Manchester Branch

We are a seventeen-person strong committee of varying ages and levels and areas of expertise. We are a diverse bunch, who work hard to develop and produce an events programme to meet the professional needs of our area membership, as well as managing our social media channels and monthly newsletter.

Our branch volunteers make better work, and working lives a reality at a local level, giving their time to put ideas into practice by bringing our members together and making our voice heard in our communities.

We represent our membership, providing you with opportunities to share ideas and feedback to inform and guide the CIPD in providing better, more relevant services for you. Last, but not least, your involvement in our activities and special interest groups helps to influence the Institute's policy on local, national and international issues.

Our events brochure is available exclusively online. We recommend you bookmark our digital brochure for easy consultation direct from your laptop or mobile device wherever you are. We will be updating our programme of events with even more activities over the coming months. You will also find all our events on our Eventbrite page and on our blog.

With our knowledge and foresight, we’re here for you, at every stage of your career; developing, challenging, inspiring and equipping you to create healthier, more productive working environments where people learn and thrive, so do come along to our events. It’s a great opportunity to boost your CPD, discover additional areas of specialisation and contribute to policy consultations.

Special Interest Groups

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

• Business HR Group
• Fellows Group
• HR Issues Forum
• L&D Group
• OD Group
• Public Policy Panel
• Solo HR Practitioners Group
• Student Group
• Well-being Focus Group

We have reinvigorated our special interest group for self-employed HR/L&D Professionals and 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.  

The group aims to support you in the following ways:

• sharing your learning, experience and challenges,
• networking, 
• giving and receiving mentoring and support in an informal setting,
• accessing professional development opportunities and the latest relevant insights,
• enabling you to have a 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 and want to hear from you about what support you need to deliver more impact as an HR professional.  

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

Our flagship event attracts professionals from across all sectors and industries and keeps you abreast of the most important legal cases, risks and requirements. This year we partnered with Eversheds Sutherland LLP and Acas North West to bring delegates the latest developments in employment law and case law and our experts examined what these changes would represent for you in practice. We also considered forthcoming legislative changes and explored the practical implications for you and your organisation. Key sessions included Brexit, Immigration, Employment Tribunal key trends and figures, Pay gap reporting, pay rations and regulations. We also focused on ethical working practices and responsible use of NDAs.

Mock Tribunal

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 (without the consequences) helping you to understand the full trial process. You will gain valuable know- how 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.

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

The HR Issues forum is a collaboration between the CIPD Manchester Branch and the Alliance Manchester Business School where we bring together the latest research and explore its impact on HR practice.

This Autumn we will be meeting to consider how employers can comply with Employment Charters and the Living Wage and in Spring we will focus on the implications of an ageing workforce. 

Keep an eye on our social media channels for confirmation of dates and times.

Group Lead: Sharon DeMascia

This year we will be offering two key events, aimed at OD, L&D and HR professionals.

The first will be a full-day ‘mini-conference’ titled ‘The Agile Organisation; Building the Capabilities for Success’. This conference will explore the qualities required for an organisation to display the agility required for today’s pace of change. Our speakers will address the key subjects of leadership development, engagement and culture development, and the smooth management of change.

The second is a shared event with our L&D Group colleagues, an evening session which aims to explore The Organisation Value of Performance Consulting. This will be an interactive session which will highlight some of the current key approaches, and showcase the value this intervention can bring to organisations.

Both events will be highly relevant to OD, L&D and HR professionals.

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, whilst 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 12 month period, all in Manchester City Centre. Our meetings begin with refreshments and networking from 17:45. Sessions begin at 18:00 and conclude no later than 20:00.

Details of meetings will be publicised in our monthly newsletter with links to our Eventbrite booking page. You can also join our email list to receive Public Policy event notifications by contacting us via: manchester@cipdbranch.co.uk. 

Rachel Burnham
Emma Sprawson
Facilitators

Our solo group continues to grow in numbers and experience. Although mostly sole 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 sharing knowledge forum, the group organises practical workshops in which we 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. 

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 continue 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: Shyamenda Purslow

We launched our Well-being Group in May 2018, creating a space where well-being managers could share and discuss their thoughts, experience, concerns and recommendations on well-being at work programmes. Our group remained closed to new members until January this year when we opened the group to new members.

Later this year we will host a mini‐well-being conference in partnership with the British Psychological Society and the Society for Occupational Medicine, exploring some of the key themes around managing psychological well-being in the workplace.

We will keep you posted via our newsletter and social media channels on the exact dates, locations and full agenda over the coming months.

If you would like to join our Well-being group you must be employed in a company of ten or more employees and hold responsibility for the organisation’s Wellbeing Programme. We do not admit consultants.

Group Lead: Sharon De Mascia

We are committed to supporting our members in successfully upgrading their membership level and learning more about the membership 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 on building CVs and approaching paper, face-to-face and experience assessments. 

George Whalley
Membership Adviser

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

We invite our Ambassadors to attend at least two committee meetings per year and welcome them to our branch development day and annual general meeting. Our Ambassadors also get the chance to attend local, regional and national conferences.

Becoming an ambassador is a great way to develop new and transferable skills as an individual, form important links within the region, promote good work and raise your professional profile. If you would like to apply to become a branch Ambassador, please contact us via: manchester@cipdbranch.co.uk. You must be a member of the CIPD.

Group Lead: Samantha Lubanzu & Damiana Casile-Wardell