Upskilling courses for management
Manager training
Most managers aren’t employment law and people person experts and even the best-run organisations will inevitably encounter employee issues.
As well as taking time away from value-driving activities, dealing with people problems requires a firm grasp of HR best practice and a working understand of complex employment law. If you’re not fully confident, turning to HR and leadership training for manager can make all the difference.
Helping you with
Upskilling managers creates brilliant teams
Whether you’re keen to upskill in essential HR topics and legal compliance or looking for ongoing support in the form of a responsive helpline, we offer a range of solutions designed to help managers carry out their role confidently and effectively.
- Unlimited day-to-day support from your own team of legally-qualified Employment Law specialists
- Access expert-created templates and refer back to advice at any time through MyEW
- Save time with bespoke document drafting, including your contracts, handbooks and policies
- Develop confidence and awareness in essential people management topics with training from seasoned HR professionals
- Relieve pressure with on-site HR Consultancy support, including mediation, investigation and more
Manager job training maximises productivity, minimises risk
From time-consuming employee grievances to complex redundancy exercises, unless you know the correct process to follow and the potential legal pitfalls, it can be all too easy to enflame a situation or, worse, leave yourself exposed to Employment Tribunal claims.
Whatever level of management training support you require, from step-by-step guidance to shadowing one of our HR Consultants, we’ll work with you to relieve unnecessary admin burden, improve internal competence, and equip managers with the tools they need to become self-sufficient.
What is a leadership and management course?
Upskilling in management is about giving your managers the knowledge and skills to handle the people side of their role confidently and effectively. Most managers aren’t Employment Law or HR specialists, yet they’re still expected to manage issues like grievances, performance concerns, and redundancies in a way that’s fair, compliant, and gets the right outcome. To do this well, they need a solid grasp of HR best practice, an understanding of the correct processes, and awareness of the legal risks involved. Without this, even well-meaning decisions can inflame situations or result in costly Employment Tribunal claims.
Upskilling can involve many approaches, from training on essential topics like discipline, grievance, and equality, to ongoing access to expert HR and Employment Law advice. With the right professional support, managers benefit from clear, step-by-step guidance, practical templates, and tools that save time, reduce pressure, and build confidence. This not only helps them deal with people matters more effectively but also strengthens your organisation’s capability, allowing managers to spend more time on activities that drive value and create a fair, productive workplace.
How to upskill managers
Upskilling managers, whether in middle management or project management, means giving them the knowledge, skills, and tools to operate at a higher level, adapt to change, and lead with confidence:
- Upskilling middle management may mean sharpening leadership skills, improving decision-making, and building stronger communication to bridge the gap between senior leaders and frontline teams.
- To upskill project management, it may involve enhancing planning, resource management, risk awareness, and stakeholder engagement to deliver results more effectively.
There are many ways to achieve this, from targeted training on HR best practice and Employment Law compliance to mentoring, coaching, role-specific workshops, and shadowing senior colleagues.eLearning can offer flexibility, while cross-functional projects can expand skills and commercial awareness.
The most effective approach is ongoing, with development opportunities embedded into day-to-day operations rather than treated as a one-off exercise. By committing to regular upskilling, you can build a confident, capable management team ready to tackle challenges and deliver long-term business success.
Explore our fixed-fee Employment Law support
Advice Line
Fast, pragmatic, commercial. Our Employment Law & HR advice line gives you and your managers access to truly unlimited advice on all of your people-related challenges, from the seemingly straightforward to the most complex.What sorts of things can you advise on?
HR matters come with the territory when you run a business or manage an organisation and we’re here to help you through it all. Whether you’re battling absenteeism, struggling to manage an underperforming employee or need help navigating a complicated exercise like redundancy, we can walk you through the steps required to handle the situation appropriately.
Is everything dealt with through one team?
Yes. All of our advisers are qualified legal professionals or on the road to formal qualification, which means a full range of employee issues can be dealt with within your dedicated three-person team. In the event that you’re presented with an Employment Tribunal claim, we will conduct a full handover to our Litigation Team so that they are well equipped to defend you.
