Strategic HR Forum: The Balance of Conflicting Rights/Beliefs in the Workplace

30th March 2026

Blake Morgan is hosting the next Strategic HR Forum in conjunction with Hays, at our Southampton office on Thursday 4 June 2026.

Hosted by Legal Director, Jane Biddlecombe the focus will be on:

“The Balance of Conflicting Rights/Beliefs in the Workplace”.

Potential discussion points:

Beliefs

  • When is a belief protected?
  • Is it just about ‘Protected Characteristics’ under the Equality Act 2010?
  • What about manifestations of a belief?

Expressions of views

  • How far can these be limited?
  • Limiting the damage of views expressed on social media
  • Views that can divide opinion – e.g. international conflicts, politics/politicians, immigration, gender assignment, climate activism.

Brand, communications and external factors

  • What can HR do to influence brand perception internally and externally?
  • What sort of organisational communication will help?
  • How can HR develop strategies to mitigate the effect of external factors?

Inclusivity

  • How can you balance the need for others to feel comfortable bringing their ‘authentic’ selves to work versus the risk of detrimental employee relations?
  • What policies and practical processes can be implemented to ensure inclusivity is not negatively impacted?

Protecting the organisation and maintaining good employee relations

  • Issues outside of working hours, or the working environment
  • Sexual harassment and the new duties to take reasonable steps
  • Appropriate policies
  • Legal risks

Outcome from session

Our discussions will focus on how organisations can forge a path to balance the conflict of beliefs and expressions in the workplace, and how, at a strategic level, they can overcome the various challenges presented.

Session Format

The format of the session will be a round-table discussion and we will focus on the topics that are of most interest to attendees.

The topics set out above are amongst those that we will debate at our forum. However, please note that we may not touch on all the areas listed.

RSVP here