key mistakes made and how can you avoid them?
- Conflict as a conduit to problem-solving: how to stop being afraid and grasp the possibilities
- What challenges are reps facing in 2024?
- Building confidence in the principles and process of conflict management
- Conflict versus compromise: understanding the pros and cons
- Understanding the roles and responsibilities of reps and line managers: how does the relationship work?
- Negotiation and collective bargaining
- Understanding the difference between consulting and informing: when to do what
- Deploying partnership approaches to secure collective employee voices
Feedback, final questions, planning and wrap-up
End of course
Contact us to book or discuss our events & services
01983 861133
info@bfi.co.uk
Good practical focus rather than just looking at legal aspects
All speakers were well-informed on topic. It made the course interesting and interactive
