HR Manager

Wetherby Group; Harrogate; Remote; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Wetherby Group is seeking an HR professional to take full operational ownership of HR for a c.70-employee single-site manufacturing business in North Yorkshire. The role reports to the Managing Director and supports day-to-day HR across employee relations, recruitment and administration.

You will maintain compliant documentation, lead payroll inputs with Finance, and partner with site leadership to embed a constructive workplace culture while aligning with JV and group requirements.

Qualifications

• Solid generalist HR experience in manufacturing or operations.
• Confident handling of ER cases end-to-end.
• Highly organised with strong documentation discipline.
• On-site presence and ability to build trust with blue- and white-collar staff.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end ER, disciplinary, absence and capability case management.
• Oversee recruitment from advert to onboarding and offers.
• Manage HR administration, contracts, letters and records.
• Update and implement UK policies; produce an employee handbook.
• Support managers with performance discussions and pay reviews.
• Maintain basic HR metrics and ad-hoc reporting.

Skills

Employee relations

Recruitment

HR administration

Policy development

People management

Payroll coordination

Education

CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent)

Job description

Reports to: Managing Director (Wetherby Laroc)
Dotted line: Country HR Business Partner / UK HR Lead (Henkel)

Location

Site-based (Wetherby Laroc / North Yorkshire) with occasional travel to Henkel UK HQ (Hemel Hempstead) as required.

Role Purpose

To take full operational ownership of HR for a c.70-employee single-site manufacturing business, ensuring compliant employee relations, effective recruitment delivery, and robust HR administration that supports business continuity and performance.

The role will provide practical, day-to-day HR support to managers and employees, while contributing to a stable and positive workplace culture aligned with the needs of the business.

The role is accountable for ensuring that HR operations run smoothly, risks are proactively managed, and managers are effectively supported to lead their teams.

Key Responsibilities & Expected Outcomes

Employee Relations & Case Management

• Manage disciplinary, grievance, absence and capability cases end-to-end to ensure timely, fair and legally compliant outcomes.
• Provide practical guidance to line managers on day-to-day people matters to reduce escalation and build confidence in handling issues locally.
• Maintain accurate documentation of all cases to ensure defensible and consistent decision-making.
• Monitor absence and behavioural trends to identify recurring issues and support early intervention.

Recruitment & Onboarding

• Lead recruitment activities from advert drafting through to offer and onboarding to ensure operational roles are filled efficiently.
• Partner with department heads to define role requirements and coordinate interviews to reduce vacancy downtime.
• Ensure compliant onboarding processes, including right-to-work checks and contractual documentation.
• Support probation management to improve early retention and performance clarity.

HR Administration & Compliance

• Issue contracts, variation letters and employee correspondence to ensure accurate and compliant employment documentation.
• Maintain up-to-date personnel files and HR records to safeguard compliance and data integrity.
• Coordinate payroll inputs with Finance to ensure accurate monthly processing.

Policies & Practical Structure

• Maintain and update core HR policies to ensure compliance with UK employment law.
• Consolidate existing policies into a structured and accessible employee handbook to improve clarity and transparency.
• Ensure consistent application of policies across departments to reduce inconsistency and perceived unfairness.

Performance & Manager Support

• Implement a simple and workable annual appraisal framework to introduce structure without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Support managers in setting expectations and documenting performance discussions to improve accountability.
• Provide guidance during pay review discussions by preparing structured information for leadership consideration.

HR Reporting

• Maintain basic HR metrics (headcount, absence, turnover) to provide leadership with visibility of workforce trends.
• Prepare ad-hoc reports as required to support operational decision-making.

Culture

• Champion a consistent and inclusive site culture by supporting internal communications, employee recognition and engagement initiatives that reinforce the values of the business.
• Work with leadership to identify cultural themes from ER trends, exit data and employee feedback, and recommend practical actions in response.
• Support the embedding of expected behaviours and ways of working across teams to improve day-to-day working relationships and retention.

Joint Venture Partner Alignment

• Act as the primary HR interface with the JV partner company’s HR function, enabling light-touch alignment on selected frameworks (e.g. job evaluation, pay review approach) while maintaining clear operational and legal independence of the business.
• Provide relevant people insights and updates to the JV partner company at an appropriate level to support governance visibility, without creating operational dependency.

Fleet Administration

• Oversee fleet administration (servicing, repairs, vehicle allocation, vendor coordination) to ensure cost control and compliance.
• Liaise with Finance regarding benefit-in-kind implications where applicable.

Experience & Profile

• Solid generalist HR experience, ideally within a manufacturing or operational environment.
• Comfortable managing ER cases independently and confidently.
• Highly organised with strong attention to documentation accuracy.
• Approachable and visible presence on-site, able to build trust across blue- and white-collar teams.
• Resilient and pragmatic, able to operate in a fast-paced, founder-led environment.
• Comfortable operating within a Joint Venture or group structure, with the confidence to engage with a JV partner company’s HR function whilst preserving appropriate autonomy.
• CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent practical experience).