Workplace 2027: The Advanced HR & Labour Relations Conference

Programme

1. 01

   Day 1 · Strategic HR Leadership, AI Governance & Workforce Transformation

   • 09:15-10:15 · Advanced HR Strategy, AI Governance & Algorithmic Bias: bias in recruitment, agentic AI in HR, shadow AI risks, data privacy, building an institutional AI governance framework
   • 10:15-11:00 · AI Governance Frameworks for Modern HR Functions: organisational AI policies, automated recruitment systems, AI and performance monitoring, compliance and legal accountability
   • 11:15-12:00 · From Frankensystems to People Analytics: integrating workforce data, modern performance management, continuous coaching, predictive retention
   • 12:00-13:00 · Panel: Algorithmic Management vs Worker Dignity - AI-driven recruitment, employee surveillance, workplace privacy, POPIA implications and data ethics
   • 14:00-14:45 · The Burnout Epidemic & the New Hybrid Social Contract: quiet quitting, psychological safety, hybrid leadership, preventing burnout, managing remote teams
   • 14:45-15:30 · Digital Leadership for the Next Generation Workforce: managing Generation Z, healthy workplace cultures, retaining critical talent
   • 15:30-16:15 · Closing Leadership Forum: Building the Future-Ready Workplace - integrating AI, compliance and people strategy, and action planning for Workplace 2027
2. 02

   Day 2 · Labour Law Reform, Compliance & Employment Risk Management

   • 09:15-10:00 · Opening keynote: The 2026 Digital & Legal Frontier - Future-Proofing South Africa's Workforce; how AI can empower Africa's workforce rather than displace it
   • 10:00-10:45 · The New Statutory Ground Rules: the 2026 Labour Law Amendment Bills and the R1.8 million earnings threshold, limits on reinstatement, the 'Election Rule', the three-month probation exemption, platform and gig workers, Schedule 11 obligations
   • 11:00-12:00 · Retrenchment, Trade Unions and Employment Equity under the New Labour Framework: section 189A, bargaining council exemptions, protest certificates, wage differentiation
   • 12:00-12:30 · Off-Duty Conduct, Social Media and Employee Misconduct - Where Employer Authority Begins and Ends: Schedule 8, the nexus test, lessons from Gaertner v Minister of Finance
   • 12:30-13:00 · Parental Leave Equality after the Constitutional Court Judgment: Van Wyk and Others v Minister of Employment and Labour, BCEA and UIF implications, policy redesign
3. 03

   Half-day workshop · 14:00-16:30 - Effective Guidelines for the Preparation of CCMA & Disciplinary Hearings (facilitated by Britney Theron)

   • Introduction and the South African labour law framework: the LRA, BCEA, EEA, the CCMA, bargaining councils and the Labour Courts
   • Conducting fair workplace investigations: assessing complaints, collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, drafting legally sound charges
   • Running effective disciplinary hearings: procedural and substantive fairness, roles at the hearing, common procedural mistakes, appeals
   • Preparing winning CCMA cases and the law of evidence: burden and onus of proof, cross-examination, documentary and video evidence, closing arguments, with a mock hearing and arbitration simulation
   • Avoiding costly CCMA mistakes, a best-practice checklist for before, during and after the hearing, and an open Q&A on delegates' own workplace challenges
   • Practical case studies throughout: theft, fraud, gross negligence, absenteeism, poor performance, insubordination, sexual harassment, conflict of interest, dishonesty and social media misconduct