The Workplace Summit 2026 | The Future of the Workplace
About this Event
📅 Tuesday 8 December 2026
🕤 9:30am–4:15pm
📍 IET Birmingham: Austin Court, Kingston Lecture Theatre
🎟️ £120 (inc. VAT per delegate (non-refundable) — light breakfast & lunch included - 10% discount until 21 August. When booking use promo code: MLSUMMITDEL
What is the Workplace Summit?
The workplace is changing. The decisions leaders make now will shape what comes next.
Employment law is entering a period of major reform.
Artificial intelligence is changing how work is carried out, how people are managed, and even how workplace disputes are presented and investigated.
Employees expect more from leadership, communication, culture, and wellbeing. Managers are being asked to lead through change that is arriving faster than many organisations can prepare for it.
Meanwhile, grievances are becoming longer, workplace conflict is becoming more adversarial, employment protections are strengthening and the consequences of getting people decisions wrong continue to grow.
The Workplace Summit 2026 brings the people responsible for UK workplaces together to address those challenges properly.
Hosted by Magara Law, this high-impact, annual conference will bring together employers, business leaders, HR and people professionals, legal experts, public-sector decision-makers and specialists in leadership, technology, workplace culture, and dispute resolution.
The summit will open with a civic address from the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zaker Choudhry, before a programme of keynote talks and practical sessions examining the forces that are already reshaping work.
This is not simply a conference about what might happen in the future, it is a day designed to help you make better decisions now.
Why the workplace summit (and why now)?
The hardest workplace problems rarely begin as legal problems.
They often begin with a manager who avoids a difficult conversation, a grievance that is allowed to escalate, technology introduced without proper governance, a policy that exists on paper but is not reflected in practice, or a workplace culture that changes gradually until senior leaders realise they have lost control of it.
By the time a solicitor becomes involved, organisations may already be dealing with damaged relationships, sickness absence, declining productivity, reputational risk, senior-management time, and the possibility of litigation.
The Workplace Summit moves the conversation forward.
Across one focused day, our speakers will examine the legal, human, operational, and technological questions employers need to confront as they prepare for the future of work.
You will hear from people who advise organisations, lead teams, resolve disputes, implement AI, develop managers, manage risk, and represent parties when workplace relationships have broken down.
More importantly, you will leave with ideas and practical tools that can be taken back into your organisation.
What will you gain from attending?
The Workplace Summit will help you:
- prepare for significant employment law changes and understand what they mean in practice;
- rethink how your organisation prevents and resolves workplace conflict;
- understand the new risks surrounding harassment by customers, clients, contractors, and other third parties;
- assess how AI will affect jobs, skills, recruitment, productivity, and workforce planning;
- identify the management capabilities organisations will need by 2030;
- strengthen leadership decision-making before workplace concerns become formal disputes;
- learn from specialists working across employment law, government, technology, leadership, mediation, and organisational change;
- connect with leaders and professionals facing many of the same questions.
You will not leave with another collection of vague predictions about the future.
You will leave with a clearer view of what is changing, where the risks sit, and what your organisation should do next.
Who should attend?
The Workplace Summit has been created for the people responsible for leading, managing, and protecting organisations and their workforces.
It will be particularly valuable for:
- chief executives, managing directors and chief operating officers;
- HR directors, chief people officers and senior people professionals;
- NHS trust leaders and senior healthcare employers;
- public-sector, local-government and Civil Service leaders;
- board members, trustees and governors;
- risk, governance and compliance professionals;
- employee relations and workplace investigation teams;
- learning and development leaders;
- senior operational and departmental managers;
- universities, colleges, schools and academy trusts;
- charities, social enterprises and third-sector organisations;
- founders and directors of growing businesses;
- employers preparing for the next phase of UK employment law reform.
You do not need to be an employment lawyer or HR specialist to benefit.
The summit is for anyone making decisions that affect people, culture, performance, risk, and the future direction of an organisation.
The future of the workplace will not wait for organisations to catch up
Employment law reform, artificial intelligence, workforce expectations, management capability and workplace conflict are no longer separate leadership conversations.
They are converging.
The organisations best prepared for the future will be those willing to examine how they lead, manage, communicate and resolve problems before external pressure forces them to act.
One day cannot answer every question your organisation will face.
It can change the quality of the questions you ask, the risks you recognise, and the decisions you make next.
Book your place at The Workplace Summit 2026 and join the leaders preparing now for the workplace that is already taking shape.
🎟️ Tickets: £120 (inc. VAT per delegate (non-refundable) - 10% early bird discount until 21 August. When booking use promo code: MLSUMMITDEL
📅 Tuesday, 8 December 2026
🕤 9:30am–4:15pm
📍 IET Birmingham: Austin Court
Secure your place today
Places are available through Eventbrite.
Book for yourself, send a senior leader from your organisation or attend with colleagues responsible for people, operations, legal risk and workplace strategy.
The conversation about the future of work is already under way.
Make sure your organisation is part of it.
Your ticket includes
Your £120 (inc. VAT delegate ticket (non-refundable) includes:
- entry to The Workplace Summit 2026;
- access to all keynote talks and expert sessions;
- the Workplace Summit delegate e-pack and session resources;
- opportunities to connect with speakers and fellow delegates;
- a light breakfast including pastries, tea and coffee as well as an urban finger-buffet lunch, including sandwiches, wraps, baguettes, four accompanying items and dessert - vegetarian and vegan lunch options available.
Please provide details of any dietary requirements when booking, and please specify any allergies.
Parking
On-site parking is extremely limited and is principally reserved for disabled badge holders by prior arrangement.
