Naeema Choudry, partner at Eversheds Sutherland, joins us to discuss the EAT decision of Kelly v Royal Mail Group which highlights common issues and dilemmas associated with long-term poor attendance, including constructive knowledge of disability and the weight to attach to occupational health advice.

We also discuss how a decision to dismiss for poor attendance may fall within the band of reasonable responses, even where it was acknowledged to be harsh.

Handling difficult conversations is an essential skill for line managers but it doesn't come easily. Gary Bates and Sarah-Jane Georges, both account directors at behaviour change company Steps, discuss the best ways to develop line manager confidence and competence in having such conversations.

This includes the key principles around having effective and productive conversations when the subject matter is difficult or potentially upsetting for the employee, and offers examples using role play.

Matthew Perry, a solicitor at Wedlake Bell, joins us to discuss the benefits of embedding effective whistleblowing arrangements in your organisation, and guides you through the steps to take should you receive a whistleblowing complaint.

Jo Broadbent, counsel knowledge lawyer at Hogan Lovells, joins us to discuss the legal and practical issues that employers need to think about when contemplating positive action.

Getting the right dress code in place for your organisation means not falling foul of the law in this area. Beverley Sunderland, managing director of Crossland Employment Solicitors, joins us to set out what employers need to take into account and to provide practical guidance on rolling out a dress code policy. Sarah Byrne, HR practice editor, also joins us to discuss our latest research in this area.

Louise Haycock, director at Fragomen, takes us through the implications of Theresa May's resignation and the new proposed Brexit date of 31st October 2019.

Issues that can arise during maternity leave range from the mundane, such as keeping lines of communication open, to the dramatic, such as putting an employee at risk of redundancy. We are joined by principal employment law editor Stephen Simpson to discuss common scenarios during maternity leave, and how to deal with them.

Almost one year on from the introduction of the GDPR, we discuss its continuing importance for HR and the potential impact of Brexit on transfers of personal data.

We are joined by senior employment law editor Susie Munro to go through some current data protection issues of interest to HR. We look at:

• potential enforcement action and the importance of staff training;
• the use of artificial intelligence in the recruitment process;
• data protection impact assessments; and
• the transfer of data between the EEA and the UK in light of ongoing uncertainty around Brexit.

XpertHR's annual survey of HR roles and responsibilities covers HR priorities over the coming year, budgets for carrying out activities and ratio of HR practitioners to employees.

Senior HR practice editor, Noelle Murphy, takes us through latest findings, key points of note from the research and identifies trends over time. Recruitment challenges for the HR profession and the impact of Brexit are also discussed.

Handling disciplinary and grievance situations is a perennial issue for HR, and having robust procedures in place is the cornerstone of a fair process.

Max Winthrop, head of employment law at Short Richardson and Forth LLP, joins us to discuss some of the key points you need to have in mind, including how recent updates to the Acas guidance on disciplinary and grievance situations may impact your approach.