ER Manager

Wessex Water Services; Bath; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 20%

Career progression & development

25 days holiday rising to 28

Sell/transfer up to five days of leave

Buy up to ten days of holiday

Healthcare package

Life assurance up to 8x salary

Electric car salary sacrifice

Cashback & discounts

Volunteering day

Enhanced family leave & pay

Wellbeing platform

Mental health first aiders

Referral bonus £1,000

Job summary

Wessex Water is seeking an experienced Employee Relations Manager to lead and continuously develop the Group Employee Relations framework. You will provide strategic guidance on complex people matters and workforce governance across the organisation.

In this role, you will partner with senior leaders, trade unions and HR colleagues to drive employee engagement, governance and effective decision-making within a high-performing culture.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in Employee Relations or senior HR advisory roles.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and handling complex employee relations cases.
• Experience supporting organisational change, including restructures, redundancy and TUPE.
• Experience working with Trade Unions and employee representatives.
• Excellent coaching, influencing, negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
• Experience leading and developing HR teams and building manager capability.
• Strong analytical skills to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• CIPD Level 7 qualification is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead and continuously develop the Group Employee Relations framework with governance, compliance and consistency.
• Manage and develop the HR Adviser team delivering a high-quality ER service across the Group.
• Act as the Employee Relations expert, guiding on complex and high-risk people matters.
• Build manager capability through coaching, training and practical ER support.
• Lead complex cases and change activities including disciplinary, grievance, absence, restructures, redundancy and TUPE.
• Partner with Trade Unions and employee representatives, supporting consultation and managing IR risks.
• Use data and insights to identify trends, manage people risks and drive improvements.
• Review and develop policies, processes and governance to support continuous improvement.

Skills

Employee Relations

UK employment law

Stakeholder management

Coaching

Negotiation

Conflict resolution

People management

Data analysis

Education

CIPD Level 7

Job description

We're looking for an experienced and commercially minded Employee Relations Manager to lead and continuously develop our Group Employee Relations framework.

This is a key leadership role, responsible for ensuring a consistent, legally compliant and people-focused approach to employee relations across the organisation. Acting as our recognised Employee Relations subject matter expert, you'll provide strategic guidance on complex people matters, organisational change, workforce risk and governance, while helping to build manager capability and drive positive employee outcomes.

You'll work closely with senior leaders, trade unions, HR colleagues and managers across the Group, ensuring employee relations practices support organisational performance, employee engagement and effective decision-making.

What you'll do

As Employee Relations Manager, you will:

• lead and continuously improve the Group Employee Relations framework, ensuring effective governance, compliance and consistency
• manage and develop the HR Adviser team, delivering a high-quality employee relations service across the Group
• act as the organisation's employee relations expert, providing guidance on complex and high-risk people matters
• build manager capability through coaching, training and practical employee relations support
• lead complex cases and organisational change activities, including disciplinary, grievance, absence, restructuring, redundancy and TUPE matters
• partner with Trade Unions and employee representatives, supporting consultation and managing industrial relations risks
• use data and insights to identify trends, manage people risks and drive proactive improvements
• review and develop policies, processes and governance arrangements to support continuous improvement and best practice.

What you'll need

We're looking for an experienced employee relations professional with strong employment law knowledge, excellent stakeholder management skills and a proactive, solutions-focused approach.

You'll have:

• significant experience in Employee Relations, HR Business Partnering or a senior HR advisory role
• strong knowledge of UK employment law and managing complex employee relations cases
• experience supporting organisational change, including restructures, redundancy and TUPE
• experience working with Trade Unions and employee representatives
• excellent coaching, influencing, negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• experience leading and developing HR teams and building manager capability
• strong analytical skills with the ability to identify trends, risks and opportunities
• excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• CIPD Level 7 qualification, or equivalent experience, is desirable.

Why join us

This is an exciting opportunity to shape and influence the employee relations agenda across the Group. You'll play a pivotal role in strengthening governance, building leadership capability and helping create a positive and high-performing workplace culture.

What you'll receive

• A combined pension contribution of up to 20%.
• Career progression and professional development opportunities.
• 25 days' holiday rising to 28 with length of service.
• The opportunity to sell up to five days of holiday every year.
• The opportunity to buy up to ten days of holiday each year (subject to conditions).
• A healthcare package that allows you to claim back healthcare costs.
• Life assurance of up to eight times your salary.
• The opportunity to lease a new electric car through salary sacrifice (subject to conditions).
• Cashback and discounts from more than 3,000 retailers.
• One paid volunteering day each year.
• Enhanced family leave and pay arrangements.
• Access to an interactive health and wellbeing platform.
• Support from trained mental health first aiders.
• A £1,000 referral fee if you recommend someone who is successfully recruited by us.

Who we are

YTL UK is part of the international YTL Group based in Kuala Lumpur. The UK companies include:

• Wessex Water - one of the top-performing water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, serving 2.9 million people across the South West
• YTL Developments - a major UK developer currently redeveloping a 350-acre former airfield into an award-winning, exciting mix of houses, apartments, schools, commercial space, restaurants and hotels, to make a truly sustainable new community
• YTL Construction UK - a top 20 UK contractor providing fully integrated services to infrastructure, residential, commercial, industry, energy and environmental sectors
• YTL Live - the development and operation of an entertainment complex that includes a 20,000 capacity arena, conferencing and exhibition space
• plus a number of other retail, environmental and specialist businesses.

Our people tell us that YTL UK is a great place to work, which is why so many of them stay with us! You will have a unique opportunity to develop and progress your career within such a diverse group.

We are passionate about diversity and inclusion - with that in mind, all applicants are welcome. We are delighted to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and are a Disability Confident Employer.

If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process, please inform a member of our Recruitment team.