People Professionals and Governance, Risk and Compliance

About this package

People Professionals and Governance, Risk and Compliance examines how the people function supports ethical decisions, organisational accountability and effective oversight. It connects everyday workforce decisions with the expectations of boards and executives, showing why achieving business targets does not, by itself, justify how employees are treated. Learners consider whether recruitment, development, promotion and reward practices reflect stated values, and how people strategy can support or undermine governance standards. The governance content moves from principles to practical arrangements: codes of conduct, ethical standards, delegated authority, decision rights, reporting lines and committee oversight. It explains how named owners, documented requirements, review dates and evidence make responsibilities answerable. The risk content then distinguishes seven categories: employment law, culture and conduct, health and safety, data privacy, talent and capability, industrial relations and reputation. Learners examine how these risks arise across the employee lifecycle and during organisational change. Risk assessment focuses on likelihood, impact and the effectiveness of existing controls, with findings recorded in a risk register aligned to enterprise risk management. The package considers preventive and detective controls alongside the influence of leadership behaviour, culture and employee voice. It also examines emerging exposures associated with hybrid working, artificial intelligence, supply chain labour practices and climate-related workforce impacts, asking whether proposed mitigations address the causes of harm and provide evidence of protection. The final part translates legal and organisational requirements into usable policies, processes, controls and records. It covers recruitment, payroll, performance, reward and exits, alongside audit preparation and the evidence needed to demonstrate compliance. Learners evaluate whistleblowing, grievance and investigation arrangements for accessibility, confidentiality, impartiality, protection from retaliation and timely resolution. The package concludes with board-ready reporting that brings together risk indicators, control-testing results, audit findings, compliance gaps and corrective actions with named owners and deadlines, while balancing legal obligations, employee experience and operational practicality.

Who it’s for

This package suits HR and people professionals whose responsibilities include governance, workforce risk, policy, compliance or assurance. Its emphasis on designing frameworks, evaluating controls and reporting to boards is particularly relevant to those with advisory or management responsibilities.

What’s covered

1. Governance Expectations, People Strategy and Values

   Explains direction, accountability and oversight, and the people function’s responsibilities to boards and executives. Learners analyse how workforce decisions and people strategy support or undermine organisational values and governance standards.

2. People Governance Frameworks and Accountability

   Covers codes of conduct, ethical standards, delegated authority, decision rights and approval arrangements. It connects these with named ownership, reporting and escalation routes, committee oversight and assurance evidence.

3. People Risk Categories and Identification

   Distinguishes the seven people risk categories and examines exposures across the employee lifecycle and organisational change. Learners develop risk descriptions that connect causes, possible events and consequences.

4. Risk Assessment and Enterprise Risk Management

   Explores assessment using likelihood, impact and existing control effectiveness. It explains how people risk registers align with organisation-wide definitions, scoring scales, time horizons and escalation thresholds.

5. Risk Controls and Emerging Workforce Challenges

   Examines preventive and detective controls, including how leadership behaviour, culture and employee voice affect their operation. Emerging risks include hybrid working, AI use, supply chain labour practices and climate-related workforce impacts.

6. Legal Obligations and Compliant People Policies

   Explains how to identify applicable employment, data protection, health and safety, equality and reporting obligations. Learners translate requirements into policy clauses, actions, deadlines, responsibilities and records that employees and managers can use.

7. Internal Controls, Compliance Evidence and Audits

   Covers control specifications for recruitment, payroll, performance, reward and exits, including ownership, timing, acceptance criteria and evidence. It also examines reliable record-keeping and preparation for audits of people practices.

8. Whistleblowing, Grievances and Investigations

   Evaluates whether reporting and investigation procedures are accessible, confidential, impartial and timely. It considers protection from retaliation and the evidence needed to assess whether safeguards work in practice.

9. Board-Ready Compliance and Assurance Reporting

   Brings compliance status, people-risk exposure and assurance findings into evidence-based reporting for board oversight. Reports include risk indicators, control-testing results, audit evidence, gaps and corrective actions with owners and deadlines.

Learning outcomes

By completing this package, learners can:

• Explain organisational governance and the people function’s responsibilities in meeting board and executive expectations for ethical conduct, accountability and oversight.
• Analyse how people strategy and practices support or undermine organisational values and governance standards, using organisational scenarios.
• Design a people governance framework specifying codes of conduct, ethical standards, delegated authority, decision rights, reporting lines and committee oversight.
• Categorise people risks across the employee lifecycle and organisational change, distinguishing employment law, culture and conduct, health and safety, data privacy, talent and capability, industrial relations and reputational risks.
• Assess and prioritise people risks using likelihood, impact and existing control effectiveness, recording findings in a risk register aligned with an enterprise risk management framework.
• Evaluate controls and mitigations for established and emerging people risks, including hybrid working, AI use, supply chain labour practices and climate-related workforce impacts, considering culture, leadership behaviour and employee voice.
• Apply relevant employment, data protection, health and safety, equality and reporting obligations to design or revise people policies and processes that balance compliance, employee experience and operational practicality.
• Design internal controls for recruitment, payroll, performance, reward and exits, specifying control owners, record-keeping requirements and evidence needed to demonstrate compliance.
• Evaluate whistleblowing, grievance and investigation procedures for accessibility, confidentiality, impartiality, protection from retaliation and timely resolution, recommending improvements where needed.
• Construct a board-ready people compliance and assurance report presenting risk indicators, control-testing results, audit evidence, compliance gaps and corrective actions with named owners and deadlines.

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