Employee Relations Advisor

Job summary

NHS Band 5: £32,073 - £39,043 pro rata per annum(actual salary £18,388 - £22,384 per annum)

Hours Per Week: part time 21.5

Contract Type: Permanent

Base Location: Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust Corporate Hub, Block 4000, Lakeside North Harbour, Western Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, PO6 3EN

As the single corporate service will be delivered across both organisations, individuals may be required to undertake business travel between sites. The frequency and arrangements will be discussed on an individual basis and the staff mobility local agreement will apply.

Are you a motivated HR professional looking to further develop your employee relations expertise in a supportive, progressive, and high performing environment?

We are seeking a proactive and confident Employee Relations Advisor to join our Employee Relations (ER) team, supporting both Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust as part of our Single Corporate Services model.

As part of our single service offer, you will work across both Trusts and may be required to travel between sites depending on service needs. There is flexibility for some home working; however, the role requires a regular onsite presence to deliver effective support to managers and staff.

Main duties of the job

As an Employee Relations Advisor, you will play a key role in delivering a high quality, proactive HR service that supports improved staff experience, effective case management, and positive organisational outcomes. You will:

• Take the lead on managing absence and ill health cases, analysing sickness data, producing reports, and supporting managers with proactive attendance management strategies.
• Act as a primary point of contact for staff and managers seeking HR advice, providing guidance on a range of HR policies, terms and conditions, and best practice.
• Support investigations and ER processes, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, and performance management matters.
• Advise and participate in formal hearings for absence and less complex employee relations cases.
• Support organisational change processes and ensure managers understand and apply People Services policies correctly.
• Contribute to training delivery, including management essentials and employment relations learning.
• Support job evaluation processes in line with NHS job evaluation criteria.
• Analyse ER data and key indicators, particularly sickness absence, to support performance reporting.
• Maintain accurate records, support SOP updates, and ensure effective team.
• Assist with Subject Access Requests (SARs) and Freedom of Information (FOI) responses in line with statutory requirements.

Job responsibilities

Working as a partnership, both Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust have a shared vision for excellence in care for our patients and communities; with a set of strategic aims underpinning how we will achieve this.

The single corporate service is delivered across both organisations. You may be based at either IWT or PHU and individuals may be required to undertake business travel between sites. For leaders managing staff across multi-site locations, you will need to be visible and provide in person leadership. The arrangements and frequency will be agreed locally.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and Disability, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veterans' status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.