Industrial Relations and Employee Relations Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Employee Relations Managers, HR Business Partners and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-LR-035

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience of HR, people management, line management or employee representative work.

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

Employee relations becomes difficult when a pay claim, disciplinary allegation, restructuring proposal or union recognition request reaches the workplace without a clear process. HR teams must balance operational continuity, fair treatment, employee voice and lawful decision-making while managers want timely answers. Poor preparation can turn routine concerns into grievances, collective disputes, absenteeism, work stoppages or costly claims. The professional task is to diagnose the issue, select the right forum, keep reliable records and build agreements that managers and representatives can implement.

This course examines the systems, processes and judgement required to manage industrial relations and employee relations cases. Participants assess employment relationship risks; work with unions and employee representatives; prepare bargaining mandates; cost proposals; manage grievances, discipline and investigations; and respond to collective disputes. The programme also addresses consultation during organisational change, employee voice, performance concerns, difficult conversations and dispute-resolution routes. Participants use recognised approaches including interest-based bargaining, BATNA analysis, stakeholder mapping and procedural fairness principles.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with realistic cases from public services, manufacturing, financial services, infrastructure and multinational employers. Participants analyse evidence, prepare case documentation, conduct representative meetings, test negotiation positions and make procedural decisions under time pressure. They leave with an employee relations case-management toolkit, including reusable templates for issue assessment, investigations, bargaining preparation, consultation and dispute escalation.

The course suits HR practitioners, employee relations specialists, line managers and union-facing leaders who already handle people issues and need a more structured approach to collective and individual employment relations.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose employee relations issues using stakeholder mapping, risk assessment and case triage
  • Prepare bargaining mandates, BATNA positions and costed negotiation proposals
  • Conduct fair disciplinary, grievance and capability procedures using defensible evidence
  • Plan workplace investigations with terms of reference, evidence logs and interview plans
  • Apply procedural fairness principles to individual and collective employment decisions
  • Manage union and employee representative consultations during organisational change
  • Select appropriate dispute-resolution routes for workplace conflict and collective disputes
  • Produce an employee relations action plan with ownership, milestones and escalation triggers

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence chairing difficult meetings with employees and representatives
  • A clearer method for distinguishing grievances, conduct cases and collective disputes
  • Stronger preparation for pay negotiations and consultation meetings
  • Improved judgement when assessing evidence, fairness and procedural risk
  • Reusable documentation for managing complex employee relations cases

For your organisation

  • More consistent handling of grievances, discipline and workplace investigations
  • Better prepared negotiations supported by costed options and clear mandates
  • Earlier resolution of workplace conflict before formal escalation
  • More credible consultation during restructuring, policy change and workforce planning
  • Stronger case records for internal review, external scrutiny and legal advice

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can assess the parties, systems and interests shaping an employee relations issue.

  • Industrial relations system: parties, institutions, bargaining structures and workplace representation
  • Employment relationship sources: contracts, policies, statutes, collective agreements and custom
  • Unitary, pluralist and radical frames of reference compared
  • Union recognition, representation rights and worker voice mechanisms
  • Roles of HR, line managers, union officials and employee representatives
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies influence, interests, mandates and likely conflict points

Participants can prioritise employee relations risks and select proportionate response routes.

  • Employee relations strategy links workforce priorities, culture, policy and operating risks
  • Issue triage distinguishes informal concerns, grievances, conduct cases and collective disputes
  • Risk matrices assess employee impact, legal exposure, operational disruption and reputational harm
  • Case ownership defines decision authority, advisory roles, records and escalation thresholds
  • Early intervention options include facilitated discussion, mediation and management action
  • Management information tracks case volumes, themes, timeliness, outcomes and recurrence

Participants can prepare and conduct structured negotiations with employee representatives.

  • Preparing bargaining mandates, reservation positions, aspiration targets and concession limits
  • Interest-based bargaining separates positions, interests, options and objective criteria
  • BATNA analysis strengthens proposals, trade-offs and settlement decision-making
  • Package bargaining links pay, hours, benefits, flexibility and job security
  • Costing claims using headcount, pay progression, overtime and benefit assumptions
  • Drafting collective agreement clauses with definitions, scope, duration and disputes procedures
  • Good-faith bargaining records maintain authority, rationale, offers and agreed actions

Participants can assess and communicate proposals concerning pay, benefits and working conditions.

  • Pay claim analysis separates inflation arguments, market data, affordability and productivity
  • Total reward comparisons cover base pay, allowances, premiums, benefits and pensions
  • Pay equity reviews identify potential disparities using role, grade and demographic data
  • Working-time arrangements address hours, shifts, overtime, rest periods and flexibility
  • Productivity agreements define measures, baseline performance, gain-sharing and review periods
  • Communication plans explain proposals, decision criteria, implementation dates and appeals

Participants can manage fair and well-documented individual employee relations procedures.

  • Procedural fairness requires notice, evidence, impartiality, response and appeal opportunities
  • Grievance intake clarifies allegations, desired outcomes, urgency and conflict-of-interest concerns
  • Disciplinary allegations distinguish misconduct, poor performance, absence and protected disclosures
  • Capability processes set standards, support measures, review periods and documented outcomes
  • ACAS Code principles and comparable local procedural standards guide fair handling
  • Outcome letters record findings, rationale, actions, review rights and confidentiality boundaries
  • Consistency checks compare similar cases while accounting for material differences

Participants can plan and oversee impartial workplace investigations with reliable records.

