Employee Relations Manager

0400 FBD USA LLP; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshfields is seeking an experienced Employee Relations Manager to join its global ER team, primarily across the UK with hybrid working from Manchester Centre. You will advise HR colleagues and business leaders on complex ER matters, lead investigations, and drive policy ownership and archiving on a global scale.

You will bring significant ER experience, solid knowledge of UK law, and a proactive, collaborative approach to improve employee relations and policy delivery across regions.

Qualifications

• Significant experience managing a broad range of employee relations matters independently.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and ER best practice.
• Confident use of AI tools and technology to optimise working practices.
• Experience advising managers and stakeholders on complex and sensitive employee issues.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist expert advice on complex employee relations matters, including conduct, complaints, conflict management, sickness absence and performance management.
• Lead and manage complex employee relations cases from initial consultation through to resolution.
• Conduct workplace investigations for any region across Freshfields’ global offices.
• Lead on a project to assign ownership, management and archiving of HR policies globally.
• Deliver practical and commercially focused advice that balances business needs with legal requirements.
• Deliver employee relations training and coaching to managers and HR teams.
• Keep abreast of developments in employment law and ER trends, ensuring advice remains current and effective.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across the Employee Relations and wider HR function.

Skills

Employee relations management

UK employment law

ER best practices

AI tools usage

presentation skills

advising managers

interpersonal skills

commercial judgment

stakeholder management

Tools

AI tools

Job description

About Freshfields

At Freshfields we are committed to creating an inclusive, high-performing and supportive workplace where our colleagues can thrive and deliver exceptional service to our clients around the world. We are looking for an experienced Employee Relations Manager to join our global Employee Relations team. This is an exciting opportunity for an employee relations specialist to play a key role in shaping positive workplace experiences, supporting business leaders and HR colleagues, and helping to foster a culture built on integrity, engagement and high performance. The role Reporting to the Senior Employee Relations Manager, you will be an expert ER specialist providing advice to HR colleagues and business leaders mainly across the UK but also to other regions. You will provide expert guidance on a broad range of employee relations matters and lead ER projects ensuring that issues are managed fairly, consistently and in line with best practice and employment legislation. You will work collaboratively with HR colleagues and stakeholders across the firm, building strong relationships and helping managers navigate complex people matters with confidence. This role offers the opportunity to work on challenging and varied employee relations issues within a fast-paced, professional services environment, while contributing to wider people initiatives, policies and processes. The role will be based in Manchester Centre with hybrid working arrangements.

Key responsibilities

In this role, you will:

• Provide specialist expert advice and guidance on a wide range of complex employee relations matters, including conduct issues, complaints, conflict management, sickness absence (including ill-health capability) and performance management.
• Lead and manage complex employee relations cases from initial consultation through to resolution.
• Conduct workplace investigations for any region across Freshfields’ global offices.
• Lead on a project to assign ownership, management and archiving of HR policies globally.
• Support the development and implementation of employment policies, procedures and guidance.
• Deliver practical and commercially focused advice that balances business needs with legal and organisational requirements.
• Deliver employee relations training and coaching to managers and HR teams.
• Keep abreast of developments in employment law and emerging employee relations trends, ensuring advice remains current and effective.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across the Employee Relations and wider HR function.

About you

We are looking for a credible, positive and confident employee relations professional who enjoys building strong relationships and solving complex people challenges. You will bring:

• Significant experience managing a broad range of employee relations matters independently.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and employee relations best practice.
• Confident use of AI tools and technology to optimise working practices
• An engaging and confident presentation style especially when analysing and reporting back ER data trends and action plans
• Experience advising managers and stakeholders on complex and sensitive employee issues and coming up with creative problem-solving ideas.
• Compassionate and thoughtful interpersonal skills
• Excellent judgement and the ability to make balanced, commercially aware, and pragmatic decisions.
• Strong relationship-building and influencing skills, with the confidence to engage stakeholders at all levels.
• Outstanding communication skills, both written and verbal.

Why join us?

At Freshfields, you will have the opportunity to work alongside talented colleagues in a friendly, fun, collaborative and supportive environment. You'll play an important role in helping shape the employee experience while developing your expertise within a globally recognised professional services firm.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing. Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account (eg the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision. Freshfields is a global law firm with a long-standing track record of successfully supporting the world’s leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments on ground-breaking and business critical mandates. At Freshfields we seek to create a better future for our clients, our people and the communities in which we work. Our global teams bring together individuals with different experiences, skills and strengths in a culture where we support all to belong, engage and excel.