HR in practice
Get the confidence, skills and knowledge you need to support and own HR practice in your organisation.
Perfect for:
You’ll learn how to:
- identify how HR professionals add value and prioritise their work
- apply UK employment law with a focus on recruitment, employment contracts, HR policy and discrimination
- explain why good employee relations matter and how to support morale and productivity
- recognise under-performance and know how and when to intervene, using appropriate performance management practices.
About this course
Please note, On 16 April 2025 the Supreme Court returned the ruling that the protected characteristic of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex. The result of this ruling can be viewed on the Supreme Court website. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (the EHRC, the national equality and human rights regulator for England, Scotland and Wales) released an interim update on 25 April 2025 to help employers and others understand how to follow the law in response to the Supreme Court ruling. The EHRC is working 'at pace' to update its statutory and non-statutory guidance. We will update our content appropriately when the EHRC statutory guidance is available or changes are made.
Course length: Two days
Delivery: Face-to-face, tutor lead and self-directed learning
Suitable for: Individuals who are new to HR and without formal HR training, are responsible for HR-related tasks in a smaller organisation or are contemplating a career move.
Topics covered
- the changing role and scope of HR
- the UK legal context
- discrimination
- recruitment and selection
- performance management
- managing underperformance
- retention
What to expect from this ‘HR in practice’ course
This course explores HR fundamentals to give you an overview of HR in practice. You’ll cover how to prioritise HR work, risk assess an HR situation, and recognise where immediate and longer-term attention is appropriate.
You'll also get an overview of recruitment techniques and learn how to maintain good employee relations. In addition, you’ll learn to identify where relationships can break down and how to support high morale and productivity while recognising the different types of underperformance and how and when to intervene.
This course will introduce you to UK employment law, including basic contractual and HR policy issues.
What you’ll need to do on this course
This course spans two consecutive days and is conducted in-person. Through engaging facilitator-led sessions, participants will delve into real-world case studies and interactive activities that reinforce key concepts covered in the course.
What you’ll get on this course
At the end of this course, you’ll receive a certificate.
Taking part in this course gives you access to the CIPD Learning Hub for 12 months. Here, you can access your course content together with other valuable resources and tools. When you finish your course, you can enjoy an additional 12 months of access to other resources on the Learning Hub.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this ‘HR in practice’ course, you'll be able to:
- describe how good HR practice contributes towards achieving company objectives
- apply good recruitment and selection practices to support your organisation/wider HR department
- develop your performance and personal effectiveness in handling a range of HR issues
- increase your confidence in your work as an HR professional.
Team bookings
Interested in booking this course for your team? We offer group bookings solutions for teams of four or more people.
When your teams learn with the CIPD, they get direct access to the latest professional research and insights.
And through courses co-created with industry thought leaders and practitioners, they’ll build the skills and confidence they need to inspire action, influence change and drive business value.
We offer a wide range of Learning and Development solutions to suit employees at every level – whether in HR, L&D, OD or wider people management.
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