Fair, firm and lawful
Managing People within the Law.
A day on managing people fairly and lawfully: health and performance, conduct, grievances and speaking up.
- Level
- Immerse
- Learning time
- 8 hours 30 minutes
- Where
- Managing well
- Price
- £249
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion, or Certificate of Completion and Assessment with a short assessment
Content Note.
This topic is about mental health at work. Part 3, Safe to Speak, Safe to Seek Help, talks about suicide and how to respond when someone is in crisis. It follows the Samaritans' guidance on talking about suicide safely and gives no detail of methods. Take it at your own pace, pause whenever you need to, and come back to it later if that helps.
If you need to talk to someone now, call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time, day or night. For urgent mental health help, call NHS 111 (in Wales press 2, in England choose option 2; in Scotland NHS 24 is also on 111). In Northern Ireland, call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000. If a life is at risk, call 999.
Overview and Outcomes.
Who It's For
Managers who handle absence, performance and conduct
Overview
Managers make decisions every week that carry legal weight, often without realising it. Fair, firm and lawful brings employment law and good management together. It covers health, absence and capability, including Statutory Sick Pay changes from April 2026, disability and reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act, managing performance fairly, conduct and discipline under the Acas Code, grievances, bullying and whistleblowing. Dismissal, restructuring, redundancy and TUPE, and working with trade unions and the Welsh social partnership approach, complete the legal picture. Sutton on toxic behaviour, performance management as a system and the Situation, Behaviour, Impact model keep fairness and humanity at the centre.
Aims
This programme aims to give managers the confidence to handle absence, performance, conduct and change fairly, firmly and lawfully. It develops a practical grasp of the law alongside the conversations and judgement that prevent most problems from escalating, so that managers act early, consistently and with respect for the people involved.
In summary, you will be able to:
- Explain the main legal duties that apply to absence, disability, performance, conduct, grievances, whistleblowing and dismissal in UK workplaces.
- Apply fair procedures and the Acas Code to manage a performance, conduct or health concern from an early conversation through to resolution.
- Lead restructuring and workplace conflict in ways that respect the law, trade union partnership and the trust of the people affected.
What you'll develop
By the end of this Immerse, you will be able to:
- Explain how Statutory Sick Pay and fit notes work since April 2026 and use a fit note to open a planning conversation.
- Plan a fair disciplinary process in line with the Acas Code, from investigation and the right to be accompanied through to decision and appeal.
- Plan the handling of a grievance in line with the Acas Code, from early listening to a reasoned decision and appeal.
- Identify the five potentially fair reasons for dismissal and explain how fair reason, fair process and fair decision are tested together.
- Explain the four flaws of the traditional annual review and forced ranking: timing, memory, the curve and cost.
- Explain the Statutory Sick Pay changes from April 2026 and what fit note advice does and does not require of an employer.
- Give specific, caring and direct feedback using Situation, Behaviour, Impact and Radical Candor, and explain why the feedback sandwich undermines both criticism and praise.
- Explain what union recognition means in practice, including collective bargaining, facility time and consultation duties.
Built from 7 parts.
8 hours 30 minutes of learning.
- 01When health and performance dipSickness absence, capability and performanceBitesize · People Management and Employment Law2 modules
- 02Handling it fairlyAcas Code: discipline, grievances and bullyingBitesize · People Management and Employment Law2 modules
- 03When someone speaks upWhistleblowing and fair dismissalBitesize · People Management and Employment Law2 modules
- 04The cost of getting it wrongToxic behaviour and performance managementBitesize · High Performing Managers2 modules
- 05Support that worksAdjustments, Access to Work and return to workBitesize · Mental Health at Work for Managers2 modules
- 06The conversations that countFeedback, coaching and conflict for managersBitesize · Management1 module
- 07Change with fairnessRedundancy, TUPE and working with trade unionsBitesize · People Management and Employment Law2 modules