Employee Relations Specialist

Gowling WLG; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

25 days annual leave

Private medical insurance

Generous pension

Life assurance

Sabbatical every 5 years

Job summary

Gowling WLG in Birmingham is recruiting an Employee Relations Specialist to support the HR Advisory team. You will manage complex ER matters, advise stakeholders, and contribute to HR projects that shape a positive and consistent employee experience.

The role requires solid UK employment law knowledge, strong communication, and the ability to influence across the business. A hybrid working pattern is offered with a focus on engaging, data-informed decision making.

Qualifications

• Experience managing a broad range of employee relations cases end-to-end.
• Solid understanding of UK employment law and its practical application.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide proactive ER support across the full employee lifecycle.
• Advise and influence stakeholders to deliver pragmatic, well-judged outcomes.
• Support HR projects and the People & Talent strategy.
• Prepare case documentation and formal correspondence.

Skills

Employee relations

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Education

CIPD Level 7 qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for an Employee Relations Specialist to join our HR team based in Birmingham. In this role, you will play a key part within the HR Advisory team, helping to shape a positive and consistent employee experience across the firm.

Job Description

You will provide proactive, commercially focused support across the full employee lifecycle, with a particular emphasis on managing complex employee relations matters. Acting as a trusted advisor, you will balance risk, pragmatism and commercial insight to deliver solutions that support both the business and our people. You will build strong relationships with stakeholders, influencing effectively and helping to foster a fair, inclusive and high-performing culture.

Alongside your advisory responsibilities, you will play an active role in HR projects and strategic initiatives, working collaboratively with HR Business Partners and the wider team to support organisational change, continuous improvement and the delivery of our People & Talent strategy. This includes shaping and enhancing ER frameworks, processes and tools, as well as supporting initiatives that drive engagement, performance and retention.

About you

We’re looking for an experienced HR professional with a strong track record of managing a broad range of employee relations cases end-to-end, including complex and high-risk matters. You will bring a solid understanding of UK employment law and its practical application, alongside the confidence to build strong relationships with stakeholders and influence effectively, including providing constructive challenge where needed.

With a balanced, commercial mindset, you will be able to navigate people, regulatory and business considerations to deliver pragmatic, well-judged outcomes. You will also have excellent written and verbal communication skills, tailoring your approach to suit a variety of audiences, and a high level of attention to detail, particularly when preparing case documentation and formal correspondence.

Strong organisational and technical skills are essential, including proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint and Word) to support data analysis, reporting and the creation of professional documentation.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Experience at HR Advisor / ER Specialist level within a law firm or regulated environment
• Experience using HR data and insights to inform decision-making
• CIPD Level 7 qualification

What We Can Offer You

The opportunity to work for a firm which has been recognised as one of the best places to work in the UK and has been ranked by Great Place to Work for 26 consecutive years.

Excellent benefits, including:

• A hybrid approach to office and remote working
• 25 days annual leave, with the option to buy up to a week's extra annual leave
• Free private medical insurance, and the option to add family members
• A generous pension allowance
• Life assurance covering four times your annual salary
• The chance of a three-month sabbatical every five years
• Maternity, paternity and adoption leave schemes
• A range of health and wellbeing programmes
• State of the art offices, in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, with an onsite restaurant
• Opportunities to flourish in your role through training and personal development

Equal Opportunities

Gowling WLG is committed both to promoting equality and diversity in the firm and to Equal Opportunities in employment. The firm believes in equality of opportunity regardless of race or racial group (including colour, nationality, ethnicity, national origins), religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender re-assignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity. This also includes any incidents of perceptive or associative discrimination and harassment.

At Gowling WLG we seek to attract and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, to create an exciting and rewarding place to work. Our aim is to fulfil everyone's potential and together to achieve personal and business goals.