Employment Festival 2026

Due to the vast and complex nature of the changes coming into force under the Employment Rights Act, we are replacing our usual bi-annual seminar with a full-day festival, giving you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the future of employment law and explore the issues that matter most to your organisation.

Set across a full day, we have carefully curated a festival of topics and ideas focused on the far‑reaching changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act as well as developments relating to business protection that are highly relevant to employers. You can expect to hear from leading employment lawyers and industry specialists, who will help you navigate what lies ahead.

Event information

Date: Tuesday 6 October 2026

Time: 09:00 - 20:00 BST (with talks ending at 17:00)

Ticket price: £350 per person

Register here

A festival programme, designed around you

The day will open on our 'Main Stage' with one of the most business critical areas of reform under the Employment Rights Act 2025, unfair dismissals. The main stage will also host a talk on restrictive covenants and confidential information, and the talks will finish with a panel discussion on the Role of the Unions.

These flagship sessions will set the tone for the day, providing you with a clear view of what lies ahead.

From there, you will move into our "Breakout Stages" - smaller, interactive roundtable sessions focused on specific areas of concern. Rather than sitting through generic content, you will be allocated to sessions based on the priorities you identify when registering, ensuring that your experience is tailored, relevant and immediately applicable.

Each breakout is designed to be conversational, practical, and scenario-led; giving you the opportunity not only to hear from experts, but to test thinking, share perspectives and work through real-world challenges with peers facing similar issues.

What to expect throughout the day

Hear from leading employment lawyers and industry specialists on the most pressing developments shaping the workplace
Deep-dive into specific risk areas through interactive, small-group discussions
Work through practical scenarios and gain actionable insight to take back to your organisation
Navigate the “grey areas” of the new legislation with confidence and clarity
Build connections with peers across industries in a relaxed, engaging environment

A fully immersive experience

True to its festival format, the day is designed as much around connection and experience as it is around content. Your ticket price will include breakfast on arrival, lunch, and evening drinks, giving you multiple opportunities to network, exchange ideas and continue conversations beyond the sessions themselves.

As the day progresses into the evening, the festival atmosphere will truly come into its own, with entertainment, drinks and even more space to connect and unwind.

Whether you are navigating immediate changes or preparing strategically for what lies ahead, Employment Festival 2026 offers a unique opportunity to step away from the day-to-day and fully immerse yourself in the future of employment law.

Basics of Unfair Dismissals

From January 2027, anyone with six months' service will be able to bring a claim of unfair dismissal, and there will no longer be a cap on the amount of compensation that they could be awarded. Businesses will need to make decisions swiftly in relation to whether new hires are working out, and if they decide to dismiss an employee with the requisite service they will need to have a fair reason and follow a fair procedure. In this session, we will recap what is meant by the fair reasons, in particular performance, and explore what businesses should do in relation to their senior staff members.

Restrictive Covenants, Garden Leave and Confidential Information

Protecting business from unfair competition and the loss of confidential information is integral to the success of any employer. In this session, we will discuss what avenues are open to employers to ensure that they are in the best position possible to enforce their safeguards.

The role of the Unions

One of the most significant effects of the Employment Rights Act 2025 is to move the employment relationship from being purely between employers and employees and to introduce more scope for collective bargaining from third parties in the form of Trade Unions. The repercussions of this are enormous. In this panel event, we will discuss the role of the union in the modern workplace and what businesses should be doing to prepare for the changed landscape.

Third Party Harassment & NDAs

What happens when misconduct comes from outside your organisation - a client, supplier, or even an event delegate? From October 2026, an employer may be directly liable if they fail to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent harassment, even by non-employees. This session explores employer liability for third-party harassment under the Employment Rights Act 2025, and what “all reasonable steps” really means in practice. We will also unpack the radical reform of NDAs, including proposals to render confidentiality clauses void where they attempt to silence allegations of harassment or discrimination.

Wellbeing at Work

Employee wellbeing is no longer just a "nice to have". There are emerging expectations from employees for proactive employer support, and how employers respond to them can pose legal, reputational and productivity issues. Through practical scenarios presented by a leading occupational health specialist, we will explore how to protect your workforce and avoid claims.

Navigating collective & individual risk in redundancy situations

Redundancy remains one of the highest-risk areas of employment law, and the Employment Rights Act is reshaping the rules. During this session, we will discuss the basics of redundancy procedures, as well as unpacking new employer obligations under the Act, including changes to collective consultation thresholds and the rules relating to “fire and rehire”.

Handling Workplace Investigations

Key to any fair dismissal and the response to any allegation of non financial misconduct will be a robust, defensible investigation. During this session, we will explore how to conduct investigations that satisfy the requirements of the Employment Rights Act 2025, the ACAS Code and new regulatory rules. The session will provide practical guidance on how to structure investigations and how to maintain independence and impartiality, and provide insight into common pitfalls.

Immigration and the UK’s evolving work routes

With tightening immigration rules and increasing compliance scrutiny, hiring internationally has never been more complex. This session provides a practical walkthrough of key UK work routes, including the Skilled Worker visa.

Share Schemes – Rewarding your workforce tax‑efficiently

In a competitive talent market, equity is a powerful incentive. It also allows businesses the means by which to shape internal culture. However, it will only be valuable to employers if structured correctly. This session introduces the UK’s key tax-advantaged share schemes, focusing on Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), which allow employees to acquire shares with significant tax benefits.