Legal risk courses for businesses

Skip to: benefits - key features - legal risk home

Courses available

Brightwave's Legal Risk E-Learning Service features 15 PLC legal risk courses.

Click on a course below to view target audience, course description and to request a demonstration.

• Data protection
• Data protection and direct marketing
• Parental rights
• Co-operating with competitors
• Contract negotiations
• E-mail and online risk
• Discrimination and harassment
• Hiring an employee
• Dismissing an employee
• Brand management
• Handling a dispute
• Dealing with the media
• Sales promotions, competitions and lotteries
• Acquisitions - a buyer's perspective
• Acquisitions - a seller's perspective

Data protection training course

Target audience: All employees.
Jurisdiction: International.
Course description: This data protection course identifies the key issues to consider when dealing with personal data about employees, customers, suppliers and any other individuals that may be encountered in the course of business.

• Sets out how personal data should be stored, protected and secured.
• Explains what information is classed as personal data.
• Highlights the penalties for failing to deal with personal data appropriately.
• Identifies the circumstances in which personal data can be collected.
• Explains how data collected on individuals can be used.
• Identifies how enquiries about personal data should be dealt with.

Request a trial: Data protection training

Data protection and direct marketing

Target audience: Business managers, sales and marketing teams.
Jurisdiction: UK.
Course description: This direct marketing and data protection course highlights the key data protection issues to consider when carrying out direct marketing. It explains how you should collect information about your customers and how to communicate information about your products and services to existing and potential customers.

• Identifies what type of customer data needs to be protected and secured.
• Sets out how customer data should be collected and stored for marketing purposes.
• Explains how opt-in and opt-out requests should be dealt with.
• Sets out how unsolicited marketing should be sent by post, telephone, SMS, fax or e-mail.
• Explains how external databases should be used.
• Identifies when explicit consent is needed for unsolicited direct marketing.

Request a trial: Data protection and direct marketing

Parental rights

Target audience: Anyone responsible for managing a team or department.
Jurisdiction: UK.
Course description: This legal compliance course outlines the parental rights that are available to employees and gives practical guidance on how to deal with any requests for leave.

• Sets out the maternity rights that are available to all pregnant employees and new mothers.
• Identifies which employees are able to claim paternity leave and pay.
• Highlights the rights available to employees who adopt children.
• Explains who a "dependant" is and the circumstances in which an employee can take time off work to look after them.
• Explains who can make a flexible working request, what elements of their job they can ask to change and identifies the eight specific grounds for validly refusing a flexible working request.
• Identifies who is able to claim parental leave and in what circumstances it can be granted.

Request a trial: Parental rights legal compliance course

Co-operating with competitors

Target audience: Anyone who may come into contact with competitors.
Jurisdiction: International. This course is available in the following languages: English, Arabic, Brazilian-Portuguese, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican-Spanish, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai and Turkish.
Course description: The aim of this legal risk course is to alert people to potential breaches of competition law when dealing with competitors, reducing the risk of infringement by encouraging appropriate behaviour.

• Clearly sets out the consequences of failure for individuals and organisations to comply with the law. For example, large fines and, in some cases, prison.
• Explains the main examples of cartel activity, such as different forms of price fixing, bid rigging, market sharing and information exchange.
• Sets out other forms of co-operation between competitors that may breach competition law, such as joint ventures, research and development agreements, and informal conversations and arrangements.

Request a trial: Co-operating with competitors legal risk course

Contract negotiations

Target audience: Anyone involved in negotiating contracts.
Jurisdiction: International.
Course description: This course covers the key issues business people need to consider when negotiating contracts.

• Highlights the main questions to consider up front, including the identity of the parties, what is being bought or sold, price, and how payment is to be made.
• Explains what to do if things go wrong and under what circumstances a party may pull out of a contract.
• Sets out how to protect the business from competition or the poaching of staff by the other party.
• Identifies the common negotiating pitfalls. For example, making sure that the other party is not misled during the negotiations and, if standard terms are involved, whose terms prevail.
• Explains the importance of refusing any bribes or inducements to enter into a contract.
• Clearly sets out the effect of signing a pre-contractual agreement, such as heads of terms.

Request a trial: Contract negotiations

E-mail and online risk

Target audience: All employees.
Jurisdiction: International. This course is available in the following languages: English, Arabic, Brazilian-Portuguese, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican-Spanish, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai and Turkish.
Course description: This risk management training course covers the main risks associated with using the internet and e-mail at work, sending work related e-mails or discussing details of your workplace on the internet.

• Sets out how e-mails and internet postings can be used in the same way as a letter in legal proceedings.
• Explains that an individual can be sued for merely forwarding a defamatory e-mail.
• Identifies the need to take care when sending confidential information via e-mail.
• Highlights that a legally binding contract can be made by a simple exchange of e-mails.
• Outlines the hazards of writing about personal or work-related matters in e-mails or online.

Request a trial: E-mail and online risk management training course

Discrimination and harassment

Target audience: All employees.
Jurisdiction: UK.
Course description: Our employment law training courses identify the different types of discrimination and harassment that can occur in the workplace and explains unacceptable types of behaviour.

• Deals with all the areas of working life that are protected by discrimination and harassment laws: the recruitment process (job adverts and applications), during employment, work social events and even after employment (job references).
• Explains the different types of discrimination that are covered (sex, race, age, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief).
• Clearly sets out the penalties for failing to comply with discrimination and harassment laws for the individual and the organisation.

Request a trial: Discrimination and harassment employment law training course

Hiring an employee

Target audience: Anyone responsible for managing a team or hiring staff.
Jurisdiction: UK.
Course description: This course highlights the key issues to consider when recruiting a new employee.

