Employee Relations Consultant

Aegon UK; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 46,000 - 71,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company in Edinburgh is looking for an Employee Relations Consultant on a 12-month fixed term contract. The role involves providing ER expertise, advising on complex cases, and contributing to important projects. Candidates should have experience in employment policies and managing sensitive cases, with strong influencing skills and knowledge of UK employment legislation. Competitive salary and benefits offered, including a robust pension scheme and flexible working model.

Benefits

Enhanced pension scheme

Discretionary bonus

36 days leave per year

Private medical cover

Life assurance

Retail discount vouchers

Qualifications

• Experience in contributing to employee relations aspects of organisational change.
• Ability to problem solve in complex and sensitive circumstances.
• Experience in working with and building relationships with trade unions.

Responsibilities

• Provide employee relations subject matter expertise.
• Advise managers on complex cases including investigations and hearings.
• Contribute to and lead business and People projects.

Skills

Experience of the design, development and implementation of employment policies

Experience managing complex disciplinary and grievance cases

Strong influencing skills

Awareness of current UK employment legislation

Job description

Job Description Summary

Employee Relations Consultant

12 Month Fixed Term Contract

Location: Edinburgh (We believe in the power of in-person collaboration, and our hybrid model requires colleagues to be in the office a minimum of 40% of their time)

Salary: A competitive salary from £46,960 - £70,440 depending on the experience you can bring

Closing date: 4th November 2025

People are living longer, and we’re excited by the opportunities this brings to help people live their best lives. We’re here for everyone who wants to make the most of their time on the planet and leave it a little better than they found it – however grand or humble their ambitions.

We help people live their best lives. We help them with the big stuff, for the moments that matter: Pensions, Savings, Investments. At Aegon, we strive in creating a diverse organisation that plays a meaningful role in driving greater equity, inclusion and belonging.

Our People function puts our people at the heart of everything we do. Working in partnership with senior leadership to design and deliver an effective people strategy, so Aegon has the people, culture and capabilities required now, and in the future, to meet business goals that deliver for our customers.

We now have an opportunity to join us in Edinburgh on a 12 Month Fixed Term basis as an Employee Relations Consultant.

You’ll work closely with People and wider business colleagues to provide technical ER advice and support. As an SME participating in or leading projects, you will focus on providing effective business solutions. These projects will include the development of employment policy and practice to ensure compliance with legislation, whilst meeting business needs and considering the impact of interventions on the organisation’s culture and employee engagement.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Providing employee relations subject matter expertise, with a particular focus on restructuring, redundancy, and TUPE, to deliver relevant, commercial, pragmatic, and effective advice, with a role in highlighting internal/external risks.
• Providing advice and guidance to managers on more complex or serious cases including: investigations of gross misconduct, disciplinary hearings for summary dismissal and capability hearings, grievances, and appeals, to ensure those activities are conducted in accordance with legislation, case law principles, and best practice.
• Contributing to and leading business and People projects to enable business growth and enhance organisational performance, providing solutions to complex problems.
• Working with the Senior ER Manager and internal stakeholders to analyse case management trends, developing tailored case management support.
• Maintaining and developing an effective and up to date suite of HR and employment policies and employment contract templates.

We’d love to hear from you if you have:

• Experience of the design, development and implementation of employment policies.
• Experience of contributing to employee relations aspects of organisational change eg restructuring, redundancy, TUPE, M&A and outsourcing.
• Experience managing complex disciplinary and grievance cases
• The ability to problem solve and find solutions in often complex and sensitive circumstances.
• Awareness of current UK employment legislation and legislative developments which impact Human Resources.
• Strong influencing skills, with the ability to constructively challenge others
• Experience in successfully working with and building relationships with trade unions, including negotiations.

What’s in it for you?

• We’re serious about your future and our enhanced pension scheme is now in place. We ask you to contribute 3% of your salary to your pension and we’ll put in 9%. If you decide to contribute more, we’ll match it up to a combined total of 20% of your salary (that’s 7% from you and 13% from us).
• A discretionary bonus, depending on personal and company performance
• 36 days leave per year (including bank holidays, pro-rated for part-time)

We also offer private medical cover, life assurance, critical illness cover, enhanced parental leave and a variety of lifestyle benefits to help our employees live their best lives, including retail discount vouchers, cycle2work scheme, subsidised restaurant and online GP appointments. To find out more about what to expect at Aegon, visit our careers site.

Ready to take your career to the next level? Apply now!

The legal bits

We’ll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK. If we offer you a job and you accept, there are some checks we need to complete before you can start with us. This will include a credit and criminal record check, as well as providing satisfactory references.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their age, disability, race, religion/belief, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.