Employee Relations Advisor

Job overview

We are seeking a motivated Employee Relations Advisor to deliver high-quality, professional and responsive advice to managers and colleagues. Working with Clinical Management Groups (CMGs) and corporate departments, you will help ensure that Trust policies, national and local terms and conditions, and employment legislation are applied fairly, consistently and in line with agreed service standards.

You will support employee relations casework delegated by the Senior ER Advisor, and Head of Employee Relations. This will include attendance, disciplinary, resolution, ill-health, performance and other terms and conditions matters. You will coach managers through informal and formal processes, promote restorative and person-centred approaches, and help embed our Being Fair culture through practical, proportionate and evidence-based advice.

This is an excellent opportunity for an HR professional who wants to develop their ER advisory experience in a supportive team. Although the role has no direct line-management responsibility, you will contribute to manager training, use workforce data to support improvement, help review policies, and lead a designated area of corporate responsibility or delegated project.

The role offers opportunities for hybrid working alongside regular on-site working to support collaboration and relationship building. Flexibility is required across UHL sites.

Main duties of the job

• Provide advice to managers and employees on ER matters, national and local terms and conditions, Trust policies, employment legislation, case law and good practice.
• Manage delegated casework including attendance, disciplinary, resolution, ill-health, maternity, retirement, AWOL and performance matters, escalating more complex issues to a Senior ER Advisor or the Head of Employee Relations as appropriate.
• Support managers with preliminary enquiries, investigations and formal processes, advising on restorative practice, procedural fairness, evidential standards and proportionate risk management.
• Participate in sickness review meetings and formal hearings, advise on reasonable adjustments, redeployment, Occupational Health guidance and ill-health retirement, and prepare and present management cases where appropriate.
• Use workforce information and trend data to help managers develop attendance improvement plans and keep case records accurate and up to date for audit and governance purposes.
• Design, deliver and evaluate training for managers and staff on topics including investigations, disciplinary and resolution procedures, Being Fair and attendance management.
• Support policy review and implementation.
• Work constructively with managers, colleagues and Staff Side representatives to promote positive employee relations, openness, fairness and mutual respect.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will bring

• Education to degree level, or equivalent experience in Human Resources, Business Administration or a related field, together with a CIPD diploma-level qualification.
• Recent, demonstrable experience in a generalist HR function, including advising on employment terms and conditions and applying policies and procedures.
• Current knowledge of employment law and HR practice, with the ability to provide pragmatic advice and recognise when a matter requires escalation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to negotiate and be appropriately assertive while remaining sensitive in contentious situations.
• Experience of using HR data, effective time-management skills, and the ability to establish, use and review systems and procedures.
• A flexible, self-aware and collaborative approach, with the ability to work on your own initiative, establish credibility and demonstrate openness, honesty, inclusiveness and personal integrity.
• A clear commitment to Trust values, confidentiality, data protection, equality, diversity and inclusion, and treating every individual with dignity and respect.
• Confidence using Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel. Experience at advisor level, within the NHS, with Agenda for Change, ESR, Being Fair, basic project management, HR data analysis, or automation and AI tools such as Copilot would be advantageous.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.