We’re pleased to invite you to our Spring employment law event at The Clifton Pavilion, Bristol Zoo Gardens. This iconic site, which has drawn visitors for over 185 years, closes this Autumn to relocate to a new site. We look forward to welcoming you for one last visit and weather permitting, a stroll around the grounds during the event.

Your attendance will give you a warm glow for lots of reasons; you're supporting Bristol Zoo Gardens’ vital conservation and education work; all ticket sales are going to DEC's Ukraine appeal and you'll come away armed with a vast array of employment law knowledge ready to apply in your organisation.

Our employment law update highlights both current and future employment law topics and examines important employment law cases since our last update in November. Our two ‘spotlight’ topics this time are:

• decarbonisation and the green jobs revolution, and

• the challenges of ‘hidden disabilities’ for employers

Overview of the event – commencing 3pm

Our employment law experts, Luke Menzies, Anne-Marie Boyle and Tamsin James, kick off with a review of the legal issues currently affecting workplaces and follow that with a discussion of recent Employment Tribunal cases of note.

We’ll follow these with a deep dive into 2 subjects:

• The challenges of ‘hidden disabilities’

There will always be a number of staff who have a disability that is not obvious and is not disclosed to their employer (so called ‘hidden disabilities’). While this has of course always been the case, we have noticed a huge rise in the last couple of years of cases where an employee who has just been dismissed (or is in the process of being so) suddenly discloses a mental health (e.g. anxiety or depression) problem or a neurodiversity condition (e.g. ADHD, ASD) for the first time, claiming that this is the reason for their dismissal and/or poor treatment.

Luke and Tamsin discuss how claims involving mental health and neurodiversity can be particularly challenging for employers where the level of pre-dismissal knowledge about the individual’s disability is critical to having a defence - or not. We will look at:

- When is an employer deemed to know about a disability?

- What warning signs should you look out for, and what should you then do?

- The steps an employer should take in such cases and our top tips based on cases we’ve managed

- How to support employees you suspect may have an underlying disability or an undisclosed mental health issue

• Decarbonising the economy. What does the green jobs revolution mean for HR?

Is this the issue to get HR that much sought-after strategic seat at the table? We’re going to take a two-pronged attack at this complex government strategy. Anne-Marie will introduce this subject and will look at the legal issues likely to arise in relation to the green job transition (and the sorts of things we’re beginning to assist businesses with).

Following Anne-Marie - and back by popular demand - is Rich Roberts, employee engagement guru and until recently HR Director of green energy business, Pure Planet. Rich will discuss some of the key challenges of the green jobs transition and look at how HR and business professionals can help their organisations achieve it.

We’ll finish up with an outline of employment legislation on the horizon before adjourning for drinks, nibbles and networking. We anticipate finishing at 7.30pm and promise not to feed you to the lions if you want to leave earlier.

A word about parking

There is limited free parking available and this will be on a first-come-first-served basis. Thereafter, parking is at £5 per vehicle.

We look forward to seeing you there!