Employee Relations, Disciplinary Procedures and Labour Dispute Management – London, 10–14 May 2027

Programme overview

Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Role-play

Introduction

Most labour disputes that reach a court are lost or settled at a cost because of procedure, not substance: a charge never put to the employee in writing, an investigation with no record, a penalty out of line with past cases. Poorly handled grievances escalate in the same way. This Core Concept course trains HR and employee relations staff to run grievance, investigation and disciplinary processes that are fair, documented and defensible, and to prepare cases for settlement or hearing. Through realistic role-plays, participants build a Disciplinary and Grievance Case Toolkit for their own organisation.

Course Objectives

• Assess the employee relations climate and the state of open disciplinary and grievance cases
• Design a progressive discipline ladder and penalty schedule consistent with fair hearing principles
• Plan and conduct workplace investigations, interviewing witnesses and recording evidence to a defensible standard
• Run disciplinary hearings and grievance meetings and draft reasoned decision letters
• Prepare labour dispute case files and use negotiation and mediation to reach amicable settlements
• Assemble a Disciplinary and Grievance Case Toolkit for use across the organisation

Target Audience

• Employee relations and HR case officers handling disciplinary and grievance files
• HR generalists advising supervisors on conduct and performance issues
• Workplace investigators conducting fact-finding into complaints and misconduct
• HR and legal liaison staff preparing case files for dispute settlement and labour court hearings
• Ethics and speak-up programme staff receiving and triaging workplace complaints

Course Outline

Day 1: Employee Relations Foundations and Case Landscape

• Employee Relations Climate Assessment Using Grievance and Exit Data
• Workplace Rules and Code of Conduct Structure
• Just Culture Model: Distinguishing Error, At-Risk and Reckless Conduct
• ILO Termination of Employment Convention No. 158: Valid Reason and Right to Respond
• Case Management Audit of Open Disciplinary and Grievance Files

Day 2: Frameworks for Discipline and Grievance

• Progressive Discipline Ladder and Penalty Schedule Design
• ILO Examination of Grievances Recommendation No. 130 Procedure Stages
• ILO Violence and Harassment Convention No. 190 Complaint Handling Principles
• ISO 37002 Whistleblowing Intake, Triage and Protection Measures
• Natural Justice Checklist: Notice, Right to Respond and Impartial Decision-Maker

Day 3: Investigation and Hearing Practice

• Investigation Plan and Terms of Reference Template
• PEACE Model for Investigation Interviews
• Evidence Collection, Witness Statements and Chain-of-Custody Log
• Investigation Report Structure and Findings on the Balance of Probabilities
• Disciplinary Hearing Script and Decision Letter Drafting

Day 4: Labour Disputes, Settlement and Risk

• Labour Dispute Pathway: Internal Appeal, Amicable Settlement and Labour Court
• Labour Court Case File Preparation and Evidence Bundle Index
• Principled Negotiation for Settlement Agreements
• Mediation and Conciliation Meeting Structure
• ISO 45003 Psychosocial Risk Factors in Conflict and Misconduct Cases

Day 5: Role-Play and the Case Toolkit

• Role-Play: Investigation Interview with a Reluctant Witness
• Role-Play: Disciplinary Hearing for Repeated Misconduct
• Role-Play: Grievance Meeting on an Allegation Against a Manager
• Role-Play: Settlement Meeting Ahead of a Labour Court Hearing
• Disciplinary and Grievance Case Toolkit Assembly and Peer Review

Skills You Will Gain

• Employee Relations Diagnosis
• Disciplinary Policy Design
• Workplace Investigation
• Investigative Interviewing
• Hearing Management
• Case File Preparation
• Dispute Resolution
• Conflict Mediation

Why Attend This Course

• Return with a Disciplinary and Grievance Case Toolkit covering every stage from complaint to court file
• Rehearse difficult investigation, hearing and settlement conversations before facing them with real employees
• Spot the procedural gaps that turn a justified decision into a lost or costly dispute
• Compare case handling with employee relations staff from other sectors and workforce types

Conclusion

Fair procedure protects both the employee and the organisation, and it is what an appeal panel or labour court examines first. This course moves from the employee relations climate and international standards on termination and grievances, through discipline design, investigation and hearing practice, to settlement, mediation and case file preparation. The role-plays on the final day rehearse the conversations that decide most cases and produce a Disciplinary and Grievance Case Toolkit, giving participants a consistent and defensible approach to their next case.