  • Terms of reference define allegations, scope, investigator authority and reporting requirements
  • Investigation plans sequence evidence collection, witness interviews, timelines and dependencies
  • Evidence logs record source, relevance, reliability, access controls and retention
  • Interview plans use open questions, chronology testing and corroboration techniques
  • Witness meetings address confidentiality, retaliation concerns, representation and contemporaneous notes
  • Balance-of-probabilities findings distinguish facts, inferences, mitigating factors and unresolved evidence
  • Investigation reports separate evidence, findings, conclusions and recommended management actions

Participants can select and manage appropriate resolution methods for workplace conflict.

  • Conflict diagnosis identifies substantive, procedural, relationship and values-based dimensions
  • Difficult conversations use preparation, active listening, reframing and agreed next steps
  • Mediation assesses voluntariness, confidentiality, authority and suitability for resolution
  • Conciliation supports settlement discussions where positions remain materially apart
  • Dispute escalation maps local procedures, external agencies, arbitration and industrial action
  • Settlement terms address scope, payment, confidentiality, references and non-retaliation commitments
  • Post-dispute reviews identify root causes, control failures and preventive actions

Participants can build constructive representative relationships and run meaningful consultation processes.

  • Union-management meeting structures establish agendas, authority, minutes and action tracking
  • Consultation differs from information sharing, negotiation and joint decision-making
  • Representative briefings explain business context, affected groups, options and constraints
  • Employee voice channels include surveys, forums, representatives, suggestion systems and town halls
  • Recognition agreements define bargaining units, facilities time, access and dispute procedures
  • Relationship protocols address respect, confidentiality, escalation and informal problem solving
  • ILO Conventions 87 and 98 frame freedom of association principles

Participants can plan employee relations activity for restructuring and workforce change.

  • Change impact assessments identify affected roles, locations, terms, skills and representatives
  • Consultation timelines align business decisions, information releases, feedback and implementation milestones
  • Redundancy selection criteria require objectivity, evidence, consistency and adverse-impact testing
  • Transfer and outsourcing discussions address employee information, consultation and continuity concerns
  • Change communications distinguish confirmed decisions, proposals, unknowns and consultation questions
  • Manager briefings prepare consistent answers for employees, unions and employee representatives
  • Workforce transition plans assign support, redeployment, training and follow-up responsibilities

Participants can establish employee relations controls and apply course methods to priority workplace issues.

  • Employee relations governance defines policy ownership, delegated authority and review cycles
  • Case dashboards report volume, ageing, outcomes, absence patterns and repeat issues
  • Policy audits test clarity, accessibility, procedural alignment and manager usability
  • Data protection controls govern investigation records, access rights and retention schedules
  • Lessons-learned reviews convert recurring cases into policy, training and management actions
  • Personal application plans specify priority cases, stakeholders, actions, milestones and measures

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

What you take back to work

  1. Employee relations issue-triage template
  2. Collective bargaining preparation pack
  3. Workplace investigation plan and evidence log
  4. Disciplinary and grievance procedure checklist
  5. Change consultation communication plan
  6. Employee relations action-plan model

Who should attend

  • Employee Relations Managers — need consistent processes for complex individual and collective cases
  • HR Business Partners — advise leaders on workforce issues, consultation and dispute risks
  • HR Managers — oversee discipline, grievances, investigations and employee representative relationships
  • Line Managers — handle workplace concerns before they become formal disputes
  • Labour Relations Specialists — prepare negotiations, agreements and union-management meetings
  • Operations Leaders — manage staffing changes, productivity discussions and workforce disruption

Skills and tools covered

Collective bargainingWorkplace investigationsDispute resolutionUnion consultationProcedural fairnessEmployee relations strategy

Tools and standards

BATNA analysis, Interest-based bargaining, ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, ILO Conventions 87 and 98

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce frameworks, legal-risk considerations and procedural standards. Case work examines realistic grievances, collective bargaining claims, misconduct allegations, restructuring consultations and dispute scenarios. Group exercises develop bargaining mandates, investigation plans, meeting strategies and escalation decisions. Simulations allow participants to practise management-union meetings, difficult conversations and settlement discussions. Facilitated review links each method to participants' own workplace challenges, followed by individual application planning for immediate use after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience of HR, people management, line management or employee representative work. They should understand basic employment relationship concepts such as contracts, workplace policies, performance management, discipline and grievance handling. Experience of a live employee relations case is useful but not essential. The course does not require prior union-negotiation experience, legal qualifications, finance training or advanced knowledge of collective agreements. It is not a substitute for jurisdiction-specific legal advice; participants should bring awareness of their own organisation's policies and applicable local requirements.

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

Participants should understand basic HR or people-management processes and have some workplace experience. No legal qualification or previous collective bargaining experience is required.

Participants should bring examples of non-confidential employee relations challenges, relevant workplace policies and questions about current procedures. They should not bring identifiable case files, sensitive personal data or legally privileged documents.

It is designed for HR practitioners, employee relations specialists, HR business partners, line managers and operational leaders. It is particularly useful for those who work with unions, employee representatives or formal people procedures.

Employment law courses focus primarily on legal rules and case law. This course concentrates on managing workplace relationships, processes, bargaining, consultation, investigations and dispute resolution, while recognising legal-risk considerations.

Participants receive reusable templates for case triage, bargaining preparation, investigations, consultation and action planning. They can adapt these tools to current grievances, negotiations, policy reviews and organisational change programmes.

The programme runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing approximately 32.5 contact hours across five days. Time is distributed across ten connected modules, using briefings, case analysis, group work, simulations and application planning.

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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