Apprentice HR Generalist

Purchaseyourfreedom; Slough; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

John Crane, part of Smiths Group, is seeking an Apprentice HR Generalist to join our UK HR team and support the delivery of a professional, responsive HR service across the employee lifecycle.

You will work closely with the Senior HR Generalist, gaining hands‑on experience in recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, engagement, HR administration, reporting, and learning & development while receiving guidance on more complex HR matters.

Qualifications

• HR experience
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office suite e.g. Outlook, Word, PowerPoint Excel, Pivot tables
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Good attention to detail and organisation skills
• Ability to plan and meet deadlines and proactively take ownership
• Strong interpersonal skills

Responsibilities

• Act as a first point of contact for day‑to‑day UK HR queries.
• Support recruitment activities, including raising requisitions, preparing new hire documentation, and coordinating onboarding processes.
• Monitor pre‑employment screening activities, including background checks, right‑to‑work verification, and escalation of any discrepancies.
• Coordinate weekly site inductions for new starters and deliver HR systems demonstrations.
• Conduct new starter engagement check‑ins to support a positive onboarding experience.
• Manage employee lifecycle administration by liaising with Shared Services to ensure activities are completed accurately and within agreed timelines.
• Track and monitor actions arising from site Tier meetings.
• Produce monthly HR metrics and reports, including headcount, starters, leavers, and absence data.
• Support quarterly HR audits by running reports, validating data, and escalating issues where required.
• Maintain accurate employee records and ensure data integrity across HR systems.
• Support employee relations activities by preparing documentation, drafting invitation letters, scheduling meetings, and maintaining case records.
• Attend employee relations meetings as required and ensure processes are followed through to completion.
• Respond to employee HR enquiries and provide guidance on policies, procedures, and HR processes.
• Monitor long‑term absence cases and support managers with short‑term absence management processes.
• Escalate complex employee relations matters to the Senior HR Generalist as appropriate.
• Support the planning and delivery of employee engagement initiatives and events.
• Assist with the implementation of employee feedback and action plans, including My Say initiatives.
• Participate in employee engagement networks and contribute ideas to enhance the employee experience.
• Support Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) activities, awareness campaigns, and site engagement events.
• Help coordinate communication and engagement activities across the site.
• Support the coordination and delivery of training programmes and learning initiatives.
• Assist with organising and delivering training sessions, including Team Leader and Respect & Ethics training.
• Maintain training records and ensure learning activities are accurately tracked.
• Provide administrative support for wider learning and development projects as required.

Skills

HR experience

Confidentiality

Communication

Attention to detail

Time management

Interpersonal skills

Tools

MS Office

Job description

• Compensation: GBP 26,784 - GBP 30,680 - yearly

Company Description

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is a global leader in mission-critical flow control solutions for energy and process industries that enable efficient and sustainable operations. Our products include mechanical seals and systems, couplings, bearings, filtration systems, and predictive digital monitoring technologies.

We have a global network of more than 200 sites in over 50 countries and employ more than 6,000 people worldwide. We partner with our customers to help them keep their operations safe, reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and meet the latest environmental standards.

John Crane is part of Smiths Group. For over 170 years, Smiths has been pioneering progress by engineering for a better future. We serve millions of people every year, helping to create a safer, more efficient, productive, and better-connected world across four global markets: energy, security & defence, space & aerospace, and general industrial. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Smiths employs approximately 16,000 colleagues in over 50 countries.

John Crane is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to crafting an inclusive environment for all employees.

Job Description

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic Apprentice HR Generalist to join our HR team and support the delivery of a professional, responsive, and people-focused HR service. Working closely with the Senior HR Generalist, you will gain hands‑on experience across the full employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, engagement, HR administration, reporting, and learning & development.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to build a career in Human Resources. As your knowledge and confidence grow, you will quickly take ownership of key HR activities while continuing to receive support and guidance on more complex HR matters.

The HR Generalist Apprentice will act as a first point of contact for employees and managers, ensuring HR processes are delivered efficiently, accurately, and in line with company policies and procedures.

Key Responsibilities

HR Administration & Data Management

• Act as a first point of contact for day‑to‑day UK HR queries.
• Support recruitment activities, including raising requisitions, preparing new hire documentation, and coordinating onboarding processes.
• Monitor pre‑employment screening activities, including background checks, right‑to‑work verification, and escalation of any discrepancies.
• Coordinate weekly site inductions for new starters and deliver HR systems demonstrations.
• Conduct new starter engagement check‑ins to support a positive onboarding experience.
• Manage employee lifecycle administration by liaising with Shared Services to ensure activities are completed accurately and within agreed timelines.
• Track and monitor actions arising from site Tier meetings.
• Produce monthly HR metrics and reports, including headcount, starters, leavers, and absence data.
• Support quarterly HR audits by running reports, validating data, and escalating issues where required.
• Maintain accurate employee records and ensure data integrity across HR systems.

Employee Relations

• Support employee relations activities by preparing documentation, drafting invitation letters, scheduling meetings, and maintaining case records.
• Attend employee relations meetings as required and ensure processes are followed through to completion.
• Respond to employee HR enquiries and provide guidance on policies, procedures, and HR processes.
• Monitor long‑term absence cases and support managers with short‑term absence management processes.
• Escalate complex employee relations matters to the Senior HR Generalist as appropriate.

Employee Engagement

• Support the planning and delivery of employee engagement initiatives and events.
• Assist with the implementation of employee feedback and action plans, including My Say initiatives.
• Participate in employee engagement networks and contribute ideas to enhance the employee experience.
• Support Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) activities, awareness campaigns, and site engagement events.
• Help coordinate communication and engagement activities across the site.

Learning & Development

• Support the coordination and delivery of training programmes and learning initiatives.
• Assist with organising and delivering training sessions, including Team Leader and Respect & Ethics training.
• Maintain training records and ensure learning activities are accurately tracked.
• Provide administrative support for wider learning and development projects as required.

Qualifications

• HR experience
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office suite e.g. Outlook, Word, PowerPoint Excel, Pivot tables
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Good attention to detail and organisation skills
• Ability to plan and meet deadlines and proactively take ownership
• Strong interpersonal skills

Additional Information

With colleagues stretching across the globe, we are proud of our diversity. To foster inclusivity, we run employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide a safe space for employees to connect and support each other. Our cross‑business ERGs include Veterans, Pride Network, Black Employee Network, Women@Work Network, and Neurodiversity.

Across our company, we recognize excellence, culminating in the Smiths Excellence Awards, our annual celebration of the most extraordinary activities, people, and projects that best showcase our strengths and help drive our business forward. We announce these on our annual Smiths Day, a global celebration of Smiths around our network.

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.