With the largest social housing team in Wales, we're continuing to bring our legal experts together every year in a week dedicated to everything housing. 'HJ Housing Week' strives to cover the full spectrum of housing issues using our 40 years of experience advising the sector.
Whether you are looking for a deep dive into a particular issue with a masterclass, an introduction to a new practice area that impacts your work or opinion on the commercial and policy decisions of the future, our blend of webinars, in-person events, articles and videos throughout HJ Housing week will deliver the information you need at a time that suits your schedule.
Running from 7 - 11 November, HJ Housing Week involves webinars, in-person events, videos and blogs focusing on an area of housing every day:
Live Events & Webinars Lineup
WEBINAR: EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE
Date: 7 November 2022
Time: 12 - 1pm
Event Type: Webinar
Location: Online - Zoom
Cost: Free
Watch the webinar replay now
Our employment law update covers the latest case law developments as well as the key legislative changes that lie ahead in 2022 and beyond.
Louise Price starts the employment law update, discussing recent interesting case law decisions. Examples include the Harpur Trust v Brazel holiday pay case, which concerns the calculation of holiday pay for casual workers and the use of the long established 12.07% calculation method. Louise also considers the recent highly published decision in Forstater v CGD Europe and others where it was held that gender critical beliefs are protected in law as philosophical beliefs. Louise leads a discussion about how employers can navigate delicate situations where there are competing rights.
Elinor Corbett-Jones then considers legislative changes and other likely employment law changes on the horizon. In particular, Elinor looks at the recent changes to right to work checks and the current position of the long awaited Employment Bill.
WATCH THE REPLAY
RENTING HOMES CONFERENCE
Date: 8 November 2022
Time: 9.30am - 4pm
Event Type: In-person
Location: Hugh James - Cardiff office
Cost:
RH package member: £75 per person (incl VAT) or 3 attendees for £200
RH non-package member: £100 per person (incl VAT) or 3 attendees for £275
We know you have been working incredibly hard over the past months to be ready for the Act coming into force in December, and dedicated project teams and leaders will already be familiar with the Act and many of the concepts and challenges.
Our Renting Homes conference is designed for project teams and in-house lawyers to complement the support we have been providing whilst preparing for the Act.
Conference overview
- Project leaders renting homes playbook (AM session)
- The new renting homes world – your legal guide (PM session).
Employment & HR
The first day of our HJ Housing Week 2022 focuses on Employment & HR. We look at the latest case law developments as well as the key legislative changes that lie ahead in the employment space for 2022 and beyond. We recap the 4 day working week pilot project and answer the key questions you have on this pioneering approach to work life balance and staff retention. Our team also offer guidance to organisations on how to make sure any dismissal of an employee is done in a fair way, through their recent video series, how to effect a fair dismissal and the 5 'fair reasons'.
Everything you need to know about the 4 day working week pilot project | Video
Learn all about the pilot scheme in the UK where employees get 100% pay for 80% of their normal working hours. Louise Price, Partner and Head of Employment and HR Services at Hugh James addresses the key questions around this pioneering approach to work life balance and staff retention.
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Webinar replay: Employment Law Update | November 2022
A webinar overview of the latest Employment law updates, including key case law and legislative developments likely to be of interest to HR practitioners. The session focuses on the Harpur Trust v Brazel holiday pay case, which concerns the calculation of holiday pay for casual workers and the recent highly published decision in Forstater v CGD Europe and others where it was held that gender critical beliefs are protected in law as philosophical beliefs. The webinar finishes with the recent changes to right to work checks and the current position of the long awaited Employment Bill.
watch now
How to effect a fair dismissal and the 5 'fair reasons' | Video series
Our Employment & HR Services team has recorded a series of videos offering guidance to organisations on how to make sure any dismissal of an employee is done in a fair way. To be considered a fair dismissal, the first step is to ensure that one of the five potentially "fair reasons" applies.
Our team will guide you through each of these, highlighting some of the most frequently asked questions from clients and the most common missteps we see in practice. The team will also guide you through the next step, which is to ensure that a fair process is followed.
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Housing Management
The second day of our HJ Housing Week 2022 focuses on the upcoming Renting Homes (Wales) Act, coming into force in December 2022. The day concentrates around our all-day in-person Renting Homes conference, with the morning session focusing on renting homes for project leaders and the afternoon providing a legal guide to the new renting homes world for legal teams and those dealing with claims in court. Rebecca Rees also highlights which teams at your organisation need to be involved in your Renting Homes implementation project and the key information they need to know.
Renting Homes – who else needs to know? | Blog
Landlords have been anticipating the Renting Homes (Wales) Act since 2016 and housing managers have long since been warned this is the biggest change in housing legislation for decades. Now that the implementation date of 1st December looms ever closer, many teams are starting to realise that the implications of the Act reach wider than their housing management remit and are in fact essential knowledge for in-house professionals specialising in development, human resources, assets and finance.
As part of Hugh James’ Housing Week, Partner Rebecca Rees highlights which teams at your organisation need to be involved in your implementation project and the key information they need to know.
