HR Advisor

Merseywestlancs; St Helens; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

NHS pension

27 days annual leave

Staff health & wellbeing programme

Employee discounts

Job summary

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking a HR Advisor Band 5 to join the Lead Employer Service on a permanent full-time basis. The role blends site-based work with remote duties, supporting attendance management and HR case work.

You will work with the HR Advisory Team, deliver compliant employment advice, develop processes, and engage with stakeholders across NHS partners. A degree or equivalent and level 5 CIPD are preferred; interviews include assessment tasks.

Qualifications

• Degree educated or equivalent
• CIPD Level 5 qualified or working towards
• Experience in NHS/public sector HR is desirable
• Knowledge of employment law and HR best practice

Responsibilities

• Provide HR advice to stakeholders via remote platforms such as Microsoft Teams
• Manage attendance and other HR casework in line with Lead Employer policies
• Support HR service delivery with monitoring and reporting
• Assist with complex cases and change management in a fast-paced NHS environment

Education

Degree/equivalent

CIPD Level 5

Tools

Microsoft Teams

Job description

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

Job overview

HR Advisor Band 5, Permanent, Full Time (37.5 hours)

Agile Working (mixture of site based and working from home)

We currently have a fantastic opportunity for a HR Advisor to join our experienced and friendly HR Business Partner and Advisory Team in our Lead Employer Service.

The successful applicant will be responsible for providing effective and solution focussed HR advice to all our stakeholders via remote platforms such as Microsoft Teams. As a HR advisor for the Lead Employer Service you will have proven experience of working collaboratively and building positive stakeholder relationships.

Working within our team of experienced HR professionals you will be able to demonstrate a good understanding of employment legislation and experience of handling a range of HR case work and enjoy working in a fast-paced HR environment. You will also possess good attention to detail, committed to delivering to the highest of standards and able to communicate at all levels. This varied role provides an exciting opportunity for those who are degree educated (or equivalent) and level 5 CIPD qualified (or working towards).

Please note interviews will include assessment tasks.

Main duties of the job

• Support and Lead on the management of attendance for our specialty trainees, working closely with Health, Work and Well-being, Host Trusts and NHS England Education to support phased return to work plans and implementation of workplace adjustments etc.
• Provide expert HR advice in line with Lead Employer policies and procedures keeping in line with best practice and employment legislation. This will predominantly be regarding attendance management but will also encompass other employee relation matters.
• Work with the HR senior management team to effectively deliver an effective HR service to our stakeholders through implementation of effective monitoring systems to support the delivery of service against our Service Level Agreement
• Support the development and implementation of robust systems and processes to enable effective monitoring and management of attendance management.
• We are looking for a resilient individual who has a passion to make a difference, ability to form good working relationships and wishes to learn and develop. You will have the opportunity to work along side senior colleagues such as our Medical Director, Head of HR and other external organisations including the General Medical Council, British Medical Association, NHS England Education and NHS Resolution.

We actively promote applications for flexible working. and will be part of a team where we encourage and support each other’s health and well-being.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our Services

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancs. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Operational Planning

• To contribute to the development of a stakeholder engagement plan that is aligned to the service delivery objectives and standards required by the Lead Employer.
• Facilitate the provision of workforce information to enable the development of workforce plans.

HR Service Delivery

• To support and lead on a variety of key HR projects to enhance the employee experience and continually improve HR services.
• Support managers with disciplinary, grievance and respect at work investigations, and participate in formal hearings and appeals as required
• Provide an Employment Advisory service on of terms and conditions of service, Trust Policies and procedures and HR best practice
• Support stakeholders in the provision of advice and guidance in line with the relevant policy throughout the Post Graduate Doctor and Dentist Lifecycle.
• Support the specialty schools in improving the health and wellbeing of their Post Graduate Doctors and Dentists in Training by managing sickness absence in line with Trust policy by:-
• Facilitate the provision of timely and appropriate workforce information to stakeholders on attendance
• Maintain accurate and up to date absence monitoring and management information to support stakeholders in optimising attendance
• Providing advice on long term sickness management issues
• Coordinating the sickness review meetings
• Advise on ill health retirement/medical terminations as appropriate
• Provide guidance to stakeholders and staff on the consultation process for the management of change.
• Provide support by assisting with documentation, attending consultation meetings and one to one meetings as required.
• Identify staff requiring redeployment, and liaise with the recruitment team to ensure access to suitable alternative employment
• Maintain accurate HR records and filing systems, and keep up to date the Employee Relations tracker/ case log
• Implement & monitor compliance in relation to data protection, equality and diversity and other HR related legislation.
• Comment on and contribute to the review and development of HR Policies and Procedures
• Ensure compliance with HR Policies and highlighting risks to the Assistant HR Business Partner
• Supporting all stakeholders and Post Graduate Doctors and Dentists in Training with the end-to-end progression of the Attendance Management of Long Term sickness cases.
• Liaising with stakeholders to ensure the implementation and monitoring of management information to ensure any adjustments as implemented such as health and conduct
• Support the Assistant HR Business Partner with the management of complex cases such as health, conduct, Respect and Dignity at Work.
• Provide advice and guidance on the Junior Doctors 2016 Terms and Conditions of Service

