HR professional

CROYDON HEALTH SERVICES NHS TRUST; Greater London; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Croydon Health Services NHS Trust is seeking an experienced HR professional to join our temporary Sickness Support Team as an ER Advisor. You will provide first-line advice on sickness absence, RTW, and hearings, ensuring compliant case progression and practical policy application.

You will train managers, analyse sickness data to target support, and collaborate with HRBPs, Occupational Health, and wellbeing teams to improve outcomes for staff and patients.

Qualifications

• Minimum proven HR experience with sickness absence knowledge.
• Experience in leading teams and applying HR policies in practice.
• Ability to advise on employee relations matters and hearings.

Responsibilities

• Be a trusted partner providing expert advice in sickness-related meetings (LTS, STS, RTW) with compliance.
• Deliver tailored 1:1 and team training on sickness processes and documentation standards.
• Use sickness absence data to inform monthly service allocations and target high-need areas.
• Collaborate with HR Business Partners, Occupational Health and Staff Wellbeing teams.
• Design and deliver a comprehensive training suite on sickness procedures and meeting prep.
• Maintain relationships with directorates and signpost to resources and best practices.

Skills

HR knowledge

Line management

Sickness absence

Training & coaching

Job description

As ER Advisor for the Sickness Support Team, you will:

• Be a trusted partner Provide expert advice in sickness-related meetings including Long-Term Sickness (LTS), Short-Term Sickness (STS), and Return to Work (RTW), ensuring procedural compliance, effective case progression, and appropriate guidance on reasonable adjustments and hearings.
• Manager Capability Building Deliver tailored 1:1 and team training on sickness absence processes, documentation standards, and system usage, while coaching and mentoring managers across varying levels of experience to build confidence and capability.
• Data-Driven Targeting Use sickness absence data to inform monthly service allocations and prioritise support for high-need areas, working collaboratively with HR Business Partners to align interventions with directorate needs.
• Work Collaboratively Partner with HR Business Partners, Occupational Health, Organisational Development, and Staff Well being teams to deliver proactive solutions, address hot spots, and support sustainable workforce health.
• Training Programme Development & Delivery Design and deliver a comprehensive training suite covering sickness procedures, meeting preparation, and documentation, using interactive methods such as role play to reinforce learning and build manager confidence.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Continuous Improvement Maintain strong relationships with directorates, act on feedback to enhance service delivery, and promote best practice by signposting managers to relevant resources and guidance.

We are looking for an experienced HR professional to join our temporary sickness support team. This role may also suit someone without formal HR experience but with significant experience in leading teams and line management, particularly where they havemanaged sickness absencewithin their team and applied relevant policies effectively. We are seeking individuals who can bring a strong understanding of HR processes and practical management experience to support the Temporary Sickness Support Team during this period. -You will be required to work onsite at least 4 days per week.

Reducing sickness rates and supporting a safe, sustainable return to work for our employees is a key priority for the Trust. And this is more than a case management role. You'll be part of a Trust-level project team at the heart of workforce transformation. With the freedom to shape your work and contribute ideas, you'll directly influence how sickness absence is managed across the organisation - improving outcomes for staff, services, and ultimately patient care. Interview Date - TBC The post holder will have complete autonomy for managing their own time and diary commitments. They will lead on the management of complex sickness related absence cases which require HR intervention and manage a varied employee relations caseload. They will work proactively with managers, providing first line advice on employee relation matters, general ER support and delivering training to managers.

Croydon Health Services NHS Trust provide hospital and community services from a number of community and specialist clinics throughout Croydon. The Trust was formed on 1st August 2010 through the integration of Croydon Community Health Services and Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust. Around 4,100 staff provide services for a population of over 360,000 people who are relatively young with a high level of ethnic diversity. Our main hospital site, Croydon University Hospital is one of the busiest in London. We're also leading the way in providing more healthcare outside hospitals at clinics, specialist centres and in people's homes. Our experienced district nursing teams, Allied Health Professionals and community matrons look after people of all ages across Croydon and our Children's Hospital at Home cares for children with long-term conditions without them having to come to hospital. Across the NHS everyone is working hard to meet growing demand and we're no exception. But with the right people on board, we are rising to this challenge, putting our people in the driving seat, encouraging innovation and transforming our services to give local people the quality of care they deserve. Croydon Health Services puts a great deal of importance on education and training throughout the careers of all of our staff. As well as offering access to a range of core skills training and professional development.