Head of Employee Relations

University Hospital Southampton NHS FT; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust invites applications for Head of Employee Relations. The role leads a ten-strong ER team serving ~13,000 staff, delivering fair, constructive ER and strong partnership with unions. Hybrid working is available, with a focus on strategic leadership and complex case resolution.

You will bring extensive HR leadership, deep knowledge of UK employment law and a track record of shaping organisation-wide ER strategy and policy in a large NHS setting.

Qualifications

• Degree-level education or equivalent demonstrated knowledge and experience.
• Chartered CIPD membership and professional HR qualification.
• Masters-level specialist HR knowledge through postgraduate study or equivalent.
• Formal management or leadership qualification.
• Employment law qualification and agenda for change evaluation training.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Employee Relations function within a large, complex organisation.
• Provide strategic employment law advice and manage high-stakes ER cases.
• Collaborate with unions, stakeholders and senior governance forums to shape policy.
• Oversee service performance, budget and team development, with strong partnership working.

Skills

Leadership

Employment law

Negotiation

Policy development

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree-level education or equivalent

Chartered Membership of the CIPD

Masters-level HR knowledge

Chartered Fellow of the CIPD

Formal management or leadership qualification

Training or accreditation in psychometric or development tools

Employment law qualification

Qualified Agenda for Change job evaluator

Job description

Job Overview

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Job Title

Head of Employee Relations

Contract Type

Permanent

Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications.

Main duties of the job

Passionate about Employee Relations? Commercially astute, with an excellent grasp of employment law, and the ability to manage complex medical ER cases? Shrewd negotiator who can translate complex information into digestible papers? If this sounds like you then our Head of Employee Relations role may be just the opportunity you are looking for.

Our ten-strong ER team provides a proactive and compassionate service to c.13000 staff at UHS. It also delivers advice to our Subsidiary companies (e.g. UHS Estates Limited, UHS Hospital Pharmacy) and hosted services (e.g. Wessex Cancer Alliance, Health Innovation Wessex), who mainly work under NHS terms and conditions. We’re seeking a leader to continue to develop the service, building on excellent foundations, focusing on providing fair, consistent and constructive ER, linked to strong partnership working with our Union colleagues.

Working for our organisation

As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated ‘Good’ by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care.

We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 30% lower than London and 17 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

You’ll be a seasoned ER professional, ideally with experience of Medical ER. Your passion for employment law and willingness to try innovative means to resolve issues will be clear, as will your ability to work with highly intelligent stakeholders, creating and delivering strategies to resolve tricky MHPS cases.

An authentic leader who supports and challenges their team in tandem, you’ll enjoy working in a varied and challenging role. We operate hybrid working with approximately half time spent onsite, flexibility is required in order to support our clinical colleagues.

This role will offer you an interesting personal caseload, working on our most challenging cases, as well as the opportunity to mould and develop our excellent ER team. Strong leadership skills, high intellect and a sense of humour are essential!

Interview Process

Interviews will consist of two stages and will commence the week of November 9th 2026

Person specification

Qualifications, Training And Memberships

• Degree-level education or equivalent demonstrable knowledge and experience.
• Chartered Membership of the CIPD
• Masters-level specialist HR knowledge, acquired through postgraduate study or equivalent advanced training and substantial relevant experience.

• Chartered Fellow of the CIPD
• Formal management or leadership qualification
• Training or accreditation in psychometric or development tools
• Employment law qualification
• Qualified Agenda for Change job evaluator

Knowledge and Experience

• Substantial senior HR leadership experience in a large, complex organisation, including leadership of an employee relations service or function
• Expert current knowledge of UK employment law and its application to complex employee relations matters
• Significant experience of managing highly complex, sensitive and contentious employee relations cases, including cases with no clear precedent
• Experience of employment tribunal case management and working with legal advisers
• Significant experience of formal consultation and negotiation with recognised trade unions.
• Experience of developing and implementing organisation-wide employment policy and leading major organisational change
• Experience of analysing complex workforce information, identifying trends and risks, and presenting recommendations to senior governance forums
• Experience of managing teams, service performance and delegated budgets

• NHS senior People/HR experience
• Experience leading complex medical employee relations cases in line with Maintaining High Professional Standards
• Experience of recruitment and selection assessment methods

Trust Values

• Patients First
• Always Improving
• Working Together