Working Strategically with Your Trade Unions: Troubleshooting, Tactics & Action Planning

Is Your Organisation Ready for the Most Significant Shift in Union Relations for a Generation?

The Challenge: The Employment Rights Act 2025 has fundamentally redrawn the landscape. With recognition thresholds lowering and consultation expectations rising, the "old way" of managing unions is now a major operational risk. Furthermore, unions are actively targeting certain sectors to capitalise on these legislative shifts. Senior leaders can no longer afford to be reactive; they must be strategic.

The Solution: This intensive, practitioner-led programme provides the definitive toolkit for senior HR and ER leaders. We move beyond theory to give you the exact scripts, heat-mapping tools, and troubleshooting tactics needed to manage high-pressure escalations and maintain stable relations.

Why attend?

• Compliance: Master the new 2025 legal triggers for recognition and consultation.

• Prevention: Use our 12-point early-warning system to spot organising activity before it escalates.

• Action: Leave with a bespoke 90-day Union Relations Action Plan for your organisation.

Strategic Impact for Your Leadership Team: Operating under the Chatham House Rule, this course blends legal expertise with "insider" insight from former union officers. You will move from firefighting to strategic foresight, learning how to:

• De-escalate "Escalation Theatre": Use proven EAR (Empathy, Attention, Respect) techniques to neutralise professional friction.

• Document with Discipline: Create a defensible, factual audit trail that stands up to CAC or legal scrutiny.

• Map Your Risk: Build a workplace heat-map to identify influencers, hotspots, and burning issues before they become disputes.

Don’t wait for a recognition application to land. Get the specialist knowledge required to lead your organisation through the post-2025 era with confidence and clarity.

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

• Understand the operational implications of the Employment Rights Act 2025, including recognition triggers and consultation duties

• Identify early signs of organising and apply a structured early‑warning process using BFI’s checklist 

•  Complete 90‑day Union Relations Action Plan

• Complete an early‑warning checklist and workplace heat‑map template 

This course is ideal for:

• HR Directors, Heads of ER/IR, Senior HRBPs

• ER, IR, OD and People leaders

• Operational leaders, legal/governance partners

09:30 – 09:45 Welcome, Strategic Context & Objectives

• Course goals, success criteria, and a quick delegate diagnostic
• How unions interpret management behaviour (insight from a former union officer)
• Employment Rights Act 2025: recognition and consultation expectations at a glance (lawyer)
• Why early intervention and documentation discipline matter (ER practitioner)
• Interactive: 1‑minute warm‑up poll — “Where do you feel most exposed right now?” (recognition, consultation, escalation theatre, continuity, documentation)

09:45 – 10:30 Employment Rights Act 2025: Recognition, Consultation & Defensible Process

• Recognition pathways and lower‑threshold triggers: operational implications
• Consultation duties: meaningful engagement, timelines, information disclosure
• Documentation standards: contemporaneous, factual‑not‑emotional; quotes where significant
• CAC mechanics and how employer behaviour is assessed
• Dispute law pathways: injunctions, contempt, timelines, risk controls (lawyer‑led)
• Interactive: Mini case vignette — “A recognition application lands: your first 72 hours” (tabletop discussion + legal commentary)

10:30 – 10:45 Comfort Break

10:45 – 12:00 Troubleshooting Under Pressure: Tactical Toolkit

• De‑escalation in practice: EAR (Empathy, Attention, Respect) used to maintain professionalism
• Naming tactics with neutral language: escalation theatre; artificial urgency; social/media leverage
• Avoiding accidental commitments; agenda reframing; keeping issues at the appropriate ladder level
• Holding statements for senior leaders; consistent comms across levels (scripts provided)
• Documentation workflow in heated interactions (meeting‑note template)
• Breakout (paired practice):
• Run a 4‑minute “hot conversation” using EAR and a naming‑tactics script
• Swap roles; debrief with observer rubric (tone, boundaries, clarity, documentation)

12:00 – 12:45 Lunch

12:45 – 13:45 Early‑Warning Systems & Workplace Heat‑Mapping

• Behavioural indicators: collective language, request for reps, rights‑focused questions
• Social/documentation patterns: petitions, external visitors, union materials, screenshotting, coordinated activity
• External organiser presence: immediate do’s/don’ts; manager quick‑reference
• Build a heat‑map of influencers, hotspots, and burning issues
• Monthly cadence: manager check‑ins; reporting thresholds (e.g., 3+ signs → notify HR)
• Interactive (group exercise):
• Apply the Early Warning Signs Checklist to a fictional business unit
• Create a heat‑map; identify mitigations; assign owners and timelines

