Agenda
09:20 - 09:30
Chair's opening remarks
09:30 - 10:10
Fireside chat: Redesigning the workplace to support men’s mental health
Men’s mental health is still one of the most under-addressed areas in...
This session asks:
- What is the role of line managers in supporting men in the workplace?
- How can you normalise mental health check-ins for men
- How can you redesign paternity leave policies to support working dads?
10:10 - 10:40
Panel: Presentation: Keep Britain Working: tackling health-driven inactivity in the workforce
The Keep Britain Working Review highlights a sharp rise in economic inactivity...
The Keep Britain Working Review highlights a sharp rise in economic inactivity due to sickness absence and health issues. This disproportionately affects some employee groups including younger and the over-fifties. With less than half of employers offering occupational health support, many are left without help to remain in work. The review urges early intervention, better retention strategies, and stronger employer incentives.
In this session, hear the next steps, and how employers should support prevention, retention, and rehabilitation to keep more people in work. Given the skills shortages, this will boost employers’ talent management strategies, along with unlocking an estimated £150 billion in potential economic value.
A1 Panel: How do you know if your wellbeing strategy is actually working?
In a time when resources are stretched and expectations are high, HR...
In a time when resources are stretched and expectations are high, HR leaders must move beyond guesswork and gut instinct to deliver measurable, meaningful wellbeing outcomes, and prove the return on investment of wellbeing programmes.
This session explores how to build and refine wellbeing programmes using data, not just to justify investment, but to ensure interventions are timely, targeted, and inclusive, improving productivity in your workforce.
B1 Workshop: Self-care for people professionals while caring for others
HR professionals are often the first to support others, but the last...
HR professionals are often the first to support others, but the last to receive support themselves. In a role that demands emotional resilience, constant problem-solving, and holding space for others, it’s easy for people teams to overlook their own wellbeing.
This session discusses how people leaders can build sustainable self-care into their working lives, and recognise signs of compassion fatigue or burnout in support roles.
A2 coming soon
B2 Panel: Championing carers’ rights in the modern workplace
In the UK, one in seven employees is balancing work with unpaid...
In the UK, one in seven employees is balancing work with unpaid caring responsibilities. This number continues to rise as our population ages, and the cost of care increases. Yet many carers remain invisible in the workplace, often struggling in silence. But do the changes in the Employment Rights Bill lead to a higher financial impact for employers or better support those struggling, especially those on lower earnings?
This session discusses how you can:
better support carers in the workplace
create more flexibility for carers
balance the costs associated with carers leave
A3 Panel: Recognising addictive behaviours in the workplace and responding compassionately
Providing support to an employee struggling with addictive behaviours could be life-changing,...
Providing support to an employee struggling with addictive behaviours could be life-changing, but recognising when someone is struggling isn’t always straightforward.
This session discusses:
how can you recognise somebody struggling?
what does effective support look like?
creating clear, consistent and well-communicated company policies on drug and alcohol use and gambling harm
B3 Workshop: Sleep is the secret to a healthier workplace, so what can you do to help employees?
Poor sleep is silently driving stress, burnout, absenteeism, and dips in performance...
Poor sleep is silently driving stress, burnout, absenteeism, and dips in performance across workplaces. With sleep issues on the rise we need to acknowledge its impact on employee wellbeing and productivity - but what can employers do about it?
This interactive session will explore the science of sleep and its direct link to focus, resilience, mental health, and decision-making, while giving strategies to improve your own sleep quality.
14:25 - 14:55
A4 Case studies: Turning feedback into action: wellbeing strategies that make a difference
Join this session to hear from two People Management Award nominees for...
Join this session to hear from two People Management Award nominees for the Best Health and Wellbeing Initiative award.
Havas, one of the world’s largest global communications groups, is redefining what workplace wellbeing looks like through their wellbeing strategy, Havas Equalise. Hear how Havas has made wellbeing a business-critical priority, informed by data, centred around a human-first approach, and embedded as a catalyst for both culture and performance.
Facing the pressures of a rapidly expanding workforce and emotionally demanding roles, Social Security Scotland recognised the urgent need for stronger wellbeing support. They moved quickly to design initiatives grounded in staff needs and real-life challenges.
Discover how both organisations used insight to build wellbeing strategies that truly resonate with employees and deliver measurable impact.
B4 Case studies: Less time, more impact: rethinking work with the four day week
Is it time to reimagine the working week? The Four Day Week...
Is it time to reimagine the working week? The Four Day Week Foundation has supported over 230 companies through its programme, with an impressive 92% adoption rate following the latest pilot. The results speak for themselves: participating organisations reported an average 35% increase in revenue and a 57% reduction in staff turnover.
In this session, you'll hear directly from two companies that have successfully transitioned to a four-day week, and how this model supports employee wellbeing, retention, gender equity, and business resilience.
14:55 - 15:25
Presentation: Caring without crumbling: who is HR for HR?
What happens when the organisation’s first responders are running on empty? Currently,...
What happens when the organisation’s first responders are running on empty?
Currently, 81% of HR professionals report burnout and 62% consider leaving.
Drawing on two decades with HR teams, this session pulls back the curtain on HR's reality. We map what drains the function and get under burnout’s skin. We unpack compassion fatigue without blame and reframe self compassion as an ethical duty, not a luxury. We distinguish self compassion from self pity and complacency, name the cost of overcare, and point to a practice that refills capacity and sustains care over time.
Leave this session feeling seen and clear on what to protect next.
15:50 - 16:25
Workshop: Is work making us sick?
As rates of stress, anxiety, burnout and work-related illness continue to rise,...
As rates of stress, anxiety, burnout and work-related illness continue to rise, and access to healthcare has become more difficult, it’s worth asking, is the way we work damaging our health?
This session discusses:
- Is your workplace making employees unwell?
- How can you redesign work to promote psychological safety and sustainable performance?
- How can leaders create environments where people can thrive without fear of failure or burnout?
- how can organisations best manage absence and return to work to keep people in work
16:25 - 16:55
Panel: Let’s talk about it - difficult conversations in the workplace
Difficult conversations are unavoidable in any workplace. But too often, fear, avoidance,...
Difficult conversations are unavoidable in any workplace. But too often, fear, avoidance, or poor handling can damage trust, morale, and wellbeing. How can HR and line managers lead challenging conversations with empathy, clarity, and confidence?
This session discusses:
Why avoiding difficult conversations often does more harm than good
How to create psychological safety so honest dialogue becomes the norm
How to support line managers to have wellbeing-informed conversations, not just tick-box chats
How to handle sensitive topics without escalating conflict
How to approach conversations around suicide risk with care, compassion, and clear signposting to support employees
16:55 - 17:00
Chair’s closing remarks