Service Improvement & Change Management

• Support designated area of responsibility in modernisation, new ways of working and continuous improvement of the service.
• Contribute to the improvement activity & new ways of working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the HR department.
• Seek stakeholder feedback from designated area of responsibility and make recommendations to the HR Business Partner.
• Undertake and participate in projects as required.
• To continually promote equality and diversity and undertake equality impact assessments when required

Communications, Partnership & Staff Involvement

• Develop & maintain effective internal and external communication networks to support the delivery of the HR Strategy.
• Work in partnership with Staff Side representatives and support managers in the implementation and monitoring of partnership working.
• Work closely with other HR Colleagues to ensure a ‘seamless’ HR Service to divisions optimising opportunities for working collaboratively towards the provision of an integrated HR & OD service
• Work in collaboration with key stakeholders such as Health, Education England Pay & Staff Services, Health, Work and Wellbeing, Workforce Planning, Equality Lead and Learning & Development

Performance Management

• Contribute to the development and achievement of any HR targets or performance indicators
• Ensure the provision of accurate and timely information to designated area of responsibility
• Support stakeholders in the analysis of HR metrics/ statistics, highlighting any trends.
• Support stakeholders in the development of action plans to address any areas which require improvement
• Coach and guide stakeholder on specific employment relations issues emphasising the importance of good record keeping and data protection.
• Line management responsibilities ensuring regular one-two-one’s and careers conversations take place.

Teamwork & Development

• Be responsible for own development, including attendance at mandatory training and continually keep up to date with changes to employment legislation and best practice.
• Support HR colleagues in their continuous professional development including the Assistant HR Advisor and Absence Support Team.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain Professional Registration
• Adhere to relevant Code of Practice of Professional body

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work in partnership with stakeholders to ensure the timely completion of HR documentation such as monthly school reports and absence dashboards
• Work in partnership with internal stakeholders to ensure accurate and timely processing of pay adjustments, incremental point changes, removal/ addition of protection on pay/ hour of work.
• Attend meetings and provide accurate minutes
• Assist stakeholders in the resolution of contractual queries
• Facilitate the monitoring of regular report on contractual matters, i.e. ETWD compliance, Employment Checks, Fixed terms contracts and Secondments, highlighting any areas of concern.

TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSBILITIES

• Deliver training sessions on HR policies and procedures

Person specification

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level and/or equivalent qualification and/or equivalent level of experience
• CIPD Level 5 qualified or willingness to work towards
• Evidence of continuing professional development or equivalent experience
• Employment Law Qualification

Knowledge & Experience

• Operational HR experience gained within a unionised environment
• Sound knowledge of employment law and HR best practice
• Employment relations – staff side partnership working
• Knowledge of NHS terms and conditions of employment
• Understanding of terms and conditions of contracts of employment
• Good understanding of the challenges affecting the NHS
• Employee Relations Experience
• Experience of working in a HR role in the NHS or public sector organisation
• Experience of HR across more than one area of expertise e.g., employee relations, recruitment, organisational
• Knowledge of TUPE legislation
• Knowledge of capacity/resource planning; re-organisation/redundancy handling

Skills

• Well organised and ability to work under pressure
• Ability to analyse and interpret HR statistics
• Competent user of Information Technology
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to develop good working relationships with people at various levels
• Ability to plan effectively and work to tight deadlines
• Excellent attention to detail
• Achievement focused
• Ability to constructively challenge ways of working
• Successfully supporting and delivering multiple HR projects

Other

• Flexible approach to work
• Ability to travel to attend meetings off site by own car/access to assisted driver

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [e-mail]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.
Certificate of Sponsorship

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update
For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.
Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.
Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

• Understand how to generate an eVisa share code

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

• All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
• There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
• Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You will be expected to undertake the Trusts' commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here .

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.