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RENTING HOMES CONFERENCE
Date: 8 November 2022
Time: 9.30am - 4pm
Event Type: In-person
Location: Hugh James - Cardiff office
Cost:
RH package member: £75 per person (incl VAT) or 3 attendees for £200
RH non-package member: £100 per person (incl VAT) or 3 attendees for £275
Conference overview
- Project leaders renting homes playbook (AM session)
- The new renting homes world – your legal guide (PM session).
Commercial Property
The third day of our HJ Housing Week 2022 focuses on commercial property. Elfed Roberts, Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Pobl Group joins Caroline O'Flaherty, Commercial Property Partner for a conversation on low carbon technologies. They bring these technologies to life by exploring two example development sites, Gwynfaen & Parc Eirin. Caroline also considers if Wales is ready for the new Welsh Housing Quality Standard in her blog. Lucy Pedler, Co-director at The Green Register tells us about her work with Pobl and how the sector is implementing low carbon principles in their new developments and how the sector is responding to this approach.
Low Carbon Principles in Practice | Video
Join Caroline O'Flaherty, Commercial Property Partner for this conversation with Elfed Roberts, Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Pobl Group.
With over 18,000 homes for affordable rent, Pobl is one of the largest housing associations in Wales and has placed decarbonisation of new homes, reducing cost and working with tenants on sustainability at the heart of what they do. As a chartered architect and previously Head of Development for Pobl, Elfed has significant experience of urban design, regeneration and placemaking and his new focus on a low carbon approach, its practicalities and the lessons learned so far are relevant across the social housing sector and beyond.
Caroline & Elfed explore the reality of low carbon approaches on site, the additional steps needed at design stage and subsequently to ensure that all parties contribute towards a successful project.
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Low carbon principles Q&A with Lucy Pedler at The Green Register | Blog
Lucy Pedler, Co-director at The Green Register considers how Housing Associations are implementing low carbon principles in their new developments and how the sector is responding to this approach. She also touches on which teams need to understand about low carbon principles, the funding arrangements that work well and the lessons learned form working with the housing sector.
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Welsh Housing Quality Standard: Is Wales ready? | Blog
A new quality standard for social housing is being introduced in Wales. The consultation on the new standard came to a close on 3rd August, but senior voices within the sector have already expressed grave concerns about its potentially disastrous implications for an already challenging environment.
Caroline O'Flaherty, Commercial Property Partner considers if Wales is ready for the new Welsh Housing Quality Standard in her blog.
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Construction
The fourth day of our HJ Housing Week 2022 looks at construction. Our Construction team recently discussed the new Building Safety Act 2022, the cladding crisis and collateral warranties in their recent webinar. Natasha Nicholas, Associate in the team talks through the issues that industry professionals are facing in the construction world, looking at RIBA’s Contracts and Law Report 2022. She has also created a blog considering the most frequently asked questions from clients about how to ensure they are in the best position possible when finding themselves in an insolvency situation with a contractor and what can be done to lessen the impact, including a downloadable checklist for employers.
What issues are industry professionals facing in the construction world? | Video
RIBA’s Contracts and Law Report 2022 brings together insight shared by over 950 clients, contractors and consultants about the current contracting landscape. Join Natasha Nicholas, Associate from our Construction & Engineering team, for her insight into the latest findings and how this might impact the decisions you make going forward.
Blending our expertise in contracts and disputes with the report’s forecasts about sustainable and commercial outcomes, this session will focus on the solutions that can be found for the issues construction professionals have found most challenging in the last 12 months.
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Construction contractor insolvency: Three considerations for employers under JCT with a downloadable checklist | Blog
Our team frequently encounter questions from clients about how to ensure they are in the best position possible when finding themselves in an insolvency situation with a contractor and what can be done to lessen the impact.
Natasha Nicholas, Associate from our Construction & Engineering team, provides the top 3 practical steps to decide your way ahead in her blog, including a handy downloadable checklist.
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Webinar replay: Construction Law Update | October 2022
A webinar overview of the latest construction law updates, where Iwan Jenkins discusses the new Building Safety Act 2022. He is joined by Matthew Stevens who covers the cladding crisis and Tom MacSwayne who looks at collateral warranties.
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Regulatory & Governance
The fifth and final day of our HJ Housing Week 2022 looks at regulatory and governance within the housing sector. Peter Spencer, Partner and expert in governance helps you understand the options available when talks of merger are gathering speed, to ensure you take the right road for your organisation. Our Information Law team recently ran a webinar to provide you with the key essentials you need to know when it comes to freedom of information and environmental information law.
Webinar replay: Freedom of Information Essentials
The second webinar in our Information law essentials webinar series, we provide you with the key essentials you need to know when it comes to freedom of information and environmental information law. You learn the key concepts and principles, how to handle requests for information and consider the grounds for withholding information.
You also look at what to do when things go wrong and how to handle a complaint, both internally and if matters reach the Information Commissioner's Office.
We wrap the session up with an interactive session where you look at whether particular scenarios constitute a request for information and whether information requested should be withheld or disclosed.
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Merging & other options in the social housing sector | Video
Many in the social housing sector see various forms of consolidation and collaboration as the way forward in uncertain economic times. Join Peter Spencer, Partner and expert in governance to help you understand the options available when talks of merger are gathering speed, to ensure you take the right road for your organisation.
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