Senior Employee Relations Advisor

Manchester Arndale; Dublin; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

OCS UK & Ireland is seeking an experienced Employee Relations Advisor to join our HR Department, supporting circa 3,000 employees nationwide. You will provide expert ER advice, ensure compliance with employment law, and support managers across the business in all ER/IR matters.

You will own a caseload of ER cases, draft advisories and letters, liaise with unions, and contribute to policy development while upholding the highest standards of integrity and discretion in a fast-paced facilities

Qualifications

• Degree in Human Resource Management or equivalent and CIPD qualified, with thorough knowledge of employment law.
• Proven HR experience handling ER/IR issues.
• Services Industry Experience Essential.
• Demonstrate integrity and discretion at all times.
• Experience in a unionised environment.
• Experience giving guidance at management level.
• Expert employee relations knowledge and advisory ability.
• Organised, methodical and able to work on own initiative.
• Strong team player with communication and management skills.
• Positive work ethic with a can-do attitude and approach.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office is essential.

Responsibilities

• Own a caseload of ER cases and advise managers for timely conclusions.
• Provide accurate employment law advice to line managers on ER/IR issues.
• Support divisional management on performance, absence and policies.
• Guide line managers through disciplinary and grievance processes incl. letters.
• Develop and update organisational policies and procedures for disciplinary, onboarding, leaves and pensions.
• Communicate with Unions across Ireland to resolve employee issues.
• Prepare for and represent the company at third party hearings with legal team.
• Advise on redundancy, temporary layoff and/or reductions in hours.
• Advise and administer TUPE transfers as needed.

Skills

Employee relations

Management guidance

Union experience

Integrity & discretion

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Education

Degree in Human Resource Management or equivalent

CIPD qualified (ideally)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

About The Role:

We are currently seeking a Services Industry experienced Employee Relations Advisor to join our HR Department, supporting circa 3000 employees nationwide for OCS.

Reporting to the Head of HR, you will provide support and guidance on all aspects of HR. The successful candidate will be knowledgeable and confident in providing expert employee relations advice, will ensure legal compliance in relation to all employment law and legislation and ensure that company policies and procedures are adhered to.

Key Responsibilities:

• To own a caseload of ER cases, providing managers advise and guidance and pushing for case conclusion in a timely manner.
• Providing accurate & professional employment law advice to line managers on all employee relations issues.
• Supporting divisional management on performance management, absence management, company policies, employment legislation.
• Support and guidance for line managers throughout the disciplinary and grievance processes including drafting associated letters to employees.
• Planning, implementation and on-going development of organisational policies, practices and procedures for use across the company to deal with disciplinary issues, new starters, leavers, probationary periods, sickness absence, holidays, pensions, etc.
• Communicating with Unions across Ireland to resolve any employee issues as they arise.
• Preparing for and representing the company at Third Party Hearings in partnership with our legal team.
• Advising on and processing of all redundancy situations and situations of temporary layoff and/or reductions in hours.
• Advice, guidance & administration throughout the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations process.

Essential Hiring Criteria:

• Degree in Human Resource Management or equivalent and ideally CIPD qualified, but more importantly you will have a thorough working knowledge of all areas of employment law.
• Proven experience within a HR environment with proven experience of dealing with all aspects of ER/IR issues.
• Services Industry Experience Essential
• Demonstrate the highest degree of integrity and discretion.
• Experience within a unionised environment
• Experience of providing advice and guidance at management level
• Expert employee relations knowledge and ability to give advice and support
• Ability to work in an organised and methodical way
• Ability to work on own initiative
• Team player with strong communication and management skills
• A good work ethic with a positive ‘can do’ attitude and approach to work
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office is essential

About The Company:

OCS UK & Ireland is a leading facilities management company with 50,000+ colleagues and a turnover in excess of £2bn. We deliver innovative, award-winning services within facilities management, hard services, cleaning, security and catering.

Our mission is to make people and places the best they can be for our colleagues, customers and the communities we serve. Our commitment to doing business the right way is rooted in our TRUE values -Trust, Respect, Unity, and Empowerment.

Why Work for OCS?

Award-Winning Employer: Ranked 36th on Glassdoor’s Best Companies to Work For 2025 — we value and motivate our people.

Digital Learning: The OCS Academy offers digital courses and resources to help you build skills and grow your career.

Retail Perks With our Hapi app, you can gain access to exclusive discounts, rewards and wellbeing resources.

Professional Growth: 600+ live learners across UK&I — Empowering colleagues with further development and qualifications!

Flexible Pay: Access a portion of earned wages before payday with our Wagestream App! (Contract Specific)

We are an equal opportunities employer and rely on a diverse workforce with a broad range of knowledge, skills, and backgrounds to deliver our goals. We offer an inclusive and welcoming environment and actively encourage applications from all individuals regardless of race, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age.