Webinar | Handling Difficult Conversations

Employment Solicitors Louise Brenlund and Sarah Wimsett hosted this Webinar on managing difficult conversations that may arise in the workplace. The session covered the following topics:

• A framework and techniques for handling difficult conversations
• The impact and legal issues surrounding drink and drugs
• Personal matters including hygiene, dress and attitudes
• Relationships and determining whether they are appropriate or not
• A best practice approach to employee departures and conversations
• The ‘without prejudice’ principle

Difficult conversations arise in the workplace for a number of reasons where the subject matter may be contentious, of a highly sensitive nature of where emotions are involved.

A poll by the Chartered Management Institute suggests that the top three most difficult conversations we face in our lives are all work-related including:

• pay
• inappropriate behaviour of colleagues
• providing feedback to staff on poor performance

This webinar provides a useful framework to help those managing employees to pinpoint the situation at hand and control the conversation so that clear actions can be set in order to move things forward.

When dealing with the issue of a staff member either being under the influence of drink or drugs or that you may suspect that this is the cause of some undesirable effects on their abilities at work, this webinar provides tips on how to recognise the problem and best practice for dealing with it including processes to follow and whether it is fair to dismiss the employee.

When addressing the issue of personal appearance or poor hygiene with an employee it is important to be prepared and provide a clear view of what the issues are.  This webinar touches on the legal aspects in dealing with this type of discussion and guidance on how best to conduct the conversation for a positive outcome.

Personal relationships at work may become an issue that needs to be dealt with in an appropriate and fair manner. This webinar highlights the policies that you should be aware of when dealing with this type of difficult conversation, how to professionally address the issues at hand and the legal issues that may be associated with personal relationships at work.

The webinar also takes a look at employee departures and conversations including settlement discussions and provides case law examples to highlight these issues in practice.

For more information on any of the topics covered in this webinar please contact Louise Brenlund or Sarah Wimsett.

This content is correct at time of publication