Senior Employee Relations Advisor

Adecco; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

An established recruitment agency seeks an experienced Senior Employee Relations Advisor to join their People & Culture team. This role involves managing complex HR cases, advising on employee relations, and supporting organisational change initiatives. The ideal candidate will have strong knowledge of UK employment law and experience in the education sector. This position is hybrid, requiring three days onsite each week.

Qualifications

• Significant experience managing complex HR cases including investigations and appeals.
• Strong ability to develop relationships and influence stakeholders.
• Experience in supporting change management projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead sensitive and complex casework in employee relations.
• Advise on ER matters and manage related caseloads.
• Collaborate with HR Business Partners on strategic alignment.

Skills

Employee relations expertise

Stakeholder relationship management

UK employment law knowledge

Excellent communication skills

Analytical skills

Education

Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Law or similar field

CIPD Level 7 qualification or equivalent

Job description

Senior Employee Relations Advisor

Permanent, full time opportunity

Location: London

Hybrid working available, 3 x days onsite per week

Salary: 43,500- 51,500k per annum

Are you an experienced HR professional with a passion for employee relations and a talent for navigating complex casework? We're looking for a Senior Employee Relations Advisor to join a dynamic and forward-thinking People & Culture team for a leading organisation in the education sector.

This is a high-impact role where you\'ll lead on sensitive and complex casework, support organisational change, and help shape fair and consistent people practices across a diverse and inclusive workforce. You\'ll be instrumental in delivering a specialist, customer focused service that empowers people managers across the organisation. Your expertise will ensure the effective and proactive management of employee relations matters, ranging from disciplinary actions to grievances, ultimately enhancing workplace culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert advice on complex ER matters, ensuring a risk-based and consistent approach.
• Manage a caseload of high-risk employee relations matters, including grievances, disciplinary cases, and capability matters.
• Collaborate closely with HR Business Partners to align ER activities with strategic goals, and support organisational change initiatives including restructures and redundancies.
• Build and maintain constructive relationships with trade unions, supporting effective consultations and negotiation processes.
• Contribute to policy development and implementation, ensuring best practice across the organisation.
• Coach and support line managers in handling employee relations confidently and consistently.
• Prepare documentation for formal hearings and support mediation processes.
• Analysing data insights and regular reports to identify trends in employee relations activities and support informed decision making at senior levels.

Candidate Requirements

• Significant experience in an employee relations or HR advisory role, managing complex cases independently including investigations, hearing and appeals, across disciplinary, grievance, attendance and performance management.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practises.
• Experience of supporting change management projects, advising managers and leading consultation processes.
• Previous experience of working in an education setting or public sector environment is highly desirable.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with a keen attention to detail.
• Ability to develop and sustain relationships with key stakeholders, delivering excellent customer service, influencing and working collaboratively to analyse risk, identify solutions and resolve conflict.
• Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Law, or a related field.
• Chartered CIPD membership or progressing towards a CIPD Level 7 qualification, or equivalent relevant experience.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a values-led organisation where your expertise will directly influence the employee experience and organisational culture. Submit your CV today and a member of the team will be in touch.

Adecco is a disability-confident employer. It is important to us that we run an inclusive and accessible recruitment process to support candidates of all backgrounds and all abilities to apply. Adecco is committed to building a supportive environment for you to explore the next steps in your career. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know and we will be happy to support you.