Event Details

Key Speakers

	Steve Williams, Director of Equality, ACAS
	Leatham Green, Assistant Director Personnel, East Sussex County Council
	Stuart Wollard, Managing Director, King's College London's Management Learning Board and Co-Author, 'Facing Continuing Uncertainty: The State of HR'

Overview

Envisaging a strong and efficient labour market that is flexible, effective and fair, the Government launched a far-reaching review into UK employment laws in May 2010. Responding to the concerns of businesses in difficult economic times, the ongoing review has sought to address the cost and complexity of employment law, removing the burden on business, encouraging growth and maximising flexibility for both employers and employees.

Already the review has resulted in the abolition of the Default Retirement Age (October 2011). The Queen’s speech this year also set out the Government’s intention to introduce more flexible parental leave and to implement a more streamlined and efficient employment tribunal system with an emphasis on early conciliation, which will aim to give employers more confidence to take on new workers. The Government has also pledged to take forward many of the radical recommendations outlined in ‘Health at work – an independent review of sickness absence’ (November 2011), which will transform the sickness absence system to enable employers to manage periods of sickness more effectively. However, the Government is clear that there is much more work to be done.

Whilst the Government endeavours to encourage business growth at a national level, companies continue to face many challenges within their organisations. Uncertainty about the current business environment has increased by 50% over the last two years, taking its toll on workforces – illustrated by higher levels of stress, absence, discontent and 'presenteeism' due to longer working hours with no additional rewards and fear of redundancies. Employee disengagement is becoming a growing problem with bullying, harassment and discontent between staff and managers more common.

In order to maintain a healthy, engaged and productive workforce with a lower staff turnover, greater attention must be placed on developing measures to encourage employee engagement, such as supporting flexible working, addressing discrimination, investing in staff training and development and fostering good relations between staff and management.

This special national symposium brings together a number of key issues affecting HR professionals in 2012 in order to improve understanding of the development of government policy and regulations and their impact on your organisation. The symposium will explore how to embed flexibility into the workplace in order to navigate through the tough economic climate.

Delegates will:

• Examine the Government’s vision for businesses and analyse the latest developments in the Employment Law Review and how they affect your organisation
• Explore how to maximise the potential of your workforce by attracting, retaining and nurturing talent
• Discuss how to raise productivity and improve performance within your workforce through effective employee engagement

Programme

Who Should Attend?

• HR Professionals
• Occupational Health Professionals
• Organisational Development Professionals
• DWP, BIS, DoH, JobcentrePlus and other Central Government Departments/Agencies
• Health and Safety Managers
• Training Managers
• Recruitment Professionals
• Employment Training/Skills Organisations
• Equal Opportunities Officers
• Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Practitioners
• Disability Practitioners
• Employee Relations Advisers
• Legal Advisers
• Campaigning Organisations
• NHS Employers
• Local Authority Officers and Councillors
• Private Sectors Employers
• Public Sector Employers
• Small Business Owners
• Regulatory Bodies
• Citizen’s Advice
• Third Sector Practitioners
• Trade Union Representatives
• Mental Health Practitioners
• Social Workers and Social Services Officers
• Welfare Rights Organisations
• Academics and Researchers

“ The Employment Law Review seeks to address the reality that businesses see that the cost and complexity of employment laws impact on their ability to take on staff and grow. However, the Review also aims to tackle perceptions about employment law and dispel myths about what employers can or cannot do in the workplace in managing their staff. We want to ensure that these reforms are not at the expense of compromising fairness for individuals, responding to the concern of employees and their representatives that individuals will be exposed to unfair practices if employment regulation is weakened or removed. ”
— Employment Law Review, Annual Update 2012, March 2012