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HR & Law, Should they be combined?

Simon Connors

I have been in HR now for a number of years (15+) and over this time I have noticed the need for HR professionals to be more aware and knowledgable of the legal side of things. Not just the normal basics such as the equality act and working time directives, but more important things like contract law and case law. 

Given this new side to HR I am thinking it might be beneficial rather than just do the normal law updates we attend a few times a year, but also doing a part-time law degree. I feel it will make me a better HR professional and of course more employable in the future. But I would like to know what other peoples experiences and advise would be on this as I know its an extra cost to the layout but feel it's going to be worthwhile in the long run.

  • Hi Simon

    Maybe look at a postgraduate qualification in employment law specifically?

    AFAIK an LLB will incorporate a lot of legal topics of little or no relevance to HR specifically , even if you pick one that has a bespoke employment law option.

    Such as an LLM in employment law or postgrad cert or diploma won't be likely to cover eg contract or H&S Law, but the principles thereof tend to come out in the wash.

  • Personally I doubt the investment would pay off in purely career / advancement terms. Unless you are interested in very niche areas of HR.
  • in reply to David
    Thanks, David, I have already got my MSc in HRM and CIPD level 7 but even then it was not very in-depth on the employment law side. But definitely get your point so I will do more research on the optional modules to see if I can tailor it to cover the contract and H&S elements.
  • in reply to Simon Connors
    I am an employment lawyer. I have known one or two HR people do an employment law qualification through the University of Northumbria I think. I'm a big believer that no knowledge is ever wasted but it is expensive and you could pay to do an awful lot of training for the same cost
    I've got some really good text books that I've just replaced so have last year's versions if you would like them: it would be a good starting point to dip into and get more knowledge that way. My email address is at www.refreshinglawltd.co.uk.
  • in reply to Anna Denton-Jones
    Following-up Anna’s post, a few years back I completed Northumbria University LawSchool LLM in applied employment law by distance learning and found it immensely valuable as a complement to CIPD / practical experience and not too expensive. The optional weekend seminars in Newcastle at the Law School were most illuminating; the required dissertation was tough but well worth the effort and I still miss no longer having online access to such as Westlaw and Harvey on Employment Law. All in all, from personal experience, I’d heartily recommend it.
  • About a decade ago I did the Graduate Diploma in Law - the conversion course that you can do in a year full time or two years part time, to effectively cram in the knowledge you might gain during a law degree. At the time I was considering retraining as a solicitor with a focus on employment law, and while I ultimately decided that I didn't want to take that step, I've always been grateful for the really firm understanding it gave me of some of the fundamentals of law. They certainly weren't covered well when I did my CIPD qualifications (ahem, quite a few years' ago).

    That said, I wouldn't choose that course as a good method of study - if I hadn't been looking at a life change, I'd have taken a longer period and enjoyed learning rather than cramming! Still looking for a suitable LLM Employment Law that works for me, but none local that I can find.
  • Thanks for all the comments I think a distance learning approach is best and at least part time or a more long term open university course.

    Helps me feel like I am not being mad trying to do a law degree of any kind as a HR professional which is nice :)
  • in reply to Simon Connors
    A masters degree is the way to go
    You may struggle to get much H&S law as tends to be a bit specialised and even Smith & Wood have dropped it.
    As for contract law you could probably benefit by buying a decent book on the law of contract and self studying. A lot of employment law will suddenly make more sense.
  • in reply to Peter Stanway
    Hi Peter I have already completed a HR masters degree the other year., This is more of a degree to help on the legal side of the HR roles.

    Will definitely try and find a few good books on contract law to get reading before signing up for a new course.
  • in reply to Simon Connors
    What are your career intentions? Is this investment going to advance you into a higher-level job? What future roles are going to need such an in-depth knowledge of employment law? To be honest, I think your boxing yourself into a corner that may be difficult to move on from.