Employee Relations Advisor

Pladis; Sydney; Remote; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

pladis is seeking an experienced Employee Relations Advisor to shape fair and compliant people practices across our UK operations. You will partner with managers, HR colleagues and senior stakeholders to navigate challenging ER issues, lead investigations, and ensure policies align with UK law while supporting a diverse workforce.

You will coach leaders, drive consistent processes, and optimise employee experience while minimising risk.

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing complex employee relations cases across disciplinary, grievance and performance matters.
• Experience supporting or conducting workplace investigations, hearings and appeals.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and its practical application in a commercial setting.
• Excellent stakeholder management with the ability to coach managers at all levels.
• Clear, professional written and verbal communication; ability to handle sensitive cases objectively.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert advice on employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance and attendance.
• Lead investigations and support hearings, ensuring thorough fact-finding and legally compliant outcomes.
• Coach managers to handle personnel issues and make sound employment decisions.
• Develop robust ER guidance for the business and support safe organisational change.
• Collaborate with Trade Unions and HR to manage high-risk cases and maintain constructive relationships.
• Ensure accurate case management and reporting using ER systems.

Skills

Employee relations

Investigations

Stakeholder management

UK employment law

Communication

Organisational skills

Coaching managers

Education

CIPD Level 5

Job description

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you. As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits. To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

Why Join Our Team?

Join a highly respected and dynamic Employee Relations team at the heart of one of the UK's leading FMCG businesses. As an Employee Relations Advisor, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping fair and consistent people practices across a diverse and complex UK workforce. Working within our fast-paced HR Operations team, you'll partner with managers, HR colleagues, and senior stakeholders to navigate challenging people issues, lead high-profile investigations, and ensure our approach to employee relations is both commercially focused and legally compliant. This is an opportunity to develop deep expertise in employment law while working on a varied portfolio of cases spanning disciplinary, grievance, performance, capability, absence, conduct, and workplace culture matters. Our Employee Relations team supports over 7 manufacturing sites and 3 corporate locations across the UK, providing exposure to both unionised and non-unionised environments. No two days are the same, and you'll have the opportunity to influence outcomes that genuinely impact both our people and our business. The HR team is based in Liverpool, operating on a hybrid model. However, as a remote-first team, we are open to considering alternative working arrangements depending on location.

What Will This Role Achieve?

As a trusted ER specialist, you will:

• Lead and advise on a diverse range of complex employee relations matters, ensuring fair and balanced outcomes.
• Conduct and support investigations into disciplinary, grievance, dignity at work, conduct, and workplace concerns.
• Coach and develop managers to confidently handle people matters and make sound employment decisions.
• Build capability across the business through expert guidance and practical employment law advice.
• Help create a positive employee experience while protecting business interests and minimising risk.
• Drive consistency, compliance and best practice across our UK operations.

What Will Be Your Key Deliverables?

• Provide expert advice across the full spectrum of employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance, attendance, conduct and organisational change.
• Support and, where appropriate, lead complex investigations, ensuring thorough fact-finding, balanced decision-making and legally compliant outcomes.
• Partner with managers and HR teams to navigate sensitive and high-risk cases from initial concern through to resolution.
• Prepare managers for investigations, hearings and appeal meetings, providing coaching and practical guidance throughout.
• Develop strong relationships with stakeholders across manufacturing and corporate functions, becoming a trusted advisor on ER matters.
• Act as a subject matter expert and escalation point for complex employee relations cases.
• Support performance management activities, including performance reviews, capability processes and Performance Improvement Plans.
• Work collaboratively with Trade Union representatives and employee forums to build constructive working relationships.
• Ensure accurate case management and reporting through effective use of ER systems and data.
• Keep up to date with changes in employment legislation and emerging ER trends, translating these into practical business solutions.
• Support site-based activity when required, travelling occasionally across the UK for significant investigations, hearings or complex cases.

Bring Your Experience

Essential

• Proven experience managing complex employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, capability and performance matters.
• Experience supporting or conducting workplace investigations, hearings and appeals.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and its practical application within a commercial environment.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to challenge, influence and coach managers at all levels.
• Confidence handling sensitive and high-risk cases with professionalism, objectivity and sound judgement.
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to explain complex issues clearly.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritise multiple competing cases in a fast-paced environment.
• A genuine passion for employee relations and a desire to make a meaningful difference to colleagues and business outcomes.
• A continuous improvement mindset with a commitment to personal and professional development.

Desirable

• CIPD Level 5 qualified (or equivalent experience).
• Experience within FMCG, manufacturing or a unionised environment.
• Exposure to complex organisational change programmes, collective consultations or trade union engagement.
• Experience of coaching managers through investigations, disciplinary hearings and grievance processes.

Why You’ll Love This Role

• Exposure to a broad range of complex and interesting ER cases.
• The opportunity to develop specialist employment law expertise.
• Significant autonomy and ownership of your caseload.
• Collaboration with experienced ER professionals in a supportive team environment.
• The ability to make a real impact on employee experience, organisational culture and business performance.
• Flexible and remote-first working, with opportunities to connect with colleagues and sites across the UK.

pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law. We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List. If you are a recruitment agency and wish to submit candidate to be considered for this vacancy, you must have agreed to, and signed, our terms of business. We will not accept CVs from any other sources other than those currently on our PSL. We will not pay a fee for any candidate that has not been represented by a provider on our PSL.