Employee Relations Executive (FTC until October 2027)

Carnival Corporation & plc; England; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounted Cruising

Generous leave entitlement

Health Cash Plan

Pension scheme

Employee shares

Learning and development opportunities

Job summary

Carnival UK is seeking an Employee Relations Executive (FTC until Oct 2027) to join the People and Legal team. You’ll handle ER queries, guide managers, and escalate complex matters as needed.

The role offers a hybrid pattern with up to two days from home and a pathway to develop employment law, case management, and stakeholder advisory skills within a supportive ER team.

Qualifications

• Experience providing practical advice to managers on people matters.
• Strong understanding of UK employment law and ER processes.
• Experience managing or supporting ER casework such as disciplinary, grievance, absence management or performance cases.
• Excellent organisational and stakeholder engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of ER advice queries and lower‑risk casework within SLA.
• Provide clear, practical ER guidance to managers and build capability.
• Support restructures, reorganisations and ER projects under guidance of senior colleagues.
• Develop knowledge of UK employment law and apply it day‑to‑day in ER matters.
• Share case insights to support ER team learning and improvement.

Skills

ER advice

Stakeholder management

UK employment law

Employee relations

HR policies

CIPD qualification (Level 5+)

Education

CIPD Level 5 or above

Job description

Job Description

Carnival UK are a leading name in the holiday sector, dedicated to delivering unforgettable holiday happiness to our guests onboard our P&O Cruises and Cunard ships. Our success is built on a foundation of diverse talents and perspectives, and we believe in fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. In our continuous journey of growth and innovation at Carnival UK, we are seeking an Employee Relations Executive (FTC until October 2027) to join our People and Legal department.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with HR advisory or ER experience who is looking to build their career as an Employee Relations specialist within a supportive and experienced team. You'll manage your own portfolio of advice queries and lower-risk ER cases, supported by an experienced ER team, while developing your knowledge, judgement and confidence through exposure to broader and more complex ER matters.

Role Overview

This role reports into the Senior Manager, IR and ER. You will be responsible for providing clear, professional, and practical ER advice to managers across our shoreside and fleet operations, balancing risk to the business whilst helping them navigate people matters confidently and consistently within our policy framework.

This is a hands-on role where you'll build confidence managing your own portfolio of advice queries and lower-risk casework, using your ER knowledge and judgement to support and coach managers to reach appropriate outcomes, which recognising when a matter needs to be escalated. Working closely with our Employee Relations Consultants, Senior Consultant and Manager, you'll have the opportunity to learn from exposure to more complex ER issues, organisational change activity and develop your employment law, case management and stakeholder advisory skills, making this an excellent opportunity to develop your Employee Relations career.

This role is positioned at CUK10 level within our organisation and is available on a full-time, fixed term basis until October 2027. We offer hybrid working, including up to two days from home.

This pivotal role will involve:

• Managing your portfolio of ER advice queries and lower-risk casework across areas including sickness absence, disciplinary, grievance and performance, escalating more complex matters or higher risk matters where appropriate and ensuring all activity is managed in line with agreed Service Level Agreements.
• Providing clear, practical advice and guidance to managers, helping them handle ER issues confidently, building their capability and confidence, and ensuring they take ownership.
• Supporting consultation activities, restructures, reorganisations and wider ER projects under the guidance of experienced ER colleagues.
• Developing your knowledge of UK employment legislation and applying it appropriately to day-to-day ER matters.
• Sharing case insights and trends to support learning and continuous improvement across the ER team.

What You'll Bring

• Experience providing practical advice and guidance to managers on people matters, ER processes and HR policies.
• A sound understanding of UK employment law and Employee Relations processes, with the ability to apply this knowledge in day-to-day ER situations.
• Experience managing or supporting ER casework such as disciplinary, grievance, absence management or performance cases.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the confidence to work with a variety of stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• A CIPD qualification (Level 5 or above) would be advantageous, although equivalent professional knowledge and experience will also be considered

About You: The Ideal Candidate

You’ll enjoy working with people and solving problems, with a practical and curious approach to ER. You’ll be comfortable taking ownership of your work while knowing when to draw on the experience around you.

You are more than just your CV. You'll bring:

• A calm, thoughtful, well-organised and proactive approach to employee relations matters, and the resilience to manage changing priorities.
• Discretion and sound judgement when handling sensitive information confidentiality
• The confidence to have constructive conversations and guide managers through ER processes, building trust and confidence in every interaction.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, A commercial, pragmatic approach that balances process with practicality.

Why Join Us?

Working with us means more than just a role in the People team. It's about being part of a team that values well-being and personal growth. Read our employee experience guide to learn more about life as a Carnival UK colleague here.

Here’s what we offer:

• Employee Discounted Cruising plus Friends and Family offers
• Minimum 25 days leave, bank holiday allowance and holiday trading scheme
• Recognition scheme with prizes and awards
• Regular office events including live entertainment, lifestyle events and charity partner fundraisers
• Extensive learning and development opportunities
• Employee-led networks
• Employee Assistance and Wellbeing programmes
• Company paid Health Cash Plan and health assessment
• In-house Occupational Health help and access to digital GP
• Life Assurance
• Parental and adoption leave
• Employee Shares Plan
• Electric Car and Cycle to Work schemes
• Onsite restaurant offering range of healthy cooked and grab and go meals
• Discounted retail and leisure via discounts portal
• Contributory Defined Contribution Pension scheme
• A friendly welcome with help settling in

About Us

Holidays are one of life’s greatest pleasures. Having the chance to relax, escape and explore is a magical thing. And there is no better holiday than a cruise.

No one knows cruising like Carnival UK, where talented people from across the globe come together to create unforgettable holiday happiness. As part of the world’s largest holiday travel and leisure company, we take enormous pride in bringing to life two of the most iconic brands from Britain’s rich seafaring heritage, P&O Cruises and Cunard. Collectively they have been delivering unbridled joy, boundless adventure and lifelong memories to millions of people for over 350 years. And in a multi-million pound global holiday market, where cruising has barely scratched the surface, we have the opportunity to do that for many, many more people.

Our diverse yet tight knit teams share high standards, heartfelt values and passion for our purpose. Our Culture Essentials describe the expectations we have for ourselves and of each other, in building a culture that supports safe, sustainable, compliant operations and celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion.

It’s through the successful delivery of these extraordinary travel experiences for our target markets and our distinctive culture, that we hope to become Travel’s Employer of Choice.