Record turnout for BPE’s Employment seminar with CIPD
Marking over fourteen years of BPE’s collaboration with the CIPD, the annual employment law seminar this week saw the biggest turnout to date, with 130 delegates attending the event at Cheltenham Racecourse.
With a new venue and the introduction of interactive polls throughout the day, HR professionals were provided with updates, top tips and key information on hot topics in employment law.
Following an introduction from CIPD’s Simon Wall, the event kicked off with this year’s icebreaker, ‘Two Lies and A Truth’ giving audience members the chance to vote on which set of circumstances were correct from a series of unusual cases.
The speakers, including BPE Partners Heyma Holmes and Sarah Lee, Senior Associate Chris Aldridge and Associate Steve Conlay, focussed on key issues and developments in employment law over the last twelve months, including mental health and the impact it has in the workplace, the use of without prejudice and protected conversations with employees and top tips for employment tribunals. Delegates were also brought up to speed with a review of recent case law and other employment law updates in areas such as the ‘gig economy’ and family friendly rights.
The seminar closed with a live Q&A session, during which the team took questions on employment tribunals, discrimination and mental health.
Throughout the seminar, delegates were invited to take part in an interactive online poll which gave a fascinating insight into the key issues faced by HR professionals in Gloucestershire. 80% of participants noted that their workload had increased over the past two years and almost a third of those responding to the poll felt that mental health was the most common reason for absence in their organisation.
BPE is a full-service law firm and offers seminars and bespoke training for clients throughout the year on various areas of law, including a wide range of employment topics.
These notes have been prepared for the purpose of articles only. They should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice.