Senior Employee Relations Specialist

Fitzgerald; Cardiff; Hybrid; GBP 51,300 - 62,700; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Career qualifications support

Flexible working patterns

Pension scheme options

Life assurance

Wellbeing benefits

Job summary

Fitzgerald is looking for a Senior Employee Relations Specialist to navigate complex people situations with confidence and care. This hybrid role involves advising on employee relations matters, leading consultations, and supporting clients during organisational changes.

You will possess significant experience in managing sensitive situations, have a strong grasp of employment law, and be comfortable working with senior stakeholders. A competitive salary starting from £57,000 per annum reflects your skills and experience.

Qualifications

• Significant experience managing complex and high-risk employee relations matters.
• Strong employment law knowledge and the confidence to apply it pragmatically.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Advising on complex employee relations matters, including disciplinaries, grievances, and workplace conflict.
• Leading investigations and ensuring fair outcomes.
• Supporting organisational change projects like restructures and redundancies.

Skills

Employee relations management

Complex problem solving

Employment law knowledge

Stakeholder management

Coaching and mentoring

Education

CIPD Level 7 qualification (or equivalent)

Job description

Location: Various. This is a hybrid role where you'll be based from home with some travel to the for internal and client meetings.

Job Type: Full-time (minimum 30 hours per week)

Salary: Starting from £57,000 (FTE) per annum

We offer a competitive salary package aligned with current market rates for this role. The final offer will reflect your skills, experience and qualifications, alongside our commitment to internal equity.

About us

We’re a full-service HR consultancy that partners with clients to help their people and businesses thrive. Sometimes we act as their in‑house HR team, sometimes as an extension of their existing people team, but always as a trusted partner that genuinely cares.

We believe people are the foundation of every business’s success. Our job is to help clients create workplaces where everyone can do their best work.

The role

As a Senior Employee Relations Specialist, you’ll help clients navigate some of their most challenging people situations with confidence, care and commercial clarity.

You’ll lead on complex employee relations matters, support organisational change projects, and provide practical advice that helps clients make fair, informed decisions. Whether you’re guiding a disciplinary process, supporting a redundancy consultation, coaching a manager through a difficult conversation or advising on a sensitive workplace issue, you’ll bring sound judgement, credibility and a calm approach.

You’ll build trusted relationships with clients, taking the time to understand their business, culture and goals. Alongside delivering exceptional client work, you’ll share your expertise across the wider team, helping colleagues build confidence and capability while maintaining the high standards we’re known for.

Day-to-day

• Advising on complex employee relations matters, including disciplinaries, grievances, whistleblowing and workplace conflict.
• Leading investigations, hearings and consultation processes, ensuring fair and commercially sensible outcomes.
• Supporting organisational change projects, including restructures, redundancies and acquisitions.
• Helping clients balance legal compliance with practical business needs.
• Reviewing and quality‑checking ER documentation, reports and correspondence.
• Coaching managers and colleagues on employee relations best practice.
• Delivering training, guidance and practical tools to build capability.
• Building trusted client relationships through responsive, high‑quality advice.
• Sharing employment law updates and best‑practice insights with colleagues and clients.
• Supporting business development activity by identifying opportunities to add value for clients.

About you

You’re an experienced Employee Relations professional who enjoys solving complex people challenges and helping others navigate them successfully.

You know employment law, but more importantly, you know how to apply it in a way that’s practical, commercial and human. You’re comfortable dealing with senior stakeholders, managing sensitive situations and balancing competing priorities without losing sight of what’s important.

You’ll Bring

• Significant experience managing complex and high‑risk employee relations matters.
• Experience supporting organisational change projects, including restructures and redundancies.
• Strong employment law knowledge and the confidence to apply it pragmatically.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience coaching, mentoring or supporting others.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship‑building skills.
• A commercial mindset and an understanding of the wider business impact of people decisions.
• Excellent organisation skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Confidence using technology and digital systems.
• A full UK driving licence and willingness to travel occasionally.

Experience within a consultancy or professional services environment would be a bonus, as would a CIPD Level 7 qualification (or equivalent). However, what matters most is your expertise, judgement and the way you work with people.

The Perks

• Competitive salary (starting from £57,000 per annum FTE)
• 25 days’ annual leave to start, rising to 27 after one year and 29 after two years, plus bank holidays
• Career qualifications supported and paid for, with real opportunities to grow
• Monthly homeworking allowance and all equipment provided
• Flexible working patterns for a healthy work‑life balance
• Pension scheme options (including salary sacrifice) and 4% employer pension contributions, with a minimum 4% employee contribution
• Life assurance at four times basic salary
• Shopping discounts platform, flu vaccinations, and technology and cycle‑to‑work schemes
• Medicash health cash plan and wellbeing benefits (including EAP)
• Enhanced family leave and twice‑yearly staff get‑togethers
• A growing, progressive business with people at its heart

We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.