e-learning courses for non-lawyers

One person can expose your company to huge fines, damage its reputation, or even destroy it entirely. What are you doing to manage this risk? Do your employees understand the legal limits to their actions? Where is your business most exposed? PLC Legal Risk is an online global compliance solution that enables in-house legal teams to educate their business in key areas of legal risk. It comprises practical online training courses and reference materials that are specifically written for non-lawyers.

PLC Legal Risk is now managed by the UK's leading work-place e-learning specialist Brightwave. Having developed the courses in partnership with PLC, Brightwave is providing a fully managed Legal Risk E-learning Service to help your organisation minimise risk and stay compliant, simply and effectively. Clients will benefit from direct support, increased customisation options, improved learner tracking and reporting as well as the assurance that the legal content on which the courses are based is regularly reviewed by PLC's team of legal experts.

Benefits of PLC Legal Risk:

  • Simple and quick to complete
    The courses and materials are straightforward and practical, conveying the key issues concisely.
  • Easy to set up and maintain
    Hosted and maintained by Brightwave requiring minimal input from legal and IT departments.
  • Great value
    e-learning is the most cost-effective way of educating large numbers of employees and our courses are very competitively priced.
  • Up to date
    The courses and materials can be relied on to reflect current law and practice.
  • Raises the legal department's profile
    Course customisation allows the legal department to raise its profile within the business, as well as including links to company-specific policies and guidelines.
  • International
    Many of the courses are suitable for international rollout and two are available in multiple languages.

Click on the tabs above to find out more about PLC Legal Risk.

Key features

  • e-learning courses for business people
    Short and interactive with "real-life" scenarios.
  • SpeedBrief and glossary (click for examples)
    Practical summaries of key issues and definitions written in plain English for non-lawyers.
  • Launch and track system
    Enables you to keep a record of all courses and participants. Available in multiple languages.
  • Course customisation
    You can include links to company policies and legal department contacts.
  • Written and maintained by PLC
    Regularly reviewed and updated by PLC's team of over 120 specialists to reflect changes in law or practice.

 

Courses available

Click expand to view target audience, course description and online demonstration.

Data protection

Target audience

All employees.

Jurisdiction

International.

Course description

This 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.

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Data protection and direct marketing

Target audience

Business managers, sales and marketing teams.

Jurisdiction

UK.

Course description

This 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.

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Parental rights

Target audience

Anyone responsible for managing a team or department.

Jurisdiction

UK.

Course description

This 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.

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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 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.

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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.

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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 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.

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Discrimination and harassment

Target audience

All employees.

Jurisdiction

UK.

Course description

This course identifies 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.

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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.

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Dismissing an employee

Target audience

Anyone responsible for managing a team or dismissing staff.

Jurisdiction

UK.

Course description

This course identifies 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.

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Brand management

Target audience

Business managers, sales and marketing teams.

Jurisdiction

UK.

Course description

This course deals 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.

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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 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.

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Dealing with the media

Target audience

Business people with limited day-to-day exposure to the media.

Jurisdiction

UK.

Course description

This 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.

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Sales promotions, competitions and lotteries

Target audience

Anyone involved in sales and marketing.

Jurisdiction

UK.

Course description

This 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.

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Acquisitions - a buyer's perspective

Target audience

Business managers and teams with limited acquisition experience.

Jurisdiction

International.

Course description

This 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.

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Acquisitions - a seller's perspective

Target audience

Business managers and teams with limited acquisition experience.

Jurisdiction

International.

Course description

The aim of this 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.

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What our subscribers say

" The PLC Legal Risk courses are excellent - a really efficient way to get your business people up to speed. They cover all the key issues and are extremely user-friendly. Concise, focused and practical, the same qualities I'm used to with PLC's know-how for lawyers, but distilled for the non-lawyer. "

Jem Davis, Head of Legal Services,
APACS the UK Payments Association

" I found this course very useful. Really user-friendly for the non-lawyer. Great for use across geographies - because it is a desktop solution. And for me because I can reach out to many people in the business at the same time, whilst also tracking completion and seeing how well they have done. It fits well as part of an overall compliance programme. "

Nuns Moodliar, Vice-President, Legal & Corporate Affairs,
Hertz Europe Ltd

The sample question below if taken from the Co-operating with competitors course:

If you agree with a competitor to fix prices, you can be fined but not imprisoned.

This is FALSE. Price fixing is strictly prohibited by competition law and is subject to a range of serious sanctions. In some countries (such as the US and UK) individuals can be sent to prison for engaging in price fixing, even if they are not based in that country.

If you become aware that the company is involved in a price fixing cartel, you must contact the legal department immediately.

This is just one example of a question from the Co-operating with competitors course. Click here to view the full list of available courses.

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