People Advisor - Employee Relations

People Advisor – Employee Relations Helpline

Role Purpose: As a People Advisor within the Employee Relations Helpline, you will be the first point of contact for line managers, providing specialist advice on a broad range of employee relations matters. You will prioritise cases based on their seriousness and urgency, offering immediate support and knowing when to escalate to the management team. In addition, you will support the wider Employee Relations team with tasks such as training delivery, managing early conciliation, and supporting with employment tribunals, including documentation collation and facilitating witness meetings.

Location detail: The working pattern for this role is 5 days a week. You will be based in Hilmore House, with 2 days a week expected in head office, and 1 in store.

More About the Role

In this role, you’ll be responsible for delivering effective end-to-end case management, including attendance management, investigations, disciplinaries, appeals, grievances, flexible working, and occupational health matters. You'll provide advice and guidance on company policies, procedures, and legal considerations, ensuring the business manages its employee relations issues effectively.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing first-line support to line managers on employee relations matters, ensuring timely and accurate advice.
• Supporting with the management of tribunal cases, including sourcing information, arranging witness statements, and shadowing specialist advisors.
• Managing the early conciliation process and ensuring timely and efficient resolution of cases.
• Proactively managing attendance cases and offering support to stores and managers where needed.
• Keeping up to date with employee relations legislation and providing guidance to the wider team.
• Contributing to the delivery of the employee relations plan, including managing case loads, interventions to support management capability, and driving continuous improvement.
• Supporting union interactions, handling documentation, note-taking for meetings, and logistical support for pay negotiations.
• Updating absence dashboards and reporting on trends, proposing actions to reduce absence levels

Key relationships: Line Managers, People teams across the business, ER and Employee Engagement teams, Trade Unions, External bodies such as ACAS

More About You

To succeed in this role, you will need a combination of legal knowledge, strong communication skills, and the ability to support line managers through sometimes difficult situations. You will be a trusted advisor with the ability to manage complex cases efficiently while keeping the business’s best interests in mind.

• Strong understanding of Employee Relations and Employment Law, with a solid grasp of the ACAS Code of Practice.
• In-depth knowledge of company policies and procedures, with the ability to apply them in complex and dynamic situations.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence and advise managers on challenging employee relations matters.
• Experience in managing case loads, with the ability to prioritise tasks and meet strict external deadlines.
• Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to develop rapport quickly with stakeholders at all levels.
• Proven ability to handle difficult conversations and provide support to line managers in addressing employee issues.
• Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and create actionable solutions.