Festival of Work 2026: Find me at Stand J65
10-11 June 2026, ExCeL London
You’ve arrived here because you saw my ad in People Management. Thank you for clicking through. Here is what I’d like you to do next.
Book a 10-minute slot at Stand J65
The most useful thing you can do is pre-book a 10-minute conversation at the stand. It means you walk straight to the front, skip the queue, and get focused time on whatever it is you came to discuss.
Book your 10-minute Festival slot at Stand J65
Slots are available across both days of the Festival. If none of the times suit, send me a message instead and I’ll find a time that works.
What is the conversation about?
Whatever is on your desk. Most of the people who book a slot want to talk about one of three things:
A specific investigation that is either about to start, already running, or already gone wrong. I’ll work through the seven decision points framework on your facts and tell you, candidly, what I’d do differently.
A policy or process review. Investigation policies, grievance procedures, disciplinary frameworks. The patterns I’ve extracted from 50 Tribunal judgments give a clear view of what good looks like in practice, not on paper.
Training for your HR or ER team. I run workplace investigation training and witness familiarisation training, both designed for the realities of how investigations actually go wrong. Find out more about training.
If you want a sense of the substance before you book, the work behind the conversation is laid out in detail in The Workplace and Corporate Investigator’s Handbook.
What you walk away with
If you are in a position to instruct an external investigator, choose one, or influence that choice for your organisation, you’ll leave Stand J65 with a complimentary copy of The Workplace and Corporate Investigator’s Handbook. The book launched on 14 May 2026 and runs to over 550 pages, including the seven decision points framework, worked examples, the full case analysis behind the framework, and templates you can adapt for your own organisation.
The book is a serious piece of work, written for the people who make or shape these appointments. I’d rather it reached the desks where it can be used than ended up on a swag table.
I have a limited number of copies at the stand. Pre-booking is the only way to guarantee yours.
Why this matters
Most flawed workplace investigations are over before they start. The decision was already made. After fifty Tribunal judgments, the pattern is undeniable: get the early decisions right and the rest follows; get them wrong, and no investigator, internal or external, can save the process from itself.
The cases bear it out. Settlement of approximately £1.4 million in Gilby v Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Awards of approximately £700,000 in Aplin v Tywyn Primary School, £370,563 in Wood-Hope v Salford City Council, and more than £255,000 in Ahmed v United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. These figures are now what flawed investigations cost when the underlying claim involves discrimination, whistleblowing or a senior role.
The good news is that the failures are avoidable, and the framework for avoiding them is straightforward. That is what the Festival conversation is for.
Who you’ll meet
I’m Robin Somerville. I’m a practising barrister, CEDR-accredited commercial mediator, independent workplace investigator, grievance and disciplinary chair, and fee-paid judge. I run The Chambers of Robin Somerville Ltd. I’ve been involved in over 1,000 cases across more than 20 years and conduct investigations and chair hearings for organisations dealing with complex and sensitive matters, often involving senior executives and board members.
More about me | What clients say
Three ways to get in touch
Pre-book a 10-minute Festival slot. Walk to the front of the queue at Stand J65. Book here.
Send a message. If you can’t make the Festival, or you want to start a conversation now, use the contact form or chat with me via the widget at the bottom right of any page.
Call directly. 020 4538 0246. WhatsApp on the same number.
Coming to the Festival anyway?
Drop by Stand J65 even without a booking. Booked slots take priority, but I’ll always make time for someone who has walked over to find me.
Robin Somerville LLM Barrister, Mediator, Investigator The Chambers of Robin Somerville Ltd, 330 High Holborn, London, WC2A 1HL robinsomerville.co.uk