Legal & Compliance

Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026

Name: Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026
Start: 2026-10-16
End: 2026-10-16
Location: The Studio

This edition has ended

Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026 ran on Oct 16, 2026 at The Studio in Leeds, United Kingdom. It is a Legal & Compliance conference that expected about 100 attendees. ConferenceGrid lists 13 speakers, 6 sponsors and 11 sessions. Dates for the next edition are not announced yet.

Lineup updated Oct 12, 2026 · dates verified Jul 11, 2026

Join Thrive Law for a practical, forward-thinking event where lawyers deliver key legal updates on employment law through a human-centred lens. The summit explores the impact of legal changes on people, culture, and leadership, with intersectionality for inclusion and AI. Attendees will benefit from knowledge updates, a live expert legal panel, and practical…

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13Speakers

6Sponsors

11Sessions

18Companies · in total

Speakers

Programmed at Annual, in alphabetical order.

Ben Willmott

Head of Public Policy, CIPD · CIPD

Cilinnie NgoPondi

Founder and Lead Diagnostic Practitioner, The Good Work Lab Limited · The Good Work Lab Limited

Harry Abrams

Partner, Shoosmiths · Shoosmiths

Jill Bottomley

Managing Director, People Curve Consultancy Limited · People Curve Consultancy Limited

Joanna Nunn

Chief Conciliator, Acas · Acas

Kat Lloyd

People Consultant – Employee Relations and Change, Royal London · Royal London

Michael Warren

Director, Employment Rights, Department for Business and Trade · Department for Business and Trade

Nic Elliott

HR Director and Head of Employment, Actons Solicitors · Actons Solicitors

Nikolas Clarke

Barrister, Field Court Chambers · Field Court Chambers

Nita Clarke

Director, Involvement and Participation Association (IPA) · Involvement and Participation Association (IPA)

Paul Gillen

Partner, Lewis Silkin · Lewis Silkin

Robin Somerville

Workplace and Corporate Investigator, The Chambers of Robin Somerville Ltd · The Chambers of Robin Somerville Ltd

Sally Sellwood

Employment Law Consultant, CIPD · CIPD

Agenda

Selected from 11 sessions.

09:20 - 09:30
Chair’s opening remarks
09:30 - 10:00
Presentation: Employment law in 2026 - What’s changed, what’s in effect, and what HR must act on now
The Employment Rights Act marks one of the biggest changes to employment rights in a generation, reshaping expectations around fairness, security and compliance. In this session, h…
10:00 - 10:35
Presentation: A new landscape for unfair dismissal: legal change, risk and HR strategy
The Employment Rights Act reduces the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months, fundamentally changing how employers manage early employment risk and the rol…
10:35 - 11:05
Right first time. Right second time. No need for third time lucky: Getting investigations and hearings right from start to finish
Workplace investigations and hearings are often approached as separate stages. In practice, they are part of a single decision-making process where early choices shape the final ou…
11:30 - 12:10
Roundtable discussions: Contingent work under reform: contracted workers, rights and workforce planning
From 2027, zero-hours and 'low-hours' workers will be given a statutory right to a guaranteed hours contract which reflects the hours they regularly work. This will be based on a s…
12:10 - 12:45
Masterclass: Building manager capability for Employment Rights Act reforms
The Employment Rights Act will require more than policy change, it demands new capabilities across HR and line management. This challenge is particularly acute for smaller organisa…
13:45 - 14:25
Roundtables: Trade unions in practice: navigating new access rights, recognition and workplace relations
The Employment Rights Act marks a significant change to how trade unions and employers interact in the UK. With expanded access rights, evolving recognition processes and further r…
14:25 - 15:00
Masterclass: Preventing sexual harassment: What ‘all reasonable steps’ really means for employers
The duty on employers to take reasonable steps to avoid sexual harassment came into force in 2024. From October 2026, the bar rises even higher, requiring employers to take all rea…
15:25 - 16:00
Clinic: Ask the Employment Rights Act experts: submit your questions
This session is an opportunity for you to put your questions directly to a panel of experts and gain clarity on what these changes mean in practice for you and your organisation.

Quick answers

When is Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026?: Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026 ran on Oct 16, 2026 at The Studio in Leeds, United Kingdom.
Where is Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026 held?: Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026 was held at The Studio in Leeds, United Kingdom.
Who is speaking at Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026?: ConferenceGrid lists 13 speakers, including Ben Willmott (Head of Public Policy, CIPD, CIPD), Cilinnie NgoPondi (Founder and Lead Diagnostic Practitioner, The Good Work Lab Limited, The Good Work Lab Limited) and Harry Abrams (Partner, Shoosmiths, Shoosmiths).
Who sponsors Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026?: ConferenceGrid lists 6 sponsors, including Aim Forward, Brain In Hand, Stay Well, The Oval Partnership and Thriiver.

Company intelligence

An audience of 18 companies, parsed from the program.

Eighteen companies in attendance.

The numbers below are derived from the speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors on this page, cross-referenced into one ledger. They are the only thing here that 10times.com cannot tell you.

Who's in the room

0All threespeak · spons · exh

6Sponsoringsponsor only

12Speakingspeaker only

Speakers by seniority

69% of the speakers carry senior titles: C-suite, Founder, VP, or Director-level.

C-suite18%
Founder / Owner323%
Director / Head of538%
Engineer · IC215%
Other roles215%

Of 13 speakers · classified by free-text title

Most-represented companies

#	Company	Roles	Speakers
1	Aim Forward	Sponsor	-
2	Brain In Hand	Sponsor	-
3	Stay Well	Sponsor	-
4	The Oval Partnership	Sponsor	-
5	Thriiver	Sponsor	-
6	Thrive Law	Sponsor	-
7	CIPD		2
8	Acas		1
9	Actons Solicitors		1
10	Department for Business and Trade		1
11	Field Court Chambers		1
12	Involvement and Participation Association (IPA)		1
13	Lewis Silkin		1
14	People Curve Consultancy Limited		1

Sponsors by tier

unspecified6

100% of 6

Annual Thrive Law Future of Work Summit: “Work In Progress” 2026

Chair’s opening remarks

Presentation: Employment law in 2026 - What’s changed, what’s in effect, and what HR must act on now

Presentation: A new landscape for unfair dismissal: legal change, risk and HR strategy

Right first time. Right second time. No need for third time lucky: Getting investigations and hearings right from start to finish

Roundtable discussions: Contingent work under reform: contracted workers, rights and workforce planning

Masterclass: Building manager capability for Employment Rights Act reforms

Roundtables: Trade unions in practice: navigating new access rights, recognition and workplace relations

Masterclass: Preventing sexual harassment: What ‘all reasonable steps’ really means for employers

Clinic: Ask the Employment Rights Act experts: submit your questions

Eighteen companies in attendance.