Employee Relations Management for HR Advisors Training Course

Course overview

HR advisors are often the first point of contact when attendance concerns, conduct allegations, grievances, performance disputes, flexible-working requests, or relationship breakdowns arise. The quality of their early advice determines whether a matter is resolved informally, escalates into a formal case, or creates legal, reputational, and employee-relations risk. This course equips HR advisors to handle sensitive employee relations matters consistently, document decisions properly, support managers without taking over their role, and balance procedural fairness with operational needs.

Participants learn a practical employee relations case-management approach from intake through closure. They examine fact-finding, triage, informal resolution, investigations, disciplinary and grievance processes, capability and absence cases, meeting preparation, note-taking, outcome letters, and appeals. The course develops the ability to assess evidence, identify policy and procedural requirements, prepare managers for difficult conversations, manage confidentiality, recognise when specialist legal advice is needed, and maintain auditable case records. Particular attention is given to applying organisational policy alongside the ACAS Code of Practice and principles of natural justice.

Delivery combines instructor-led briefings with realistic case files, role-play meetings, document reviews, and peer challenge. Participants practise using an employee relations case log, investigation plan, evidence matrix, meeting agenda, risk assessment, and outcome-letter structure. They leave with a completed Employee Relations Case Management Pack tailored to a workplace scenario, plus reusable templates and an individual action plan for improving the way they advise managers and manage live cases.

The course is designed for HR advisors and generalists who already support line managers or are preparing to take on employee relations responsibilities. It is equally useful for organisations seeking a more consistent, defensible approach to people cases across teams, sites, or business units.

Course objectives

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

• Triage employee relations concerns using a documented risk, urgency, and resolution-pathway assessment
• Apply the ACAS Code of Practice and organisational policy to disciplinary, grievance, and capability cases
• Plan a fair workplace investigation using terms of reference, witness lists, evidence logs, and timelines
• Prepare managers to conduct difficult employee meetings using structured agendas and questioning plans
• Evaluate evidence against the civil standard of proof and record balanced findings of fact
• Draft clear investigation, outcome, and appeal documents that explain rationale and next steps
• Maintain an auditable employee relations case log with confidentiality controls and decision records
• Recommend informal resolution, mediation, formal action, or escalation to specialist advice based on case risk

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• HR Advisors — who provide first-line advice to managers on conduct, grievance, absence, and performance matters
• HR Officers — who administer formal employee relations processes and prepare case documentation
• HR Generalists — who need a repeatable method for managing a varied employee relations caseload
• Junior HR Business Partners — who must challenge and coach managers while protecting procedural fairness
• People Operations Specialists — who maintain employee records, letters, and workflow controls for people cases
• New Employee Relations Practitioners — who need structured practice before independently advising on formal cases

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic HR terminology and have some exposure to workplace policies, manager queries, or employee records. Familiarity with common processes such as probation, sickness absence, performance management, disciplinary action, and grievances is helpful, but participants do not need prior employee relations case-management experience. They should be comfortable reading policy documents and producing professional written notes in Microsoft Word; basic spreadsheet confidence is useful for case logs. No legal qualification, mediation accreditation, investigation certification, or prior knowledge of employment tribunal procedure is required. Complete beginners should expect an intensive introduction with practical application rather than legal advice for every jurisdiction.

Training methodology

The instructor uses short, focused teaching sessions to introduce the employee relations framework, then moves participants into case-file work. Teams review anonymised evidence, identify missing facts, build timelines, prepare investigation questions, and decide proportionate next steps. Role plays place participants in HR adviser, manager, employee, and note-taker roles during disciplinary, grievance, and informal-resolution conversations. Facilitated document clinics test letters and findings against policy and ACAS principles. On day five, each participant completes an application plan and refines a case-management pack for use in their own HR setting.

Course outline

Day 1: Employee Relations Foundations and Case Triage

• The HR advisor role in employee relations case management
• Employment relationship principles and procedural fairness
• ACAS Code of Practice application points
• Employee relations case intake and issue classification
• Risk, urgency, and stakeholder triage matrix
• Informal resolution versus formal process decisions
• Confidentiality, data minimisation, and case-record controls

Workshop: Participants review three incoming manager queries and produce a triage record identifying risk, ownership, immediate actions, and the recommended resolution route.

Day 2: Investigations, Evidence, and Fact-Finding

• Writing investigation terms of reference
• Allegation framing and scope control
• Evidence matrices and chronology construction
• Witness selection and interview sequencing
• Question design for investigatory interviews
• Assessing credibility, corroboration, and conflicting accounts
• Investigation reports and findings-of-fact structure

Workshop: Using a conduct allegation case file, participants create terms of reference, an investigation plan, witness questions, and an evidence matrix.

Day 3: Disciplinary, Grievance, and Appeal Processes

• Disciplinary process stages and reasonable responses
• Grievance handling and independence requirements
• Preparing allegation letters and meeting invitations
• Employee representation and companion rights
• Chair briefing packs and hearing management
• Outcome rationale, sanctions, and consistency checks
• Appeal grounds, fresh evidence, and review processes

Workshop: Participants run a simulated disciplinary hearing and produce a chair briefing, meeting notes, and a reasoned outcome-letter outline.

Day 4: Performance, Absence, Conflict, and Informal Resolution

• Distinguishing conduct, capability, health, and performance concerns
• Performance improvement plans and review evidence
• Managing short-term and long-term sickness absence
• Occupational health referrals and reasonable-adjustment considerations
• Conflict diagnosis and informal resolution options
• Mediation suitability assessment and referral boundaries
• Coaching managers for difficult employee conversations

Workshop: Participants assess an absence-and-performance scenario, prepare a manager coaching plan, and draft proportionate next steps including escalation points.

Day 5: Case Governance, Documentation, and Workplace Application

• Employee relations case logs and status reporting
• Case review meetings and escalation thresholds
• Document quality checks for letters and reports
• Data retention and restricted-access case files
• Trend analysis for repeat issues and management information
• Working with legal counsel, unions, and senior stakeholders
• Personal employee relations capability action planning

Workshop: Participants assemble and present an Employee Relations Case Management Pack containing a case log, investigation plan, evidence matrix, manager brief, and outcome-document checklist.

Tools & standards covered

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, CIPD Profession Map

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions