TRAINING & WORKSHOPS
Turning legal requirements into practical leadership.
Interactive workshops that translate what the law requires into what leaders and managers actually do.
Most workplace training on topics like performance management, discrimination, harassment, and bullying covers the legal requirements — and stops there. Participants leave knowing what the law says but unsure how to apply it in the real, complicated, politically charged situations they actually face.
Ruth's workshops are different. Drawing on her background as a former barrister, senior HR practitioner, and psychotherapist, she translates legal frameworks into plain-language guidance that leaders and managers can actually use — on Monday morning, with the specific people and situations in front of them. The workshops are interactive and practical. They are not lectures.
WHO THESE WORKSHOPS ARE FOR
Who these workshops are designed for.
These workshops are designed for:
- Leaders and managers who need to navigate complex people situations with confidence
- HR practitioners who want to deepen their capability in legally complex areas
- Contact Officers and those with formal responsibilities in complaints handling
- Teams and organisations wanting to build a culture of accountability, respect, and psychological safety
- Organisations responding to a complaint, conflict, or cultural issue and wanting to build capacity alongside that response
Workshops are delivered in-house for organisations and available nationally, including via video for remote teams.
WORKSHOP TOPICS
What Ruth covers
1. Understanding Performance Management
Compassionately giving a staff member a genuine opportunity to improve
Performance management is one of the most avoided conversations in any workplace — and one of the most consequential when handled badly. This workshop cuts through the anxiety and the jargon to give leaders a clear, practical framework for conducting a performance process that is both legally defensible and genuinely humane.
- The difference between performance management and performance appraisals — and why it matters
- What the law actually requires, and how to apply it in practice
- How to prepare for and conduct the process — the do's and don'ts
- Managing the emotional dimension for both employee and manager
- Possible outcomes, including termination of employment
Further reading: Ruth's LinkedIn article — The Dreaded PIP
2. Preventing and Responding to Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying
Understanding what the law actually means — and what it requires of organisations
Discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying have specific legal definitions that need to be met for the label to stand — and most managers don't know what those definitions are.
- The legal definitions of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying
- What "reasonable steps" means in practice — and what organisations are required to do
- When Reasonable Management Action can be raised as a defence
- How to distinguish appropriate from inappropriate behaviour in ambiguous situations
- How to respond to complaints or concerns in a way that produces the best outcomes for all
3. Complaints Management
Responding effectively — without jumping straight to a formal investigation
One of the most common mistakes organisations make when a complaint is raised is treating it as automatically requiring a formal investigation. In many cases, there are informal resolution options that are faster, less damaging to relationships, and more likely to produce a genuine outcome.
- The full range of informal resolution options — and when to use each one
- How to ensure your complaints policy clearly distinguishes informal and formal pathways
- Key complaints handling principles that apply regardless of the approach taken
- How to determine the most effective and appropriate response to a specific complaint
- Practical skills for handling complaints conversations
Further reading: Ruth's LinkedIn article — We can't do anything until you've made a formal complaint
4. Contact Officers
Equipping your people to support staff navigating workplace concerns
Contact Officers play a vital and often underappreciated role. They are frequently the first point of contact for someone experiencing inappropriate behaviour — and how they respond can determine whether the matter is resolved early or escalates.
- What Contact Officers are — and are not — responsible for
- The legal framework for discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying
- The full range of informal and formal response options and their different implications
- How to support a colleague in distress without directing or determining the outcome
- Practical skills for the initial conversation — listening, framing, and exploring options
5. Soft Skills for Leaders, Managers and Teams
Building the human capabilities that underpin effective, respectful workplaces
The human skills of leadership — self-awareness, accountability, trust, emotional intelligence, conflict navigation — are harder to teach and more consequential when they are absent. This workshop series draws on Ruth's background in psychotherapy, HR, and law.
- Redefining leadership — what it actually means to lead people well
- Self-responsibility, accountability, and engagement
- Earning and maintaining trust and respect
- Navigating conflict constructively
- Communication and emotional intelligence
- Valuing diversity within a team
- Setting boundaries and negotiating needs
- Giving and receiving feedback safely and effectively
- Characteristics of functional and dysfunctional teams
THE APPROACH
Interactive, not didactic.
Ruth does not deliver lectures. Her workshops are designed around participation — real scenarios, honest questions, and the kind of conversation that rarely happens in a formal training setting. She creates an environment where people feel safe to raise the situations they are actually dealing with, rather than the sanitised versions.
Workshops are available as half-day or full-day sessions, tailored to the specific context and sector. Available nationally, including via video for distributed teams.
WHAT NEXT?
How to engage Ruth
The first step is a conversation about what your organisation needs — the specific challenges you are navigating, the audience for the training, and the format that would work best. Ruth designs each workshop for the actual situation rather than delivering an off-the-shelf programme, so the more context you can share, the better the session.