Popular Topics

Here are some examples of popular topics which T&E Advance can deliver for you but please contact us to discuss what matters most to your business and the specific requirements you may have.

Getting to grips with any investigations and discipline

A practical and interactive course which will give managers the confidence and skills to:

• Prepare for interviews and investigation;
• Apply a step-by-step approach to conducting a disciplinary investigation;
• Understand the disciplinary process and what can be a fair dismissal; and
• Manage performance and conduct issues more effectively.

Understanding diversity issues

This is a basic introduction for line managers on what your equal opportunities policy says and why it is important. It helps managers understand the issues and how they can manage or avoid them in practice. It covers:

• What is diversity and equality of opportunity? We explore why it is relevant in the workforce.;
• Who is protected? 
• Practical examples of how issues arise in practice (including recruitment, working practices, banter, managing performance and on termination of employment). We give practical suggestions of how to manage these issues. 
• Managing disability or long-term sick issues
• Dealing with complaints of harassment or discrimination.

Recruiting in a diverse market

This workshop focuses on the issues which arise in recruitment. It helps managers to:

• Understand the responsibilities they have when carrying out selection, interviewing and deciding the appropriate candidate;
• Insure your recruitment practices and procedures are effective and reduce exposure to discrimination claims

Protecting your customer-facing staff from harassment

Employees in customer–facing roles are exposed to difficult situations and this can mean abusive or intimidating customers. Employers have a duty of care towards their employees which includes ensuring that they are safe and protected from harassment both in the workplace and in dealing with third parties.

This workshop takes a practical look at harassment, including:

• What amounts to harassment?
• Harassment in the workplace by staff and third parties – when it arises, how to manage it and avoid it happening?
• Harassment by third parties, including customers. What should you and could you do about it?

Equal pay audits: A manager’s toolkit

• On average, there is 22.6% difference in pay between men and women;
• The EU has a 5 year old strategy to reduce the gender pay gap;
• The Equality Act 2010 makes the first move towards mandatory reporting of gender pay gaps and bans pay secrecy clauses.

Transparency of pay means more litigation, often by groups of employees. The best way to minimise expensive and lengthy litigation is to plan ahead and do equal pay audits – exposing the highest risk areas before they become public and giving your business time to address those concerns. Our toolkit provides practical training on the tools and techniques that you need for undertaking an equal pay audit.

Stress at work

HSE estimates the costs to society of work-related stress to be around £4billion each year with 13.5 million working days being lost to stress in 2007/2008. This course will give practical tips on how to tackle the stress in the workplace and improve:

• Productivity;
• Retention of staff; and
• Stress-related sickness absence

We also work closely with an accredited Stress Consultant who can lead a practical workshop - for example, understanding the causes and effect of workplace stress and how to overcome it.

Taking the heat out of difficult and sensitive issues

Bullying, harassment and grievances must be handled with care. The consequences of not doing so are stressful for all involved - protracted grievance investigations, broken relationships, expensive and time-consuming litigation, absenteeism and poor morale.

This course will give delegates a structured framework for managing these issues, using practical exercises and case studies to help them take the heat out of the situation and work towards a reasonable solution.  

Managing employees in a recession

Whether your business has managed to weather the storm in the current difficult economic climate or, like many, had to make redundancies, businesses need to be continuously alert to getting the most from their workforce and payroll costs.

In this course, we take a close look at alternatives to redundancy including:

• Changing terms and conditions of employment;
• Mobility causes when can they be relied on;
• Motivating and retaining employees through times of change;
• Outsourcing and transfer of business (TUPE); and
• Maximising the performance of employees.

Tackling absence issues

A practical guide to:

• Spotting the malingerers from the genuine cases;
• The changes to disability discrimination under the Equality Act which broadens the scope of protection for employees with long-term health issues;
• Managing long-term absence including the use of “Fit Notes” and the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers; and
• Holiday accrual for employees on sick leave.

Employment Law in a nutshell

An introductory course for new managers on the basics of employment law including:

• Recruitment;
• Contracts of employment and policies;
• Employee statutory rights including family-friendly rights;
• Discipline and grievance;
• Performance management;
• Absence management; and
• Equality and diversity issues.

A manager’s guide to being a witness in an employment tribunal

Being a witness in an employment tribunal is daunting for most. A witness who is well-prepared and confident about what is expected of them is a good witness. A good witness goes a long way towards successfully defending a claim. In this workshop, we will help managers to:

• Understand the tribunal procedure and their role;
• Prepare or presenting their case and statements;
• Practice through role-play, what it will be like on the witness stand.

It is intended for managers who are or may be involved in a tribunal case, including the decision makers on disciplinary matters and will reinforce how getting the disciplinary process right can make like much easier for them should a tribunal claim be brought.

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