Law firm Willans has announced a series of seminars and workshops, designed to help regional and national businesses navigate the changing legal landscape in 2020.

From helping companies get to grips with the new IR35 off-payroll working reforms through to a roundtable interactive discussion on immigration license compliance, the series has been put together to equip decision-makers with the practical knowledge they need to keep up with the latest legal requirements.

The briefings, led by specialist employment, corporate and commercial lawyers at the Legal 500-rated law firm, are aimed at directors, senior executives, HR managers and in-house legal advisors.

Matthew Clayton, head of the employment law team at Willans, said: "No-one wants to be the one to expose their organisation to unnecessary risks.

"Our seminars present the latest updates in a digestible, user-friendly way. We want our delegates to be able to take away clear advice that is practical to their business."

Chris Wills, corporate and commercial partner at Willans, said :"These seminars are not only informative, they're a great networking opportunity, too. It is always useful to share ideas and experiences with other like-minded professionals."

The first event in the series, held jointly with recruitment giants Sanderson PLC and featuring guest speaker Caroline Harwood, partner and head of share plans and employment taxes at Crowe, covers the tax and national insurance implications of recruiting contractors, which are due to change in April 2020.

The changes will apply to large companies only (a company is 'small' if it meets two of the following criteria: turnover less than £10.2m, balance sheet total under £5.1m, less than 50 employees).

Aimed at managing directors, senior decision-makers and those with executive responsibility for contractors at large companies, the seminar is on March 5 from 9.15am to 12pm at Brickhampton Court Golf Club.

Mr Clayton said: "There are wide-reaching business implications of the new IR35 reforms. for example, if your contractors are 'inside IR35' you could lose them to a competitor which organises its affairs such that they fall 'outside IR35', leaving them a lot better off.

"We'll take a 360-degree look at how keeping on top of these changes is good for business - from the practical information such as tests for employment status, through to private-sector market implications and how to account for the liability to tax and National Insurance."

Tickets for the first event cost £50 including VAT and brunch. To book or learn more about the seminar series, please visit www.willans.co.uk/events.

The five seminars planned for 2020 are:

• March 5 | IR35 and engaging contractors - the forthcoming changes April 2020, with Sanderson Solutions Group plc | 9.15am-12pm | Brickhampton Court Golf Club | £50 (inc VAT & brunch)

• March 26 | Employing non-UK nationals: your questions answered on business immigration | 9am-10:30am | Willans LLP, 34 Imperial Square, Cheltenham | Free (inc VAT & coffee and pastries)

• May 20 | GDPR: Two years on | 7:30am-9:30am | National Star College, Cheltenham | £18.50 (inc VAT & light breakfast)

• June 16 | Shareholder agreements for owner-managed and start-up businesses | 8:30am-10:30am | Brickhampton Court Golf Club | £18.50 (inc VAT & light breakfast)

• October 15 | Autumn commercial and employment update | 9am-1:30pm | Brickhampton Court Golf Club | £50 (inc VAT & brunch)