Leading with Confidence - A 2026 Employment Law Skills Workshop for Managers

Introduction

Significant changes to UK employment law will take effect from April and October 2026, with further reforms expected in 2027. While HR will lead on policies and processes, it’s people managers who will need to apply these changes in real conversations - from day one of employment.

This session is designed to build the confidence, clarity, and practical capability leaders need to act fairly, consistently, and within the spirit of the law. Rather than legal detail, the focus is on leadership behaviours - setting clear expectations, giving timely feedback, managing absence and wellbeing, and holding early, effective conversations.

Built for technically strong managers who have grown into leadership roles, this course equips you with practical tools to reduce risk, support team performance, and build trust in a changing legal and cultural environment.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Understand which changes to employment rights take effect in 2026 and 2027 - and how they impact early-stage leadership conversations
• Recognise the new ‘people-leader imperative’ - clarity, timeliness, and fairness from day one
• Apply leadership behaviours that reduce ambiguity, legal risk, and misunderstandings
• Reflect on your own leadership strengths and blind spots - and where new behaviours may be needed
• Set clear, measurable, and defensible individual and team goals from the outset
• Hold early, constructive conversations during probation and performance reviews - reducing the need for formal escalation
• Use practical, human-centred feedback tools to manage underperformance, absence, or sensitive issues with confidence
• Know when and how to escalate concerns appropriately, especially in areas like harassment, discrimination or whistleblowing
• Create a practical leadership action plan tailored to your current role and responsibilities

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.