Senior ER Advisor

FirstGroup Internal; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A major transportation company in the United Kingdom is seeking a Senior Employee Relations Advisor to deliver comprehensive HR support. You will guide Line Managers on various employee issues, manage performance and grievance cases, and support HR initiatives. The ideal candidate will have substantial HR advisory experience and a CIPD qualification. This full-time role includes fieldwork across the Central region, ensuring effective service delivery and fostering a supportive environment for staff.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with HR systems and IT programmes.
• Knowledge of employment legislation.
• Experience in HR advisor capacity.

Responsibilities

• Provide HR advisory service to line managers and employees.
• Lead end-to-end case management for employee relations.
• Coach and support managers in handling employment matters.

Skills

Communication skills

Relationship building

Emotional resilience

Problem-solving

Education

CIPD qualification or part qualified

Tools

HR systems

IT programmes

Job description

About the team

We are looking for a Senior Employee Relations Advisor to provide comprehensive HR support to Line Managers, ensuring the delivery of a consistent, professional and effective service across all people policies and procedures for GWR managers and employees.

You will support Line Managers by providing a professional advisory service in relation to all employee matters.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Responsible for providing a professional HR advisory service to line managers and employees on all employment matters, including employment legislations, terms and conditions of employment and Company policies and procedures.
• Lead end-to-end case management for employee relations cases, supporting all levels of employees across GWR with a focus on performance, grievance, attendance and ER related projects.
• Provide Line Managers with advice and guidance on a range of employment matters including disciplinary, grievance, performance management, absence management issues and other relevant casework.
• Provide coaching and support to develop managers' competence during day-to-day management activities, including holding local briefings. This may also include attending some meetings to support managers.
• Acting as the point of contact for line managers, employees and other HR team members.
• Line manage two ER Advisors.
• Assist the progress of Employment Tribunal claims and liaise with the Casework Manager and Line Managers to collate all relevant case information/documentation, ensuring that appropriate advice and support is provided and that legal services are used as necessary.
• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of employment legislation to provide appropriate advice to line mangers.
• Managing staff relationships, responding to any queries or problems that they have and managing their expectations.
• Work closely with other HR colleagues, to ensure consistency and best practice across the division.
• Undertake other duties as directed.

You will:

• Have hands‑on experience with IT programmes and HR systems.
• Be driven and determined.
• Be practical and logical; able to solve problems quickly.
• Can train, coach and support line managers in building ER capabilities and developing manager's competence.
• Be emotionally resilient in difficult situations.
• Be personable with strong communication and relationship building capabilities across all levels of the business.
• Be focused on providing the best outcomes for all parties.
• Experience of complex case work up to tribunal level and experience of managing a team.

As a minimum, you will need to have:

• CIPD qualified or part qualified.
• Knowledge of employment legislation.
• Knowledge, and practical experience of, HR procedures, processes and practices.
• Significant proven work experience in an HR advisor capacity.

About the location

This role will be field based, looking after the Central region of our network, including Bristol, Taunton, South Wales, Gloucester and south, Westbury, Fratton and Weymouth.

Additional Information

This is a full time secondment for 12 months.

To Apply

For further information, please contact Nicola Beech, Employee Relations Manager, [e-mail].

Please submit your application online via the internal FirstGroup careers website: https://internal-careers.firstgroup.co.uk/

In case of technical difficulties when submitting your application, please contact the Recruitment Team at [e-mail]

We all belong at GWR.

This is our vision for providing an inclusive environment for all our colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA, ethnicity, religion and disability. We maintain zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/