Event season ends on a high

The Employment Team at Hampshire based law firm Warner Goodman LLP recently drew their events season to a close with a seminar dedicated to the upcoming changes to maternity and paternity leave; namely the introduction of Shared Parental Leave.

“Our events have dramatically increased in popularity this year with all four of our free seminars being fully booked with over 100 people,” begins Howard Robson, Employment Partner with the firm.  “We always ensure these seminars focus on issues that have a real impact on employers, which have this year included grievances and disciplinary hearings, workplace absence and sickness, before finishing off with Shared Parental Leave which was introduced on 1st December.”

Four seminars a year may seem enough to keep a busy Employment Team occupied, but there is more on offer from this group of experienced lawyers.  “As well as the free seminars which are delivered to a high number of delegates, we also run four masterclasses each year which are to a much smaller group of people and look more in-depth at a particular area of employment law.  Our topics this year included TUPE regulations, the importance of staff handbooks and the elements that must be included to avoid the tribunals, and how to manage workplace conflict which can have a devastating effect on morale and productivity.  The masterclasses are charged for as the group looks at particular scenarios based on those people who are in the session and so offers a closely interactive experience.”

Not a team for resting on their laurels, they also like to take their delegates out and about.  “We appreciate that if an employer ends up in the employment tribunal process, it can be quite daunting.  That’s why we host three Tribunal Field Trips each year in which we take the delegates to a real live employment hearing.  We talk through with the attendees the process from start to finish, and seeing a hearing in action makes the experience seem more familiar and so will feel more equipped to face the judge at their own hearing.

“The diary is already starting to take shape for 2015, with one of our first events to focus on holiday pay in relation to commission payments following a recent case which determined that commission should be taken into consideration when calculating holiday pay,” Howard concludes.  “It’s likely that we will also run a follow up session to this year’s Shared Parental Leave seminar, as this is a significant change to the maternity and paternity regime that will impact employers both financially and in terms of cover.”

To ensure you don’t miss out on the Employment Team’s 2015 events, email karenhill@warnergoodman.co.uk to receive the invitations directly.  To find out how the team can help your business call 02380 717717 or visit their section of the website here.

ENDS

This is for information purposes only and is no substitute for, and should not be interpreted as, legal advice.  All content was correct at the time of publishing and we cannot be held responsible for any changes that may invalidate this article.