Find out moreContracts and Handbooks
Whether you have nothing in place or just need an expert review, our Employment Law specialists can carefully craft your employment contracts and employee handbooks to guarantee compliance and provide the flexibility you need as an employer.What are the risks of not having the right contracts in place?
Failing to provide an employee with a contract could lead to additional compensation being awarded to an employee who successfully makes another sort of claim against their employer. In addition, a number of practical problems could be caused by having incorrect contracts, such as paying too little (or too much) notice, getting holiday entitlement wrong and failing to protect legitimate business interests in the face of an employee leaving for a competitor.
How often do HR policies need to be reviewed?
Whenever there are changes to UK employment legislation, such as the recent changes to bereavement leave or the Good Work Plan, it’s important to make sure your contracts, handbooks and policies are updated accordingly. We can take the pressure off by alerting you to any such changes and helping you to implement them in your documentation and practices.
Find out moreDrafting Letters and Documents
From the most straightforward warning for poor attendance to complex grievance outcome letters and everything in between, our Employment Law solicitors can draft all your employment documents to save you valuable time and stress.What sorts of documents can you draft?
Just about anything and everything you might need during the employment relationship. All of our advisers are qualified legal professionals or on the road to formal qualification, which means we can support you with a full spectrum of advice and documentation, from first written warnings to new contractual clauses, to a policy you might not have in your handbook, plus more complex legal documents like settlement agreements and redundancy outcome letters.
I’ve got a HR team and just want templates we can use. Do you have a resources bank?
Yes, our fixed-fee Employment Law and HR support includes full access to our Knowledge Hub, available through MyEW, which contains most of the templates we work from. If you have an internal HR team, you may prefer to access these and tailor them yourselves. However, for more complex cases, we would always suggest engaging with our legal advisers as it can be all too easy to word something in a way that leaves you exposed.
Find out moreeLearning
Tired of classroom training, or unable to take time out? Raise awareness of best-practice around workplace issues and prevent HR headaches with our flexible, cost-effective eLearning courses.
What types of courses are available?
Our ever-growing library of eLearning courses currently covers over 100 topics, including HR courses such as Equality & Diversity, Sexual Harassment and Social Media Use; soft skills courses such as Communication, Leadership and Change Management; and compliance courses such GDPR, Anti-Money Laundering and the Bribery Act. We also offer an extensive range of Health & Safety courses, including Accident Reporting, Risk Assessment and First Aid. Download the full course catalogue.
How much do the courses cost?
All of our eLearning courses are free for the first year when you purchase our Employment Law & HR or Health & Safety managed service. This means you’re not paying per head or per course, which not only keeps down but gives you complete cost certainty over your training expenses. This is particularly handy if your workforce is growing, as you won’t need to purchase extra licenses, giving you exceptional value for money.
Legal Expenses Insurance
An optional component of our Employment Law and HR support, by underpinning our advice with Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI), you have maximum reassurance that your business is protected against unfair dismissal and other costly employee claims.
I’ve never had a claim before – why would I need to take LEI?
For the same reason you take out any insurance policy – to guard against the high cost of defending an Employment Tribunal claim. The premium cost is very low compared to the potential payout, especially as it covers the cost of representation as well as any potential compensation. You don’t have to have LEI, but it could significantly impact your bottom line if something goes wrong, given that the cost of even the most basic unfair dismissal claim could be £20-25,000 when legal costs are factored in. Unfortunately, the latest Tribunal statistics suggest that employers now are more vulnerable than ever.
Can you deal with Employment Tribunal claims, or is this triaged outside of EW?
Should you receive a claim, your dedicated Employment Law adviser, who will have dealt with the matter up until that point, will conduct a full handover to our Litigation Team. They will explain the case history, share all the relevant documentation and offer their views on the prospects of the claim. Our Litigation Team will then take over all the prep work, including drafting a defence, producing bundles, dealing with Acas and the other side, and briefing counsel. Rest assured this is a smooth process, with everything kept inside EW, and you will be in safe hands throughout.
Management Information
Discipline, performance, absenteeism. We’ll show you exactly where your dedicated Employment Law advisers are spending their time so that you can target key problem areas for more productive, high-performing teams. Recommended for large organisations with high case volumes.What detail does the MI provide?
