A policy document on employee relations means little if it never reaches the shop floor. This hands-on Arab British Fellowship Training Academy course focuses on exactly that gap — turning fair, legally sound approaches to staff duties and disputes into something managers can actually apply day to day.

The course builds a system for keeping staff performance on track through a genuinely fair performance culture, backed by an incentive structure that builds real loyalty, alongside clear discipline and conflict-handling practices that protect both employees and the institution — while balancing employer responsibilities against staff rights.

It also covers how to measure staff performance efficiency, guide and counsel employees through workplace issues, recognise strong performers while supporting weaker ones, follow up on assigned work, and strengthen ongoing training and skills development.

Who Should Attend?

• Managers and staff in human resources and labour relations.
• Executives.
• Union organisers and senior union representatives.
• Graduates and anyone interested in this field.

Objectives

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

• Apply the practical knowledge needed to take part effectively in employee relations systems, practices and standard workplace procedures.
• Connect the employee relations role to the role of managers, supervisors and team leaders.
• Manage organisational change effectively.
• Address performance problems and help adjust employee behaviour.
• Influence the behaviour of managers and team leaders.
• Take disciplinary action and handle grievance procedures appropriately.
• Manage absence effectively, and understand the role of an employee-support programme.
• Apply core skills for identifying problems and reaching solutions.

Module 1: The Environment and Strategy of Employee Relations

• The environment employee relations operates within.
• The objectives behind employee relations policies, and the areas they cover.
• Policy options available, and how to choose an employee relations strategy.

Module 2: Climate and Management Style

• Reading the current employee relations climate.
• Management style and its effect on that climate — and how to actually improve it.
• Taking an ethical approach throughout.

Module 3: Working With and Without Unions

• Managing employee relations in a unionised environment.
• Managing employee relations without a union present.
• Putting an employee relations strategy into practice.

Module 4: Defining and Structuring the Employee Relations Function

• The purpose behind building structured employee relations.
• How the system is built, and where tasks and responsibilities sit within it.

Module 5: Managing Staff Performance in Practice

• Setting clear performance goals.
• Reviewing performance with real feedback and advice.
• Evaluating and calibrating performance.

Module 6: Handling Conflict on the Ground

• Leadership and motivation as conflict-prevention tools.
• Warning and penalty rules that stay fair.

Module 7: The Legal and Regulatory Backbone

• Core labour law requirements, equal-employment law, and gender discrimination law.
• Occupational health and safety law.
• Financial intelligence unit regulations relevant to HR.

Module 8: HR Systems, Communication and Fair Treatment

• HR and employee relations systems — strategies, policies and procedures.
• Communication, representation and participation channels.
• Fairness, equity and avoiding discrimination in HR management.
• Diversity management and positive action.
• Grievance procedures and relevant case law.