Nearby parking options include:
- Q-Park Brindleyplace, Brunswick Street, approximately five to ten minutes’ walk from the venue;
- Utilita Arena Birmingham North and South car parks, on King Edwards Road and Sheepcote Street;
- other public car parks around Cambridge Street, Brindley Drive, the Birmingham REP and Symphony Hall.
Please allow sufficient time for parking and registration.
Birmingham operates a city-centre Clean Air Zone. Delegates travelling by car should check whether their vehicle meets the required emissions standards before travelling.
Travelling by train
IET Birmingham: Austin Court is within walking distance of Birmingham’s main city-centre railway stations:
- Birmingham New Street and Grand Central: approximately 0.7 miles away. Allow around 15–20 minutes to walk to the venue.
- Birmingham Snow Hill: approximately 0.8 miles away. Allow around 15–20 minutes to walk to the venue.
- Birmingham Moor Street: approximately one mile away. Allow around 20–25 minutes to walk to the venue.
Delegates arriving at Birmingham New Street can also take the West Midlands Metro from the Grand Central tram stop to the Birmingham Library stop. The tram journey takes approximately five minutes, followed by a further five-minute walk to Austin Court.
Walking times are approximate, so delegates should allow additional time during busy periods and check their route before travelling.
Agenda
🕑: 09:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Registration, breakfast, tea, coffee and networking
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:10 AM
Conference Welcome
Host: Dan Waldron
Civic Welcome – The Lord Mayor of Birmingham
Host: Zaker Choudhry
🕑: 10:20 AM - 10:50 AM
The Future of Workplace Dispute Resolution
Host: Roy Magara
Info: Why organisations need to think beyond grievances, investigations and litigation.
Artificial intelligence is changing workplace investigations. Grievances are becoming longer and more sophisticated. Employment Tribunal delays continue to grow, while valuable working relationships are often beyond repair by the time legal advice is sought.
Roy Magara will challenge whether the traditional response to workplace conflict remains fit for purpose.
Drawing on his experience as an Employment Solicitor Advocate and accredited workplace mediator, Roy will examine why mediation remains one of the most underused tools in workplace dispute resolution and how earlier intervention can preserve relationships, reduce legal costs, and deliver better organisational outcomes.
Delegates will leave with a practical framework for recognising when mediation may be the better commercial decision.
🕑: 10:50 AM - 11:20 AM
Futureproofing the Workplace
Host: Adèle Akers
Info: Navigating today’s changes and tomorrow’s challenges.
The employment law landscape is changing rapidly, with major reforms introduced during 2025 and further changes approaching.
Employment barrister Adèle Akers will examine the legal developments employers need to prepare for, their likely effect on organisations, and the steps leaders should be taking to reduce risk.
The session will also consider how increasing pressure on the Employment Tribunal system strengthens the case for addressing workplace disputes earlier and more effectively.
🕑: 11:20 AM - 11:45 AM
Networking Break
🕑: 11:45 AM - 12:15 PM
The Skills Your Managers Need in 2030
Host: Mark Baglow
Info: As work becomes more digital, the skills that make managers effective are becoming increasingly human.
Mark Baglow will focus on three capabilities every future manager will need: how they connect with people in a digital workplace, how they develop those they lead, and how they make sound decisions as routine work becomes more automated.
The session will combine research, practical frameworks, and tools leaders can begin using immediately.
🕑: 12:15 PM - 12:45 PM
AI-Enabled Workforce: Operationalising Innovation
Host: Shehroze Junejo
Info: Artificial intelligence will change more than the technology people use.
It will affect the skills organisations need, the roles they recruit for, the way work is designed, and the expectations placed on leaders.
Shehroze Junejo will examine the workforce opportunities and challenges created by AI, including recruitment, retention, upskilling, organisational design, and the leadership capabilities required to build a resilient, future-ready organisation.
🕑: 12:45 PM - 01:15 PM
Third-Party Harassment: The New Prevention Duty
Host: Shahrzad Seifi
Info: Employers increasingly need to consider how their staff are treated not only by colleagues and managers, but by customers, clients, contractors, suppliers, and online users.
Shahrzad Seifi will explain the new rules surrounding third-party harassment, what may fall within the legislation, and the reasonable steps employers should be taking before complaints arise.
Using practical workplace scenarios, this session will test common employer responses and conclude with a concise implementation checklist.
🕑: 01:15 PM - 02:15 PM
Lunch and Networking
🕑: 02:15 PM - 02:45 PM
AI, Productivity, and Risk: How to Govern the Workplace of the Future
Host: Clinton Walker
Info: In a World where 'AI' dominates 60+% of our everyday conversations, it has become commonplace to use the tools and word loosely without any grasp of the risks it poses.
The risks AI tools bring are real! AI brings huge opportunities and is no doubt an undisputed enabler to many different paths to success.
I will be providing an overview of the current state of AI tools, insights and real experiences regarding the risks, governance, and practical ways to assess and manage risks associated with AI tools and its adoption.
🕑: 02:45 PM - 03:15 PM
The Fear Tax: What Uncertainty is Really Costing Your Organisation
Host: Nick Day
Info: Every workplace has decisions that keep getting pushed back, conversations people avoid and good ideas that never quite make it into the room.
Nick Day will introduce The Fear Equation, his practical framework for understanding how uncertainty affects judgement, slows progress and shapes behaviour. As AI and rapid change reshape work, he will help leaders recognise where hesitation is costing their organisation and respond with greater clarity and decisiveness.
🕑: 03:15 PM - 04:00 PM
The Leaders' Forum
Info: Delegate Q&A time.
🕑: 04:00 PM - 04:15 PM
Conference Closing and Departures
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 120.00
