Early Bird Limited-Time Offer: Secure your place for just £295 (a saving of £100 on the standard £395 rate).
The rules of industrial relations have changed. Are you ready?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is already reshaping the UK landscape. With the October 2026 wave of changes landing exactly as this conference takes place, employers are facing electronic balloting, new union access rights, and an empowered Fair Work Agency.
Unions are growing and organising more aggressively under the most favourable legal environment since the 1970s. Unprepared employers will find out at exactly the wrong moment. This conference ensures you are not one of them.
What you will take away:
Comprehensive ERA 2025 Legal Update: Covering every change affecting employer-union relations, including what is still coming in 2027.
Inside the Union Strategy: An honest account of union priorities from a senior leader, giving you the insight to build effective relationships.
Practical Management Frameworks: Navigate day-to-day relations, facility time, and new statutory union access rights.
Negotiation Masterclass: Proven strategies from practitioners who have sat on both sides of the table, updated for the new legislative reality.
Real-World Case Studies: Candid insights into recognition, disputes, and recovery—what organisations got wrong and what they would do differently.
Exclusive Peer Network: Connect with HR, ER, and legal professionals during a day of open, Chatham House Rule discussion and networking drinks.
Built on 30 Years of Expertise Leveraging a three-decade track record in employer-focused industrial relations training, this full-day conference gives HR directors, ER leads, and employment lawyers everything they need to manage union relationships effectively, negotiate with confidence, and handle disputes before they become strikes.
- Employment Rights Act 2025 A comprehensive session covering every ERA 2025 change affecting employer-union relations, from what is already in force to the full 2027 reform roadmap
- Statutory recognition How the recognition process has been simplified, what the new thresholds mean for employers and how to respond effectively when an application arrives
- Day-to-day union relations Practical frameworks for managing facility time, access rights, representative relationships and early warning signs of deterioration
- Union strategy and priorities An honest account from a senior union leader of what unions want, where they are growing and what employers get wrong
- Negotiation strategy Preparation, psychology, framing and closing techniques for pay and terms negotiations, updated for the ERA 2025 environment
- Industrial action and dispute management Legal obligations, operational continuity, ACAS conciliation and the steps that make recovery harder if taken during a live dispute
- Rebuilding after a dispute The timeline, structural changes and relationship repair process that follow industrial action
- The Fair Work Agency Powers, enforcement priorities and what employers in the firing line can expect
- The bigger picture Union membership trends, digital organising, international comparisons and the 2027 reform wave
- Strategic ER planning How to build an employer relations framework that anticipates change, reduces risk and supports long-term constructive union relations
09:30 | Welcome & Scene-Setting
Setting the context for the current industrial relations climate, how the day will unfold, and an introduction to the Chatham House Rule.
09:40 | The Employment Rights Act 2025: Essential Legal Briefing
A comprehensive, plain-English legal update covering everything HR, ER, and legal teams need to review now.
Key timeline changes (statutory recognition, simplified balloting, strike notice windows).
What to expect from the new Fair Work Agency.
Preparing for 2027 collective redundancy and unfair dismissal reforms.
10:25 | The Union Perspective: Navigating the New Era
A frank, constructive session from a senior union leader on union strategy, priorities, and genuine partnership opportunities.
Strategic responses to the ERA 2025 and current membership growth trends.
What unions expect beyond pay: voice, dignity, and consultation.
Avoiding the common mistakes that turn relationships into disputes.
11:10 | Morning Break
11:25 | Case Study: Recognising a Union for the First Time
Real-world insights from an employer who has navigated the recognition process, sharing the realities and surprises.
The changing statutory calculation for employers.
Negotiating the agreement and avoiding common first-year pitfalls.
The operational and cultural impacts of recognition.
12:10 | Day-to-Day Union Relations: From Corrosive to Constructive
Practical guidance on building effective ongoing relations and preventing small issues from escalating into ballots.
The critical differences between communication, consultation, and negotiation.
Managing facility time and navigating the new union access rights coming in October 2026.
Spotting the early warning signs of a deteriorating relationship.
12:55 | Lunch & Networking
13:45 | BFI Masterclass: Negotiation Strategy & Psychology
Our flagship session exploring the behavioural dynamics of union negotiation, delivered by experienced practitioners.
Levelling the playing field: preparation, red lines, and understanding union priorities.
Managing pay claims, deadlocks, and cost-of-living pressures.
Adapting strategy for the shortened 10-day notice window and electronic balloting.
14:35 | Industrial Action: Strikes and Rebuilding Trust
A candid look at what happens when industrial relations break down completely and how to recover.
Spotting the warning signs employers consistently miss before a ballot.
Managing operational continuity and legal obligations during a strike.
Leveraging ACAS conciliation and rebuilding trust after a dispute.
15:20 | Afternoon Break
15:35 | The Bigger Picture: Policy and the Next Five Years
A forward-looking strategic session placing the ERA 2025 into the wider context of the UK’s industrial relations shift.
The political economy, digital organising, and targeted sectors.
International comparisons and what the UK can learn from European models.
Building a resilient, long-term ER framework for the years ahead.
16:20 | Expert Panel Q&A
An open, Chatham House Rule forum putting your most pressing questions—submitted in advance and throughout the day—directly to our speakers.
17:00 | Chair’s Closing Remarks
A summary of key themes and three actionable takeaways to bring back to your organisation.
17:10 – 18:30 | Networking Drinks Reception
An informal opportunity to share experiences and continue honest conversations with peers from other organisations in a relaxed, confidential setting.
• HR Directors, HR Managers and HR Business Partners responsible for employee and industrial relations strategy
• Employee Relations and Industrial Relations leads managing union relationships on a day-to-day basis
• Employment lawyers, in-house legal counsel and company secretaries advising on ERA 2025 obligations and dispute risk
• Operations Directors and Senior Managers in unionised environments who are directly involved in negotiations or managing relationships with union representatives
• HR generalists and people managers in organisations that are currently non-unionised but operating in sectors where organising activity is growing
Particularly relevant for employers in manufacturing, logistics, retail, healthcare, transport, utilities, financial services, higher education and the public sector, where union density is highest and the practical impact of the ERA 2025 will be felt most immediately.
By the end of the conference, delegates will be able to:
• Explain the full scope of ERA 2025 trade union reforms, including what is already in force, what is coming in 2026 and 2027 and what the Fair Work Agency means for employer risk
• Assess their organisation's current exposure to a statutory recognition application under the new simplified process and identify immediate steps to reduce that risk
• Apply the distinction between communication, consultation and negotiation to their day-to-day union relationships and manage facility time, access rights and representative duties within the new legal framework
• Construct a negotiating strategy for pay and terms discussions using preparation, psychological awareness and the framing techniques covered in the masterclass
• Manage the organisation legally and reputationally during a period of industrial action and use ACAS conciliation effectively to reach resolution
• Build a strategic ER framework that anticipates the next wave of ERA reforms and positions the organisation for constructive long-term union relations