Staying genuinely ahead of the Employment Rights Act: A Complete Compliance Roadmap
This half-day online conference keeps HR, ER and legal teams ahead of the Employment Rights Act's fastest-moving changes: qualifying periods, uncapped compensation, guaranteed hours, day-one rights, trade union thresholds and AI governance have all shifted within months of each other. Even well-resourced teams find it hard to keep every strand current, and the real value isn't spotting one change - it's seeing how they all connect and knowing when to act.
Every delegate receives a digital Compliance Roadmap handbook after the event, the reference document to keep and come back to. Today's live sessions are built around it in advance: real tribunal activity, a practitioner's honest account of how implementation has actually gone, and direct answers to your own situation, so by the time the handbook lands in your inbox, it's something you've already seen applied, not just something you've been sent.
What you'll take away:
- A digital Compliance Roadmap handbook, sent after the event and updated with real tribunal and enforcement activity
- A clear read on how tribunals are actually applying the six-month qualifying period and uncapped compensation
- Practical lessons from contract and policy reviews carried out since April 2026
- A practitioner's ground-level account of how implementation has actually gone
- A clear plan for the January 2027 implementation phase
Why attend now:
This is the point where the Act stops being theoretical. Six months of live tribunal activity and Fair Work Agency inspections mean there is now real evidence of how these changes are actually playing out, and January 2027 brings the next deadline. Even strong in-house teams benefit from a live check against real cases and a practitioner's experience - it's what keeps planning proactive rather than reactive, and turns the handbook into something genuinely current rather than a static reference.
CPD eligible - certificate of attendance provided, with hours and content confirmed for your professional body.
- Unfair Dismissal in Practice – the six-month qualifying period and uncapped compensation, tested by real tribunals
- Fire-and-Rehire – automatically unfair dismissal cases since implementation
- Contracts and Day-One Rights – what post-April reviews have actually found
- Guaranteed Hours – shift cancellation compensation and zero-hours obligations in practice
- Practitioner Reality – an honest ground-level account of the last six months
- AI and Discrimination Risk – recruitment and people management tools under the Act
- Trade Union Recognition – lower thresholds and electronic balloting in practice
- January 2027 Readiness – preparing for the final implementation phase
09:30 - 09:40 Welcome: Where We Actually Stand
- Six months on from the first deadlines: what's landed, what's still ahead before January 2027
- How to use today alongside your Compliance Roadmap handbook: live interpretation, not duplication
- What "good" compliance looks like right now, not just in theory
- Live polling to establish the room's starting point, so today's emphasis lands where it's needed
- Where implementation has moved fastest since April, and what to watch for next
09:40 - 10:20 Unfair Dismissal, Six Months In
- The six-month qualifying period and uncapped compensation in practice, not just in theory
- How the changes will be tested by the Employment Tribunal
- Fire-and-rehire as automatically unfair dismissal: what this will mean for changing employment terms
- Where your handbook's dismissal checklist needs updating in light of real cases
- Practical red flags to build into probation reviews and exit sign-off now
10:20 - 10:30 Comfort Break
10:30 - 11:10 Contracts, Zero Hours and Day-One Rights: What's Actually Landed
- Guaranteed hours obligations and shift cancellation compensation in practice
- Day-one statutory sick pay and parental leave: what contract reviews since April have turned up
- Common gaps found in flexibility clauses and staff communications, and how to close them
- Cross-referencing your handbook's contract templates against what's actually been tested
- A quick audit method to check your own contracts before the next deadline lands
11:10 - 11:40 Case Study: Compliance on the Ground
- What's genuinely evolved since the original roadmap was first drawn up
- The pressure points that turned out to matter most, and the ones that didn't
- What's actually taking the time day to day, six months in
- Where the handbook's guidance held up, and where it needed local judgement
- Honest, practical reflections for any team refining its own approach
11:40 - 11:50 Comfort Break
11:50 - 12:20 Trade Unions and the Run-Up to January 2027
- Lower recognition thresholds in practice: fewer members and supporters now needed
- Electronic and workplace balloting since August 2026, and the right to be informed of union membership from October
- Auditing employee voice architecture and unionisation risk ahead of the final implementation phase
- Where the handbook's trade union section needs a fresh look before January 2027
- What "reasonable preparation" looks like to a tribunal on this topic
12:20 – 12:50 Case Study: AI, Recruitment and Discrimination Risk
- Where AI tools in recruitment and people management are creating discrimination exposure
- The data protection risk sitting alongside it
- Governance steps that reduce the risk rather than just documenting it
- Practical questions to put to any AI recruitment supplier
12:50 - 13:00 Action Planning, Final Q&A
- Prioritising the highest-risk gaps uncovered since April, with clear owners and timelines
- Turning today's sessions into three concrete actions using your handbook as the working document
- A run-in plan for the January 2027 implementation phase
- Where to go for support if a gap turns out to be bigger than expected
13:00 Close
This course is designed for:
- HR Directors and HR Managers
- Employee Relations and ER Case specialists
- In-house legal teams
- Compliance and workforce governance leads
- Payroll teams responsible for contracts and onboarding
Particularly relevant for large HR functions in organisations still working through post-implementation gaps.
By the end of the conference, delegates will be able to:
- Apply the six-month qualifying period and uncapped compensation rules with reference to real tribunal activity
- Identify the contract and policy gaps most commonly found in post-implementation reviews
- Benchmark their own experience of the last six months against a live practitioner account
- Recognise where AI recruitment and people management tools create discrimination exposure under the Act
- Audit their employee voice architecture against the lowered trade union recognition thresholds
- Build a prioritised action plan ahead of the January 2027 implementation phase
What does BFI specialise in?
BFI provides expert-led training in HR compliance, employment law, immigration for employers, union relations, workplace inclusion, and AI and talent solutions.
Who typically attends your courses?
Attendees include HR managers, legal teams, compliance officers, operations leaders, and public sector employers.
Are your trainers practitioners?
Yes. All trainers are experienced specialists; we feature practitioners from the public and private sectors as well as lawyers, policy advisers, former regulators, and consultants.
How do I book a course?
Choose an event on the website and click Register. You can pay online with a credit card or request an invoice.
Do you accept purchase orders?
Yes. Public and private-sector organisations may use PO numbers. These can be added during the registration process, or can be retrospectively added to am invoice if the place has been booked already.
We need to set you up as a Supplier, can you complete a form or send me over your company information?
Yes, we can do either; please contact us via info@bfi.co.uk
Can I get a PO number added to our invoice?
Yes, please send details through to info@bfi.co.uk or reply to us using your confirmation email
Do you offer group discounts?
Yes. Discounts for multiple bookings are automatically applied at checkout. For groups of over ten, it may be more cost-effective to run the course in-house. Call 01983 861133 for details
Can I transfer my place to another date or colleague?
Yes. Substitutions are free, and transfers are typically allowed within a set timeframe.
What is your cancellation policy?
BFI follows standard UK training-industry cancellation terms.
How are online courses delivered?
Training is delivered live via Zoom with interactive Q\&A and case-based discussion.
Will I receive slides and supporting materials?
Yes. Attendees receive slides, templates (where relevant), and many other useful documents and links.
Will I receive a copy of the event recording?
Our monthly subscription and webinar clients receive recordings of the live sessions; otherwise we do not record our courses to encourage confidential discussion and questions under the Chatham House Rule
What time zone are online events delivered in?
All events are delivered in UTC / London time unless otherwise stated
What is included in in-person events?
Full-day training includes refreshments, full documentation which is emailed prior to the event and networking opportunities.
Are your venues accessible?
Yes. All venues are fully accessible.
Is your training CPD certified?
All our courses are either CPD accredited or CPD eligible, so every certificate of attendance can count towards your CPD requirements. Look out for the CPD badge on each course page to see which applies.
Can I ask questions about my organisation’s situation?
Yes. Trainers answer questions during the session and can respond afterward.
Will the training help us prepare for an audit?
Yes, on our audit courses you will learn what triggers visits, what officers look for, and how to evidence compliance.
Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. All attendees receive a digital certificate of course completion.
Do you offer private or in-house training?
Yes. All courses can be tailored for your team. Visit https://bfi.co.uk/team-training/
Can I ask questions about my organisation's situation?
Yes. Our trainers answer questions live during sessions and can follow up briefly afterwards, but we don't offer ongoing case-by-case advice by email. If you need dedicated support on a specific situation, we offer paid consultancy - contact us to find out more.
Do you offer consultancy?
Yes. BFI offers policy reviews, audit preparation, HR compliance support, and workforce advisory services.