Expert Legal Training for Your Trading and Commercial Teams in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Watford & London .
WHAT EMW CAN DO FOR YOU & YOUR BUSINESS
Our HR specialists are committed to equipping businesses with the tools and confidence to manage their teams effectively. We deliver bespoke training solutions to a wide range of clients from household names like Tesco, Santander, Arcadia, Blockbusters and Selfridges, to dynamic, owner-managed businesses across Northampton, Watford and London.
Our training programs are practical, interactive, and tailored to the specific challenges faced by managers in the commercial and trade sectors. We focus on giving managers the confidence to handle difficult conversations, resolve conflicts and make informed HR decisions quickly and effectively.
By supporting your leaders in creating positive, productive working environments, our training also helps foster stronger employee engagement and a culture of accountability and respect. Whether your team needs help navigating disciplinary issues, improving communication, or understanding legal responsibilities, we offer clear, commercially focused guidance that adds real value.
With EMW, you’re not just meeting compliance requirements – you’re investing in the long-term success of your people and your business.
The EMW legal experts are proud to have over 35 glowing reviews and recommendations on our Google Business page and over 320 reviews with an average of 4.9/5 stars on Reviewsolicitors.
WE LEGALLY ASSIST, GUIDE AND
ADVISE BUSINESSES IN THE UK WITH:
In today’s fast-moving commercial environment, the time that management must dedicate to navigating employee relations and compliance matters has grown significantly. It’s no longer enough to act with good intentions and leaders must be confident in their legal responsibilities, fair in their approach, and firm in protecting the interests of the business.
At EMW, our specialist legal training is designed to empower your managers with the practical skills and legal knowledge they need to handle workplace issues efficiently and lawfully. We work closely with companies across Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and London, offering bespoke in-house training programmes that are grounded in current legislation, the ACAS Code of Practice, and your company’s internal policies.
Our interactive training focuses on practical application, not just theory. Using real-world scenarios and role-play exercises, participants will develop the confidence and capability to deal with complex workplace issues such as performance management, misconduct, grievances and appeals.
Training Topics Typically Include:
Approaching Difficult Issues with Confidence
Learn how to initiate and manage sensitive conversations while maintaining legal and procedural integrity.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Discover the typical missteps that lead to legal risk or failed processes and how to sidestep them.
Analysing and Testing Evidence
Understand how to critically assess documentation, witness statements, and other evidence to support fair decision-making.
Conducting a Disciplinary Hearing
Gain practical insight into running effective and compliant disciplinary processes that stand up to internal and external scrutiny.
Your Role in an Appeal Process
Clarify the manager’s responsibilities during appeals and ensure consistency and fairness throughout.
Every session is led by experienced EMW legal professionals who understand the commercial pressures your team faces. Whether you’re managing a growing team in Milton Keynes or leading operations across multiple sites in London, we tailor the training to suit your industry, risk profile, and internal procedures.
Equip your team with the knowledge to act decisively, fairly, and within the law. Get in touch to discuss a tailored training solution for your business.
80% of all disputes referred to mediation are satisfactorily resolved within one day. This programme develops the skills required by managers to conduct mediation through role play and practice and is suitable for those who wish to conduct mediation themselves or wish to understand which types of cases can be resolved by mediation.
This programme generally include the following, but can be tailored:
- An explanation of mediation
- Identifying and practising mediation skills
- Understanding the process
- How mediation works best
- Mock mediation
Managing People: Building Confidence, Minimising Risk
Our Managing People training programme has been specifically designed to equip newly appointed managers with the confidence, knowledge and legal grounding to handle people-related challenges effectively. Developed in partnership with a leading FTSE 100 company, the course has received exceptional feedback — described by their HR Director as “the best programme of its type we have ever run in the business.”
Managing people is never straightforward. The legal implications of getting it wrong — whether it’s mishandling misconduct or failing to address performance issues — can expose your business to real risk. This course empowers your managers to make fair, lawful, and commercially sound decisions.
What’s covered?
While every session can be tailored to suit your sector or in-house policies, the standard programme covers the following essential topics:
The Role of the Manager
Understanding a manager’s legal and practical responsibilities, and how their actions can impact the wider organisation.
Addressing Underperformance
Tools and processes to tackle poor performance fairly and constructively, in line with best legal practice.
Managing Absence
Strategies for dealing with both short-term and long-term sickness absence, including considerations under disability and employment law.
Dealing with Rule Breakers
How to identify, document and respond to misconduct, bullying and harassment in a legally compliant and proportionate way.
Protecting the Business – and Yourself
Clear guidance on documentation, decision-making and managing risk to reduce the chance of claims or disputes.
Interactive and Practical
This programme can be delivered as a focused one-day session or extended to a two-day workshop that includes interactive role play and practical skills development. This allows managers to apply what they’ve learned in realistic scenarios, with expert feedback to enhance confidence and capability.
Locations We Serve
We regularly deliver this training in-person or virtually to businesses based in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Watford and London, and we’re happy to work with HR or legal teams to ensure the programme reflects your internal culture and procedures.
Creating an environment in which everyone feels able to give of their best, and are engaged in the business or its goals regardless of their sex, race, persuasion, disability, age etc. is a prerequisite of modern management. No business can afford to lose or inhibit staff who would otherwise be giving 100% to their employment.
Programme
It is likely that in the programme you will want to cover the following:
- Creating the level playing field
- Dealing with harassment
- The elements of sex and race discrimination
- Age discrimination and the retirement age
- Who is disabled and how shall we deal with them?
