HR Business Partner Skills Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends HR Business Partners, Employee Relations Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-LR-022

Before you join: Participants should have practical HR experience and familiarity with employment contracts, workplace policies, manager advice and routine employee relations matters.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

HR Business Partners are often the first point of contact when employee concerns, union issues, disciplinary cases, restructures or bargaining disputes arise. They must balance employee voice, management authority, contractual commitments, organisational policy and applicable employment law. Poorly handled labour relations cases can lead to grievances, formal claims, industrial action, damaged trust and inconsistent management decisions. This course develops the judgement, process discipline and communication required to handle these matters credibly.

Participants examine the full labour relations cycle, from case intake and stakeholder mapping through consultation, investigation, grievance handling, conflict resolution and collective bargaining. They learn to distinguish rights disputes from interest disputes, prepare managers for difficult meetings, plan meaningful consultation and document defensible decisions. The course also addresses workforce change, redundancy, performance, absence, discrimination concerns, industrial action risk and labour relations reporting. Attention is given to adapting sound methods to local law, collective agreements and organisational policy.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with realistic case work from unionised workplaces, public services, financial institutions, manufacturing operations and multinational employers. Participants work through consultation plans, investigation evidence, bargaining positions, change communications and dispute scenarios. They receive instructor feedback on the quality of their reasoning, records and proposed actions. Each participant leaves with a practical labour relations toolkit, including templates for case assessment, consultation, investigations, bargaining preparation and a 90-day action plan. The course is delivered over five days, 08:30-16:30, in classroom locations in 50+ cities or live online, and includes a certificate of completion.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess labour relations cases using structured issue, evidence, stakeholder and risk analysis
  • Plan consultation processes that meet procedural, contractual and communication requirements
  • Conduct fair disciplinary, grievance and workplace investigation processes
  • Apply interest-based bargaining and BATNA analysis in representative negotiations
  • Prepare managers for difficult employee, union and representative discussions
  • Design workforce change and redundancy consultation plans with clear records
  • Manage industrial action risks through escalation, contingency and return-to-work planning
  • Build labour relations dashboards, case controls and a 90-day improvement plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence advising managers during difficult employee relations cases
  • Clearer judgement when choosing informal resolution, investigation or formal procedure
  • Stronger preparation for union, works council and employee representative meetings
  • Improved ability to document fair, evidence-based HR recommendations
  • A practical plan for improving labour relations credibility in their role

For your organisation

  • More consistent handling of grievances, discipline and workplace conflict
  • Better documented consultation and workforce change decisions
  • Reduced escalation caused by unclear communication and procedural errors
  • More prepared management teams during bargaining and industrial action risks
  • Stronger reporting on recurring employee relations issues and controls

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify the governing sources, stakeholders and decision boundaries in a labour relations matter.

  • Employment relationship sources: contract, policy, collective agreement, statute and case law
  • Distinguishing employee, worker, contractor and agency-worker status before procedural decisions
  • Union recognition routes, bargaining units and representative legitimacy
  • ILO freedom-of-association principles and local legal hierarchy
  • Mapping stakeholders, authority limits and escalation responsibilities in labour relations matters
  • Separating legal minimums from agreed terms and managerial discretion
  • Documenting advice with fact, source, risk and recommended action

Participants can assess an employee relations issue and select an appropriate resolution route.

  • Case intake using issue, evidence, stakeholders, timing and risk fields
  • Root-cause analysis through five whys and fishbone diagrams
  • Classifying disputes: rights, interests, recognition, conduct and consultation
  • Conflict temperature assessment before selecting informal or formal routes
  • RACI mapping for HR, line manager, legal, union and employee roles
  • Early-resolution options: facilitated conversation, mediation, coaching and clarification
  • Case chronology logs that preserve dates, commitments and evidence

Participants can plan and record meaningful consultation with employees and representatives.

  • Consultation versus negotiation: information sharing, listening, influence and agreement
  • Planning consultation timetables around statutory triggers and business milestones
  • Representative briefings using clear proposals, rationale, data and decision boundaries
  • Question-and-answer logs that assign owners, deadlines and approved responses
  • Recording consultation outcomes, unresolved issues and management responses
  • Change impact assessments for roles, terms, schedules and employee groups
  • Communication matrices for leaders, representatives, affected employees and external parties

Participants can structure fair disciplinary, grievance and investigation processes with defensible records.

  • ACAS-aligned disciplinary and grievance process stages, adapted to local law
  • Allegation framing with dates, policies, witnesses and potential findings
  • Investigation plans defining scope, investigator, evidence sources and timescales
  • PEACE interviewing structure for witnesses, complainants and responding employees
  • Evidence matrices linking facts, documents, testimony and disputed points
  • Procedural fairness: notice, representation, impartiality, response and appeal
  • Outcome letters separating findings, rationale, action and appeal rights

Participants can prepare and conduct difficult labour relations conversations using structured resolution methods.

  • Interest-based bargaining positions, interests, options and objective criteria
  • BATNA, reservation point and bargaining-zone calculations before meetings
  • Preparing meeting agendas, mandates, concessions and caucus arrangements
  • Active listening, reframing and summarising during difficult representative conversations
  • Mediation stages: opening, issue definition, option generation and agreement
  • De-escalation language for anger, threats, deadlock and loss of trust
  • Settlement terms covering actions, owners, dates, confidentiality and review

Participants can prepare bargaining positions and manage the implementation of collective agreements.