13:45 – 14:45 Dispute Continuity & Scenario Planning

• Lessons from a large council strike: what worked vs what didn’t (continuity staffing, comms, documentation)
• Workforce continuity options: redeployment; agency constraints near picket lines; temporary service reduction
• Legal steps: injunctions against obstruction; contempt procedures; liaison with counsel
• Communications plan: internal huddles; board brief; media lines; community messaging
• Political dynamics: MPs, petitions, public pressure; importance of meticulous documentation
• Practical (tabletop plan‑build):
• Draft a 12‑week continuity mini‑plan: critical roles, comms owners, legal decision points, Day‑0 checklist, desktop test date

14:45 – 15:00 Comfort Break

15:00 – 15:40 Strategic Scenario Lab (Triad Role‑Plays)

• Scenario A: Recognition hits at low membership — early organiser activity and CAC strategy
• Scenario B: Escalation theatre to senior leadership — containment and reframing tactics
• Scenario C: Social media pressure + misinformation — holding statements, documentation, senior alignment
• Scenario D: Strike‑readiness stress test — critical services, redeployment, legal, comms flow
• Format:
• Triads (rep, HR/manager, observer) rotate; observers use rubric (language, boundaries, documentation quality, escalation control)

15:40 – 16:00 Knowledge Check, 90‑Day Plan & Close

• Quick quiz: law, process, tactics, scenario judgement
• Complete the 90‑day Union Relations Action Plan (top 3 actions this week + next 30 days)
• Signposting to templates and optional post‑course clinic

 

What does BFI specialise in?
BFI provides expert-led training in HR compliance, employment law, immigration for employers, union relations, workplace inclusion, and AI and talent solutions.

Who typically attends your courses?
Attendees include HR managers, legal teams, compliance officers, operations leaders, and public sector employers.

Are your trainers practitioners?
Yes. All trainers are experienced specialists; we feature practitioners from the public and private sectors as well as lawyers, policy advisers, former regulators, and consultants.

How do I book a course?
Choose an event on the website and click Register. You can pay online with a credit card or request an invoice.

Do you accept purchase orders?
Yes. Public and private-sector organisations may use PO numbers. These can be added during the registration process, or can be retrospectively added to am invoice if the place has been booked already.

We need to set you up as a Supplier, can you complete a form or send me over your company information?
Yes, we can do either; please contact us via info@bfi.co.uk

Can I get a PO number added to our invoice?
Yes, please send details through to info@bfi.co.uk or reply to us using your confirmation email

Do you offer group discounts?
Yes. Discounts for multiple bookings are automatically applied at checkout. For groups of over ten, it may be more cost-effective to run the course in-house. Call 01983 861133 for details

Can I transfer my place to another date or colleague?
Yes. Substitutions are free, and transfers are typically allowed within a set timeframe.

What is your cancellation policy?
BFI follows standard UK training-industry cancellation terms.

How are online courses delivered?
Training is delivered live via Zoom with interactive Q\&A and case-based discussion.

Will I receive slides and supporting materials?
Yes. Attendees receive slides, templates (where relevant), and many other useful documents and links.

Will I receive a copy of the event recording?
Our monthly subscription and webinar clients receive recordings of the live sessions; otherwise we do not record our courses to encourage confidential discussion and questions under the Chatham House Rule

What time zone are online events delivered in?
All events are delivered in UTC / London time unless otherwise stated

What is included in in-person events?
Full-day training includes refreshments, full documentation which is emailed prior to the event and networking opportunities.

Are your venues accessible?
Yes. All venues are fully accessible.

Are your courses CPD-certified?
Many courses are accredited by The CPD Certification Service.

Can I ask questions about my organisation’s situation?
Yes. Trainers answer questions during the session and can respond afterward.

Will the training help us prepare for an audit?
Yes, on our audit courses you will learn what triggers visits, what officers look for, and how to evidence compliance.

Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. All attendees receive a digital certificate of course completion.

Do you offer private or in-house training?
Yes. All courses can be tailored for your team. Visit https://bfi.co.uk/team-training/

Do you offer consultancy?
Yes. BFI offers policy reviews, audit preparation, HR compliance support, and workforce advisory services.