Manchester Branch

We are a sixteen-person volunteer committee of varying ages, areas and levels of expertise who work hard to develop and produce a programme of activities to meet the needs of people professionals in and around Manchester.

Our volunteers give their free time to bringing members together and help make our collective voice heard within our communities.

We also provide regular opportunities to share ideas and feedback to inform and guide the CIPD in delivering better, more relevant services to its membership. Your involvement as frontline professionals also helps to shape and influence government policy.

Boost your CPD, discover new areas of specialisation, contribute your frontline expertise and experience to regular policy consultation roundtables, keep abreast of the latest research, engage with thought leaders and grow your professional network.

We update our digital programme regularly. You’ll find all our events at a glance, local and regional conferences, detailed and summary event descriptions together with speaker/facilitator profiles. Handy hyperlinks take you directly to our bookings platform.

Browse and bookmark our digital programme of activities. 

Special Interest Groups

Our Special Interest Groups exist to meet the diverse needs of our members: 

• Business HR group
• Employment Law
• Fellows and senior HR group
• Flexible Working group
• Labour Market Insights group
• L&D group
• OD group
• Public policy panel
• Solo HR practitioners group
• Student & centres group
• Membership & upgrading

In 2018 we reinvigorated our special interest group for self-employed HR/L&D professionals, but we are constantly seeking to improve on our offering. We want to hear from you if:

• you have experience to share, 
• you’re newly independent and need support,
• you're interested in shaping what the Manchester Branch offers in this area.
• The group provides a forum for CIPD members and non-members, whether new or established, who work alone or in small, independent HR consultancy firms. 

Our group enables you to:

• share learning, experience and challenges,
• network, 
• give and receive mentoring and support in an informal setting,
• access professional development opportunities and the latest relevant insights
• enables you to have your say in the support you receive from our branch and the CIPD as the professional body for personnel and development. 
• We welcome engagement from members and non-members alike.

Would you value informal networking events? Do you want more sessions run by specialists? LinkedIn discussion groups? Mentoring or something else? What can you bring to the group?

We look forward to working with you.

Group Lead: Liz Needham

Annual Employment Law Masterclass
22 January 2020 - Emirates Old Trafford

Our Annual Employment Law Masterclass is our flagship event and attracts professionals from across all sectors and industries, keeping delegates abreast of the most important legal cases, risks and requirements. The employment law landscape is in constant motion. New legislation raises fresh challenges, case law keeps redefining the employment relationship, and long-standing tussles like Brexit continue to exert their pull.

This year we will bring you a variety of sessions to enable you to stay up to speed with the legal updates you need to deal with the issues that matter in your organisation. We will finalise our full agenda in early November 2019. Key sessions will focus on the Good Work Plan, Brexit and Immigration. Our experts Eversheds Sutherland LLP will also examine forthcoming legislative changes and explore the practical implications for you and your organisation.

Mock Tribunal
4 February 2020 - Mills & Reeve Offices, Manchester City Centre

Whether you are an employer, HR practitioner, line manager, or business owner/manager, mock tribunals help you to mitigate risk. You will experience an Employment Tribunal first-hand, helping you to understand the full trial process. You will gain valuable knowledge of what is it like to give evidence, be cross-examined and re-examined. You will also learn why cases go to tribunal, procedural issues resulting from how you conduct your investigations and disciplinary hearings, choosing witnesses, preparing for the tribunal, the role of the judge and panel, the importance of presenting your case clearly, supplying evidence, settlements and handing tribunal forms and processes. This year we are pleased to announce that Mills & Reeve LLP will be running our Mock Employment Tribunal. Approximate date February 2020

Group Lead: Rebecca Westaway

Our Fellows group connects senior HR professionals with each other and provides a place for debate and discussion on the key current issues facing senior HR professionals.

Group Lead: Carol Atkinson

Organisations operate in continually changing environments, both externally (markets, competitors and technology) and internally (cultures, leadership agenda changes). Organisation development specialists navigate complexity to unpick what an organisation is trying to achieve; diagnose underlying issues, challenges, opportunities; and select the best approaches to develop the organisation going forward. 

Our OD group will provide you with learning opportunities focused on Human process interventions (coaching, mentoring, training, group work, facilitation, action learning), Techno-structural interventions (Lean / Six Sigma, business process re-engineering (BPR), outsourcing), Human resource interventions (performance management, reward and motivation, employee surveys, psychometrics) and Strategic interventions (business planning, cultural change, transformation programmes).

Group Lead: Neal Chamberlain 

The Public Policy group is for experienced HR professionals who are interested in public policy issues relating to HR, such as employment law, skills policy, EU migration. 

The meetings are an opportunity to contribute and share your experience while learning and networking at the same time. It is a great way to keep ahead of changes in legislation & government policy.  We regularly contribute to the formation of CIPD policy and have also taken part in research for other organisations and universities. We welcome new people, and all meetings are held under the Chatham House Rule so that members feel able to express their views.  

We hold on average 5 Public Policy Panels over each branch year, all in Manchester City Centre. Our meetings begin with refreshments and networking from 17:45. Sessions start at 18:00 and conclude no later than 20:00.

Emma Brookes - Public Policy Engagement Lead
Sara Das - Group Facilitator

Our solo group continues to grow in numbers and experience. Although mostly standalone HR practitioners, our group also attracts HR professionals working across a broad range of industry sectors and sizes of business. Members are usually in environments without the day to day support of a corporate HR department, with the majority operating as the single source of HR expertise, within their employing organisation.

We provide an opportunity for members to explore the challenges faced by solo practitioners and share solutions to common problems encountered at work. In addition to providing a great networking opportunity and a knowledge-sharing forum, our group organises practical workshops where you can explore key workplace issues and solutions, facilitated by expert speakers.

If you would like to join our Solo HR Practitioners Group please contact the branch via: manchester@cipdbranch.co.uk to request an expression of interest form. 

Group Lead: Sarah Chadbourne

The student group creates a valuable opportunity for student members to network, learn about the industry from experienced experts, and share their views. We aim to provide real value for student members by creating opportunities for you to develop the skills you need and access information to help deal with the challenges associated with working in and studying HR.  

Our group enables students to network with other students; you never know who is in the room, from full-time undergraduate students to career changers and business owners. 

We are fortunate to be able to provide expert speakers who genuinely want to add value and care, as much as we do, about supporting students during their academic journey. 

There is no typical CIPD student, and having somewhere to voice your opinions, share your challenges and debate with fellow students is invaluable. 

We look forward to meeting you at our next student/member event.

Group Lead: Emma Smart

We are committed to supporting our members in successfully progressing their membership level and learning more about the benefits of joining the CIPD. We hold quarterly membership and upgrading events throughout the year. During these events, we advise you on who can upgrade, CV screening, routes available and costs. Attendees also participate in interactive workshops focused on building CVs and approaching paper, face-to-face and experience assessments. 

Jennifer Hulme
Membership Adviser

With so many events and activities throughout the year, branch ambassadors provide us with valuable support by helping to ensure our events run smoothly.

Ambassadors attend at least two committee meetings per year and participate in branch development days and our business planning process. We also hold dedicated development events for all ambassadors.

We encourage ambassadors to attend local, regional and national conferences (sometimes representing our branch alongside elected committee members).

Becoming an ambassador is the first step towards joining our committee. You'll develop new and transferable skills, form useful connections across our nations and regions, actively contribute to championing good work and you’ll raise your professional profile. 

If you would like to apply to become a branch Ambassador, please contact us via: manchester@cipdbranch.co.uk to request an expression of interest form. CIPD membership is a requirement.

Group Lead: Samantha Lubanzu