- Protecting the manager and the business
Understanding the process and knowing what is expected are important aspects in preparing for an employment tribunal. It is essential that witnesses have confidence, particularly those who have conducted disciplinary and appeal hearings.
This programme generally include the following, but can be tailored:
- How the tribunal works
- Drafting witness statements
- Giving evidence and cross examination
- Practice with a mock tribunal
It’s often said that “banter” is the most dangerous word in the employment dictionary – and with good reason. What some consider harmless fun can easily cross the line into behaviour that creates risk for your business and undermines a healthy working culture. Our Workplace Behaviour training programme is designed to give your trading and commercial team leaders the legal awareness and practical tools they need to foster a respectful, productive environment.
Delivered by experienced legal professionals, this programme focuses on helping managers understand their responsibilities and sharpen their leadership approach when it comes to workplace conduct. It strikes a balance between legal compliance and real-world management challenges – always tailored to your business and your team.
Core Topics Typically Covered:
The Manager’s Role in Shaping Culture
How leadership sets the tone – and how a manager’s behaviour, decisions, and communications influence workplace norms and expectations.
What Constitutes Acceptable Behaviour
Clear, practical guidance on identifying the line between appropriate workplace interaction and conduct that may breach legal or policy standards.
Addressing Unacceptable Behaviour
How to recognise early warning signs, intervene appropriately, and apply consistent, lawful responses to issues when they arise.
Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination
A legal and ethical overview of key risk areas, along with examples and case studies to illustrate what can go wrong – and how to prevent it.
Protecting the Business from Legal Liability
Understanding the legal implications of poor workplace behaviour and how proactive management can reduce the risk of claims or reputational damage.
Creating an Environment Conducive to Work
Strategies for fostering trust, inclusion, and psychological safety so teams can focus on high performance and collaboration.
This programme is fully customisable to reflect the specific needs of your business, industry sector, and team dynamics. Whether you’re in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Watford or London, our legal experts work closely with you to ensure the training is relevant, engaging, and effective.
Human nature can encourage us to duck the difficult problems and focus on the straightforward. This programme identifies those situations which require special attention, helps develop the skills necessary and builds confidence to deal with the issue.
This programme generally include the following, but can be tailored:
- Dealing with stress and absence
- Employee retirement
- Conducting difficult conversations
- Resolving personality conflicts
- Harassment and bullying
Outside pressures, downturns in business and strategic re-direction all bring the need to restructure the workforce. Redundancies may or may not always be necessary but, whatever the degree of change, problems have to be approached with care, if morale is to be conserved and expensive legal pitfalls avoided.
This programme generally include the following, but can be tailored:
- Establishing if you have a redundancy situation
- What procedure you should adopt
- Changing employment contracts
- Outsource services options
- What is TUPE and will it apply
- Consultation with the workforce and dealing with Trade Unions
- Employee engagement after change
Supporting Confident, Compliant Decision-Making
In today’s fast-moving business environment, HR Managers must stay informed and agile when navigating employment legislation. Laws evolve rapidly, and so do the risks of getting it wrong — from reputational harm to legal liability. EMW’s tailored legal training equips your HR and management teams with the practical legal knowledge they need to manage people effectively, fairly, and lawfully.
Whether you’re based in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Watford or London, we deliver expert-led sessions that focus on the legal essentials HR professionals must understand — and apply confidently in real-world situations.
What Our Training Covers
While every programme can be customised to meet your team’s specific needs and industry focus, our core training typically includes:
The Contract of Employment
Understanding the legal framework and critical clauses — including how to draft, vary, and enforce employment contracts.
Employee Rights During Employment
Covering key statutory rights such as holiday entitlement, family leave, flexible working, and protection from unlawful deductions.
Discrimination and Equal Opportunities
Equipping your team to promote fairness in the workplace while recognising and mitigating the risks of direct and indirect discrimination.
Discipline and Dismissal
A step-by-step guide to lawful disciplinary procedures and fair dismissal processes — helping reduce exposure to Employment Tribunal claims.
Current Challenges in Employment Law
Insight into hot topics such as hybrid working, whistleblowing, managing mental health, and upcoming legislative changes that may impact your organisation.
Why Choose EMW?
Our experienced legal trainers bring practical insight from advising a wide range of businesses — from start-ups to established corporates. We’re known for making complex legal principles clear, relevant, and directly applicable to your day-to-day HR operations.
We offer flexible delivery in-person or virtually and ensure all content is up-to-date and aligned with your internal policies and commercial objectives.
Key members of the legal training team
TALK TO US
Working with the team at EMW on two recent commercial property acquisitions has been a very reassuring experience for us. Especially their expertise and professionalism in dealing with detailed seller’s special terms and lease provisions.
There are a lot of moving parts when selling a business. Having a legal team that do what they say they will, when they say they will with professionalism and clarity makes the process significantly easier. I can’t speak highly enough of EMW.
EMW have been incredibly supportive in guiding Reformis through the transaction, providing excellent advice and direction. Their engagement with Deloitte and overseas counsel was efficient, pragmatic and always professional; a pleasure to work with.
The EOT route was the perfect vehicle for us to transfer the business to the new management team and to enable them to grow from the current excellent sales platform – the new energy and enthusiasm is palpable. This is strongly correlated to the support provided throughout by Tracy and her team. We have been very impressed not just by her knowledge, but the efficient way she explained matters in plain English. We have found elsewhere that lawyers can complicate issues, so I have been impressed by the way Tracy has helped us through the many legal documents with patience and clarity, while responding quickly and accurately to any amendments agreed.
Related Legal Services With EMW
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