• Identifies the reasons for creating a set of objective selection criteria before beginning the recruitment process.
• Explains that job applicants are protected from discrimination throughout the recruitment process.
• Highlights the pitfalls to avoid at the interview stage, for example, avoiding asking any unnecessarily personal questions.
• Explains that a job offer can be made conditional on a range of criteria, such as providing satisfactory references or passing a drugs or alcohol check.
• Sets out the types of clauses that can and cannot be included in a contract of employment.

Request a trial: Hiring an employee

Dismissing an employee

Target audience: Anyone responsible for managing a team or dismissing staff.
Jurisdiction: UK.
Course description: Our employment law training courses identify the key issues to consider when dealing with poor performance and dismissing employees.

• Provides a checklist of good practice points to help avoid potential claims. For example, getting HR involved if an employee raises any concerns about "high risk" areas, such as stress or discrimination.
• Explains why the HR department needs to be involved early on in the dismissal process.
• Highlights the importance of checking an employee's contract to avoid breaching it.
• Sets out the potentially fair reasons that exist for dismissing an employee, including misconduct, redundancy and long-term sick leave.
• Identifies the types of dismissals that are automatically unfair, such as dismissals connected with pregnancy, parental leave or whistleblowing.

Request a trial: Dismissing an employee

Brand management

Target audience: Business managers, sales and marketing teams.
Jurisdiction: UK.
Course description: Our brand management courses deal with the practical steps required to protect, use and exploit a brand.

• Identifies the different elements that can make up a brand, including words, logos or colours.
• Lists the initial steps that need to be taken when creating a new brand, such as maintaining accurate records of the development process and keeping any development work confidential.
• Sets out the legal rights that can be used to protect a brand: confidential information, copyright, trade mark rights, design rights and patents.
• Details how to protect and enforce an existing brand. For example, by strictly enforcing internal brand guidelines and using copyright notices and trade mark symbols.
• Explains the ways in which a brand can be exploited through the use of licence agreements, assignments and joint ventures.
• Highlights the importance of not infringing other people's brands.

Request a trial: Brand management courses

Handling a dispute

Target audience: Anyone who may be involved in a dispute (for example, sales or procurement).
Jurisdiction: International.
Course description: The aim of this legal compliance course is to help your business people understand the key legal issues upfront and the pitfalls to avoid when an incident occurs or a dispute arises. It takes them through a practical checklist of do's and don'ts covering:

• Who you should inform of the incident or dispute and who you should not (internally and externally).
• The importance of obtaining legal advice early on.
• How to deal with any regulator and the other side.
• The need for caution when preparing reports and briefings.
• Preservation of evidence.
• Privilege and confidentiality.
• Insurance and when to notify insurers.
• Whether settlement might be a better option than commencing legal proceedings.
• What you should consider for settlement negotiations.

Request a trial: Handling a dispute

Dealing with the media

Target audience: Business people with limited day-to-day exposure to the media.
Jurisdiction: UK.
Course description: This legal compliance course identifies the key issues to consider before talking to the media (whether for a written article, television or radio) and during the interview.

• Highlights the importance of receiving company authorisation before speaking to a journalist.
• Explains how to deal with a "cold call".
• Identifies the importance of preparation before speaking to the media, for example, understanding the context of the piece and what the journalist is trying to achieve.
• Sets out the differences between an "on the record" and an "off the record" interview.
• Highlights the fact that interviewees can be sued because of what they say to a journalist in an interview.
• Explains how to deal with any questions that may have an impact on a company's share price.

Request a trial: Dealing with the media

Sales promotions, competitions and lotteries

Target audience: Anyone involved in sales and marketing.
Jurisdiction:UK.
Course description: This risk management training course looks at the legal issues surrounding different types of sales promotions in the UK.

• Deals with the various types of sales promotions covering competitions, prize draws, price and value promotions, sponsorships and trade promotions.
• Sets out issues to consider when creating content, such as legal and illegal promotions, comparison with rivals, copyright and clear terms and conditions.
• Explains the consequences of failure to comply with the law.

Request a trial: Sales promotions, competitions and lotteries

Acquisitions - a buyer's perspective

Target audience: Business managers and teams with limited acquisition experience.
Jurisdiction: International.
Course description: This acquisition training course highlights the key areas a buyer needs to consider when making an acquisition. It covers the acquisition of private, not public, companies.

• Explains the various ways the deal can be structured and the advantages and disadvantages of each, including the passing of contracts, liabilities and trading arrangements.
• Sets out the key issues that need to be addressed upfront with specialists to avoid them becoming deal breakers at a later date, such as cross-border issues and necessary approvals.
• Covers early stage negotiation issues such as confidentiality and contract formation, including contract by mistake, status of heads of terms, shareholder approval and competition law issues.
• Sets out simply the process and main documents involved. For example, explaining due diligence and disclosure, control of drafting, and warranties and indemnities.

Request a trial: Acquisitions - a buyer's perspective

Acquisitions - a seller's perspective

Target audience: Business managers and teams with limited acquisition experience.
Jurisdiction: International.
Course description: The aim of this acquisition training course is to help achieve a successful sale. It covers the sale of private, not public, companies.

• Explains the various ways the deal can be structured and the advantages and disadvantages of each, including passing of liability, consultation with employees and tax treatment.
• Sets out the key issues that need to be addressed up front with specialists to avoid them becoming deal breakers at a later date. For example, shared assets, impact on existing contracts, tax and necessary approvals.
• Covers early stage negotiation issues such as competition issues, accounting policies, misrepresentation, confidentiality, break fees, shared assets and the impact of the sale on existing contracts and arrangements.
• Explains the process for an auction sale or single buyer.
• Covers due diligence issues, such as limiting points of contact, and the extent and timing of disclosures.
• Lists the main documents involved and the key issues they cover.

Request a trial: Acquisitions - a seller's perspective