Employee Relations Manager


Company:	NHS Jobs
Salary:	£58,133 to £65,261 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	London, SE1 4YB
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	28 Aug 2026
Closing date:	13 Sept 2026

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Summary

Key Relationships Internal: Directors, Deputy and Senior Managers People leadership team All members of Clinical Group/Divisional or Directorate Management Team Departmental Managers / Heads of Service and other key staff Colleagues in the People, OD and Learning Team Staff representatives External: Trust legal advisors Full time officers of Trade Unions and professional organisations Colleagues in other NHS organisation Employee Relations Case Work To be the focal point for Clinical Group/Divisional leads on all employee relations matters, providing detailed guidance on the interpretation of Trust policies and procedures and employment legislation. Advise on all employee relations cases in a proactive and timely manner, i.e. Disciplinary, Grievance, Capability, Absence, Fixed term contracts and redundancy matters up to and supporting at hearings including appeal level, including supporting with Medical cases. Oversee and lead all Employment Tribunal claims as first point of contact for Trust legal provider, liaising with Trust managers/representatives with preparation of documents and defense against such claims. To support the team in the management of a mixed case load to determine short-term and long-term strategies with the objective of reaching case resolution without delay. To promote, encourage and support team colleagues in embedding Just Culture principles to enable informal resolution wherever possible. To develop employee relations interventions to underpin the skill and competencies of managers in people management which may include workshops i.e. Just Culture, Investigations, Fixed Term Contracts To deputise for the Head/Deputy of Employee Relations at Safeguarding Allegation meetings and providing HR advice. To ensure that the HR data collection system is utilised effectively and to be accountable for updating caseload management progress. People Management To support team-working by ensuring that individual effort is coordinated with other team members within the People Directorate to meet overall team goals. Conduct regular 1:1s with team members to discuss health & wellbeing, support required, development required, case load and overall performance. To manage a team, ensuring all team members have a voice in the development of the employee relations service offer. Facilitating positive learning from case work ensuring feedback is provided to team members in a balanced and supportive way to improve the service. To maximise the potential of all team members and to ensure that all team members have a meaningful appraisal/personal development plan that includes feedback to the individual from a selection of internal customers and team members. Reporting, Training and Interventions To ensure the provision of employee relations data that underpin local management of employment issues and Trust-wide understanding of trends and key issues. To proactively identify policy development opportunities and work in conjunction with the Head of Policy and Partnership to lead and develop Trust ER policies and procedures, including the researching of best practice. To support the development and training of managers in key HR matters such as absence management, by delivering shared learning events and day training courses in conjunction with, Organisational Development, Leadership & Talent. To lead and participate in the initiation and discussion of new ideas to enhance the employee relations service. Ensure equality and diversity and inclusion is underpinned in all areas of the HR services provided. To review cases and be a key collaborator using qualitative and quantitative data to identify emergent themes to support proactive interventions across the People Directorate including Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Organisational Development, Leadership & Talent and Occupational Health as well as the People embedded teams. To work proactively with stakeholders tailoring bespoke interventions to provide solutions for people issues e.g. sickness absence management. Contribute to design, plan and delivery of formal, informal and ad hoc specialised training or ad-hoc presentations on a range of HR policies as and when required to managers at all levels within the Trust. Assist in ad-hoc projects as required by the Head/Deputy Head of ER. Communication Build and maintain professional relationships throughout the organisation using a collaborative and consultative approach. Be a communication and culture ambassador at all times, especially demonstrating compassion and humility during sensitive employee matters. Expand relevant professional networks which support continuous improvement to the Trusts employee relations approach. Service Development and Delivery To deliver a credible customer focused service to employees and managers, based on good quality of advice, approachability, flexibility and responsiveness. Develop effective communication and education materials/guidance documents for managers/employees; ensuring the delivery of timely and accurate information to employees. Contribute to the ongoing improvement of the People Directorate ensuring that relevant legislation and national guidelines are applied consistently; identifying improvements that can be made to procedures used. Contribute to the improvement of the People Relations team and ensure that all duties are carried out in an organised and effective manner. Highlight areas where service improvements could be made in own/team roles. Keep updated with employment law issues and forthcoming legislation including identifying and rectifying/mitigating any impact on the business and organisation wide policies and procedures. Information management Contribute to the development of user-friendly People Relations processes, systems to provide relevant case management data to clinical groups. Follow effective and efficient data management practices, streamlining processes where possible in support of paperless environment and continuous improvement. Accountable for data integrity in systems and ensure appropriate and relevant audit controls are in place. Analyse People relations activity, monitoring trends and taking appropriate action where concerns are identified.

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