The report will highlight what sorts of issues we are advising on and who/where in your business those questions are coming from. That way, we can easily spot problem areas, bring them to your attention and recommend steps to address the issues.
What sorts of recommendations do you typically provide?
We will provide practical and pragmatic recommendations to address whatever common problems are arising. The exact nature will depend on the sort of issues but could include training of managers in certain areas or the production of additional guidance and documentation to guide them through tricky subjects.
Find out moreMyEW
From document templates to HR Software, MyEW gives you all the tools you need to manage even the trickiest employee issues, improve efficiencies and get the answers you need, fast.
What sorts of issues can I find guides and templates on?
We have hundreds of guidance notes and accompanying templates covering a full spectrum of employment-related issues, including Maternity, Pay, Flexible Working, Holidays, Performance and Redundancy. All of these resources are created by our experts, and if you require further support or have any questions, you can contact your dedicated team of advisers for practical advice and guidance.
What does the HR Software do?
There can be a great deal of administration involved in managing employees, and the burden only increases as your business grows. If filing cabinets of employee information is no longer cutting it, our HR Software will help to automate your processes, save valuable time and manage HR tasks at the touch of a button. Use it to store and organise employee data and essential documents; manage and report on holidays, absence, timesheets and rostering; stay on top of employee reviews; maintain a comprehensive employee directory, and keep a record of training and development.
Why choose us?
Experts in Employment Law & HR
At WorkNest, we’re known for our bespoke service and the quality of our support for management and leadership qualifications in the UK. Not only is our expertise unmatched, but we take the time to know you so that we can function as a true extension of your team.
- Your own small team of dedicated experts
- Commercial, pragmatic advice tailored to you
- Bespoke contracts, policies and handbooks
- Trusted by over 35,000 organisations
- Recognised as a leading firm by the Legal 500
Who you’ll be working with
Toyah Marshall
Principal Employment Law Adviser
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FAQs
What types of management training do you offer?
We offer a range of interactive and engaging HR training courses designed and delivered by professionally-qualified, highly-experienced HR practitioners. Popular courses include Manager Essentials, Discipline & Grievance, and Equality & Diversity, all of which are delivered exclusively to you on site or at a venue of your choice.
Are the courses delivered online?
We offer both in-person HR training courses, delivered by our HR specialists at your premises or offsite at a venue of your choice, and a catalogue of interactive eLearning courses which can be completed at your own pace, in your own time. We may also be able to adapt our normal classroom-based courses to deliver them to you online in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
What e-Learning courses are available?
Our ever-growing library of eLearning courses currently covers over 100 topics, including HR courses such as Equality & Diversity, Sexual Harassment and Social Media Use; soft skills courses such as Communication, Leadership and Change Management; and compliance courses such GDPR, Anti-Money Laundering and the Bribery Act. We also offer an extensive range of Health & Safety courses, including Accident Reporting, Risk Assessment and First Aid. Download the full course catalogue
I need a course that covers HR essentials. What would you recommend?
Utilising breakout rooms, chat windows and polls, our interactive Manager Essentials training course provides a general overview of key people management issues, including Employment Law issues, that may arise in the life of an employment relationship and explains how to deal with them.
Will you support managers, or just HR teams and business owners?
Typically, for smaller employers, we support managers, directors and owners, essentially becoming a high-quality outsourced HR function. For large employers, we provide specialist support to their in-house HR Team
Can you help managers to produce documents?
Yes. We can support you with a full spectrum of documentation, from first written warnings to new contractual clauses, to a policy you might not have in your handbook, plus more complex legal documents like settlement agreements and redundancy outcome letters.
Can you provide MR reports for managers?
Yes. For those with larger case volumes, we can produce monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual MR reports to show you the sorts of matters that you’re requiring support with most often and total usage/activities by site, department or manager. This will enable you to identify trends and problem hotspots and take the necessary action.
What if we need support on site?
If you require more hands-on support, we offer a range of proactive and reactive HR Consultancy services, including assigning HR specialists to conduct investigations, mediation and consultation meetings, to help you manage these processes with minimal management pressure.