Ask HR Team Leader - People Relations Advice

BT Group; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

10% on target annual bonus

Private GP access 24/7

Carers leave up to 2 weeks

Maternity, paternity, adoption leave –

BT product discounts

Pension 5% employee / 10% employer

Holiday purchase scheme

Job summary

BT Group is seeking a Team Leader for the Ask HR People Manager Advice Team. You will lead, coach and develop a team of advisors to provide high-quality, customer-focused guidance on employee relations matters.

The role involves travel to the Bristol office once or twice per month, ensuring timely and effective advisory service while driving performance and continuous improvement across BT Group.

Qualifications

• Experience in a fast paced, demanding HR role.
• Knowledge of Employment Relations processes including sickness absence, performance management, grievances and misconduct.
• Experience in managing a team in a HR/services or Employee Relations environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a team of People Manager Advisors to deliver high-quality advisory support.
• Manage team workloads and resource allocation to meet service levels.
• Keep the team updated on policy changes and employment practices to ensure compliant advice.
• Provide real-time guidance for complex employee relations queries and escalation as needed.
• Act as first point of escalation for complex cases and coordinate handovers to specialists.

Skills

HR experience

ER processes

Performance management

Education

CIPD Level 3+

Job description

About the role

The Ask HR People Manager Advice Team provides People Relations advice and guidance to managers across BT Group, helping them navigate a wide range of employee relations matters with confidence and consistency.

As Team Leader, you will lead, coach and develop a team of advisors, ensuring a high-quality, customer-focused service that equips people managers with the advice and support they need to effectively manage their teams.

You will be responsible for driving performance, building capability and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, whilst ensuring the team delivers a timely and effective advisory service.

The People Manager Advice Team acts as the first point of contact for People Relations matters, providing guidance on company policies, procedures and appropriate case management pathways. The team offers real-time advisory support on issues such as performance management, disciplinary, and sickness absence, and identifies when cases require escalation to People Relations Specialists for further intervention and support.

The role will require you to travel to Bristol office when required - typically once or twice per month.

What you’ll be doing

• Team leadership across multiple contact channels, including the telephony advice line, ensuring a consistent and effective customer experience.
• Lead, coach and develop a team of People Manager Advisors, creating a high-performing culture focused on delivering exceptional support and advice.
• Keep the team informed and up to date on changes to policies, procedures, employment practices and business initiatives, ensuring advice remains accurate and compliant.
• Support advisors with real-time guidance and decision-making, helping them confidently manage complex or challenging employee relations queries.
• Act as the first point of escalation for complex people relations cases, ensuring appropriate resolution or handover to specialist teams where required.
• Manage and prioritise team workloads and resource allocation, ensuring service levels are maintained and customer demand is effectively met.
• Use data, insight and performance metrics to identify trends, drive continuous improvement and enhance both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
• Drive team performance to achieve customer experience, quality and service level (SLA) targets, while embedding a culture of accountability and excellence.
• Collaborate with People Relations colleagues and key stakeholders across BT Group to deliver business objectives and continuously improve the manager support experience.
• Oversee the triage and allocation of employee relations cases, ensuring matters are assessed, prioritised and routed appropriately to achieve the best outcomes for managers, employees and the business.

Essential Skills / Experience

• Experience of working in a fast paced demanding HR role.
• Knowledge and experience of managing and/or advising on Employment Relations processes such as sickness absence, performance management, grievance and misconduct.
• Experience in managing a team, ideally from a HR services, Employee Relations or similar customer facing environment

Desirable Skills / Experience

• Ability to assess cases in a timely and efficient manner, interpret data and use judgement to assess risk, and be confident in escalating where necessary
• Understand the need for confidentiality regarding documents processed, systems maintained and access to confidential material within the HR community.
• Experience of collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders
• Delivering a service which goes above and beyond our colleagues’ expectations including experience in handling escalations and compliant resolution
• Knowledge of wider HR practices and industry standards including NPS and CSAT
• CIPD Level 3 or above
• Able to travel to Bristol office when required

Our Package

Tailored benefits make a real difference. That’s why we offer a comprehensive range to support your growth, wellbeing, and everyday life. You can design the package to suit you and your lifestyle. Your core benefits include:

• 10% on target annual bonus
• Access to an online private GP 24/7 for you and your immediate family
• Market-leading paid carers leave with up to 2 weeks off
• Equalised maternity, paternity, and adoption leave – 18 weeks’ full pay and 8 weeks’ half pay
• Discounted EE and BT products, including mobile and broadband
• Market leading Pension scheme – 5% from you and 10% from us
• Holiday purchase scheme

BT Group is the UK’s leading communications group and the holding company behind some of the country’s most recognised brands – including BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet. Our purpose is as simple as it is ambitious: we connect for good. Our customers include consumers, small, medium and large businesses, public sector organisations and other communications providers. BT Group’s role is about setting direction, unlocking value and creating the conditions for our brands and businesses to thrive. Having come through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, our focus now is on what comes next – simplifying how we operate, using technology and AI to work smarter, and organising ourselves to serve customers better and grow sustainably. Group teams shape strategy, policy, brand, capital allocation and transformation, helping the whole organisation perform at its best. We have a singular culture that unites all our people: we are customer-first challengers, who are committed, clear and connected. These behaviours unite us as one team to deliver for our colleagues, our customers, our stakeholders and the country. Joining BT Group means working at the heart of a business that matters to the UK, with the opportunity to shape decisions, influence outcomes and help set the future course of one of the country’s most important companies.