  • Collective agreement architecture: scope, recognition, pay, hours, disputes and duration
  • Mandate setting through costed proposals, authority limits and fallback positions
  • Pay-claim analysis using comparators, affordability, inflation and internal equity
  • Package bargaining trades across pay, leave, flexibility and productivity
  • Minutes that distinguish proposals, tentative agreements, reservations and actions
  • Ratification routes, implementation dates and communications after agreement
  • Agreement administration calendars for renewals, reviews and joint committees

Participants can plan fair consultation and risk controls for significant workforce change.

  • Legal and agreement triggers for restructuring, transfer, redundancy and redeployment
  • Workforce change cases linking business rationale, affected groups and alternatives
  • Selection-criteria design using job-related, measurable and non-discriminatory factors
  • Meaningful consultation plans with information, alternatives, responses and records
  • Redeployment and severance processes aligned with policy and applicable law
  • Change-risk registers covering morale, claims, operational continuity and reputation
  • Manager scripts for difficult announcements, questions and individual meetings

Participants can assess industrial action risks and coordinate proportionate organisational responses.

  • Industrial action risk indicators: bargaining impasse, ballots, mandates and communications
  • Contingency planning for service continuity, safety, customers and critical roles
  • Lawful response boundaries: communications, replacements, deductions and access
  • Escalation protocols between HR, operations, security, legal and executive leadership
  • Strike-day decision logs recording events, instructions, incidents and approvals
  • Return-to-work arrangements addressing safety, communications, grievances and morale
  • Post-dispute reviews identifying root causes, commitments and preventive actions

Participants can manage sensitive cases involving health, performance, conduct and protected concerns.

  • Distinguishing capability, conduct, health, grievance and interpersonal conflict cases
  • Attendance review data: patterns, medical evidence, adjustments and policy thresholds
  • Reasonable-adjustment discussions structured around barriers, options and documented decisions
  • Performance-improvement plans with standards, support, milestones and review evidence
  • Handling discrimination, harassment and retaliation allegations without prejudgment
  • Confidentiality controls for health, investigation and representative information
  • Referral criteria for occupational health, legal counsel and safeguarding specialists

Participants can monitor labour relations performance and prioritise actions for their own organisation.

  • Labour-relations dashboards tracking case volumes, themes, timeframes and outcomes
  • KPI definitions for grievance closure, absence, disputes and agreement compliance
  • Case-file audits against policy, procedural fairness and record-retention requirements
  • Risk reporting using likelihood, impact, controls, owner and review date
  • Quarterly union-management meeting agendas linked to recurring workforce issues
  • Personal stakeholder maps and 90-day labour-relations action plans
  • Peer review of application plans against realistic organisational constraints

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Labour relations case assessment template
  2. Consultation and communication plan template
  3. Workplace investigation plan and evidence matrix
  4. Collective bargaining preparation model
  5. Industrial action contingency checklist
  6. 90-day labour relations action plan

Who should attend

  • HR Business Partners — handle complex employee and representative issues alongside business leaders
  • Employee Relations Managers — standardise case handling, consultation and dispute resolution
  • HR Managers — advise managers on fair processes and workforce change decisions
  • HR Generalists — build confidence managing grievances, conduct and employee concerns
  • People and Culture Managers — improve employee voice, trust and management accountability
  • Labour Relations Officers — strengthen bargaining preparation and agreement administration

Skills and tools covered

Employee relations diagnosisCollective bargainingWorkplace investigationsConflict resolutionChange consultationLabour relations governance

Tools and standards

ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, ILO Convention No. 98, BATNA, PEACE interviewing model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, legal-process considerations and decision criteria. Participants analyse realistic labour relations cases, prepare written recommendations and compare options in small groups. Simulations cover representative meetings, grievance discussions, investigations, consultation and bargaining conversations. Facilitated reviews focus on procedural fairness, documentation quality, communication choices and risk control. Participants adapt templates to their own policies, collective agreements and operating context, then complete a practical 90-day application plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical HR experience and familiarity with employment contracts, workplace policies, manager advice and routine employee relations matters. They should understand the purpose of disciplinary, grievance, performance and absence procedures, even if they have not led complex cases. Experience supporting managers, unions, works councils or employee representatives is useful but not essential. No law degree, industrial relations qualification or prior collective bargaining experience is required. The course does not replace jurisdiction-specific legal advice; participants should bring relevant policies or agreements where permitted.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

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

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have practical HR experience and familiarity with routine employee relations processes. You do not need a legal qualification, prior union role or collective bargaining experience.

Bring examples of relevant HR policies, collective agreements, case forms or consultation materials if your organisation permits this. Remove personal data, confidential case details and legally privileged information.

The course is designed primarily for HR Business Partners, Employee Relations Managers, HR Managers and experienced HR Generalists. It is also relevant to labour relations officers and people managers with formal employee relations responsibilities.

Employment law courses focus on legal rules, while general HR courses cover broader people management responsibilities. This course concentrates on the practical HR Business Partner work of diagnosing cases, advising managers, consulting representatives, resolving disputes and maintaining fair records.

You will use the methods to assess live or anticipated employee relations issues, prepare meetings and improve case records. The templates can be adapted to your organisation's policies, agreements and local legal requirements.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group work, simulations, feedback and application planning across ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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