Antrim's Legal Island celebrates 25th anniversary and looks ahead to the future of HR and embracing artificial intelligence

Northern Ireland workplace compliance company, Legal Island is celebrating 25 years in business by looking ahead to the future of HR and artificial intelligence.

Founded in Antrim in 1998 by specialist barrister, Barry Philips, BEM the company now has 24 staff and serves businesses throughout the island of Ireland helping HR professionals understand employment law and how it applies to their workplace, and provides all staff training. The company is highly decorated, having been awarded platinum-level of Investors in People which places Legal Island among the Top 3% of employers in the UK.

Barry Philips, BEM, chairman, Legal Island, said: “In 1998 we built a working-from-home workforce due to the emergence of the internet - which was rather radical 25 years ago. At that time, our work was very much focused on helping organisations interpret EU legislation and working with local solicitors and barristers to explain how Northern Ireland would specifically be impacted by this legislation and illustrate how clear training on how Employment Law issues should be practically applied in NI companies.

“However, whilst the past 25 years were very much EU-driven, the next 25 years will be AI-driven. HR and the workplace will be massively impacted by AI and must therefore move with the times. We’ve already seen AI being used in recruitment, interviews and performance management. Another example of AI already at work, is the emergence of ChatGPT. We recently conducted a survey* which revealed that only 3% of companies have heard of it and understand its relevance to HR, and nearly 70% had never heard of ChatGPT illustrating the lack of awareness and need for education and information sharing on this topic. It is our collective responsibility to embrace these changes that are coming down the line. We look forward to helping companies navigate these unchartered waters and supporting them with our expertise and knowledge through our upcoming webinar series and beyond.”

In terms of the future for Legal Island, the company has been rolling out a trial four-day working week for its staff and its flagship event ‘Annual Review of Employment Law’, that attracts over 350 Northern HR Professionals each year, will be back in person for the first time post-Covid.

On Tuesday, November 7, delegates will have the opportunity to attend the conference in-person at the ICC in Belfast or online, the event is set to be the most comprehensive Employment Law event of the year.

Legal Island is marking its silver anniversary with a series of free webinars throughout June showcasing the latest in innovations and best practices in the world of work covering topics such as diversity and inclusion, the power of employee charters, remote work and the four-day week and Artificial Intelligence. They'll be talking about the big upcoming trends that will keep businesses ahead of the game.

Further information and registration is available here.