Job Title: Employee Relations Manager 

Starting: ASAP 

Duration: Ongoing  

Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 – 5.30  

Location: Croydon, South London 

Band: 7 

Pay: £26.16ph  PAYE inclusive of holiday pay

Job Summary: 

• The purpose of this role is to work closely with the Head of Employee Relations to ensure that the Employee Relations team provide a proactive, highly professional and efficient ER service and that all investigations are undertaken to a high standard and completed within required timeframes. 
• This role will have a day to day responsibility for supporting the Trust to deliver against their restorative approaches to people practices by making informal resolution the new way of resolving conflict between parties. 
• This individual will be responsible for managing the Employee Relations team by co-ordinating and monitoring all employee relations (excluding medical and dental) activity to ensure a fair and transparent process is followed for all in a consistent way. The role will provide advice and support to line managers on a range of human resource management issues. A key function of the role is to develop the skill and capacity of managers to empower them to manage people issues effectively and independently. 
• The post-holder will also hold their own caseload to include complex cases and hearings. The post holder will ensure that the ER team plan, prioritise and manage competing workloads and deadlines to ensure all ER cases are completed in a consistent and timely manner and in accordance with Trust policies and employment legislation. 
• The post holder will support the Head of ER to produce KPI reports on behalf of the HR department in relation to complex employee relations cases, ensuring regular monitoring takes place against all ER cases. They will also facilitate any necessary improvements and identify potential positive interventions that can be introduced to improve the overall staff experience and reduce the negative impact formal processes can have on individuals where no case to answer is the outcome.

 Duties:

Key Responsibilities - Employee Relations

• Support and develop an effective specialist advisory service across the range of employee relations matters ensuring the provision of professional, expert and technical guidance and support in line with policies and procedures.
• Facilitate and lead on highly complex employee relations cases, advising managers on best ER practice ensuring that advice given complies with good employment practice, employment legislation and Trust-wide standards.
• Work with the Head of ER and HR Business Partners to ensure robust mechanisms are in place to drive up the quality and speed of case investigations in accordance with national and local Trust policies and procedures.
• Ensure that all ER cases are managed in accordance with the Trust’s Disciplinary, Grievance, Dignity at Work (Bullying and Harassment) and Capability Policies using best practice  approaches as set by ACAS guidelines.
• Ensure that all investigations, engage all relevant staff and that appropriate timescales are set, deadlines are achieved, case managers are updated and individuals informed of progress to enable resolution of the case in a timely manner.
• Communicate sensitively and diplomatically with all staff involved in ER processes.
• Ensure the ER team prepare investigation reports including all relevant evidence in advance of formal hearing and that all formal hearings are convened in accordance with Trust Policies and Procedures.
• Attend formal hearings, either supporting the manager in presenting the management statement of case to the panel, calling witnesses as required and presenting all evidence that is relevant to each case or to support the chair of the panel.
• Ensuring the ER team maintain the security and confidentiality of all data held during the investigatory process.
• Ensuring all investigations consider the weight, value and relevance of all evidence identifying any risks and procedural requirements and ensuring a consistent approach.
• Ensure the ER team identify potential areas of concern and risks with all ER case work and that appropriate action is taken to rectify the issue. 
• Assist the Head of ER to act as the main point of contact/liaison with the Trusts external solicitors when seeking legal advice, managing Employment Tribunals and preparing any Trust documentation.
• Liaise with both local and regional Trade Union representatives

Key Responsibilities - Team Management

• Line Manage the Senior Employee Relations Advisors.
• Manage and develop the performance and capability of the ER team including setting 
• performance standards, promoting regular feedback, and ensuring annual PDRs are carried out.
• Ensuring the work load for the ER team is allocated fairly and efficiently for the nature of the case to support an early resolution in a swift, effective, professional and compassionate way.
• Ensure that cases allocated to team members are completed to a high standard and within the appropriate timeframes and that they update the ER case management system.

Key Responsibilities - Policy & Service Development 

• Write and revise employment policies, to a high professional standard in accordance with NHS Terms and Conditions, Employment Law and best practice and ensure that they are Implemented and promote as required.
• Participate on job matching panels 
• Oversee the development of documentation for managers and employees in supporting the application of ER policy and process, such as guidance, templates and tools etc remain up to date and fit for purpose, recommending and implementing improvements where appropriate.
• Develop the Employee Relations intranet pages, ensuring that up to date guidance, templates and procedures are available for managers.
• Design and deliver specialist management development and training courses on HR policies and procedures.
• Lead a culture of compassion with employee relations and ensure the Trust’s fair treatment process is embedded and understood.
• Interrogate the employee relations database and analyse data to support the HRBPs and Head of ER in targeting interventions to improve the performance of the Employee Relations Team.
• Contribute to the development of expertise within the Trust by ensuring high quality documentation of lessons learned to enable continual improvements in the delivery of the ER service. This may involve imparting contentious feedback and influencing senior stakeholders on their people management practice.
• Assist the Head of ER to provide regular KPI reports that show lessons learned as well as progress to track an improvement in timelines for all ER cases.
• Ensure the ER Case management system is updated by the team and maintained to track progress.
• Assist the Head of ER to provide regular performance reports at directorate board level on ER trends and analysis pulling out key themes and insight into potential improvement areas.
• Assist the Head of ER to monitor trends around ethnicity, disability, gender and age, highlighting any areas of concern or disparity and formulating action plans to remedy this. 
• Attend and actively contribute to HR Performance Meetings.
• Maintain and update own knowledge of local and national HR issues and employment legislation, keeping abreast of latest developments and ensuring knowledge is shared and acted on as appropriate.
• Develop and maintain professional and effective relationships with Trade Unions and Senior Managers up to board level.
• Act as a point of knowledge/reference on the formal processes involved in investigations, hearings, appeals and tribunals and deliver any teaching sessions as and when required either to HR staff or Trust Managers.
• Assist the Head of ER with implementing changes following lessons learnt from ER cases.

Essential Experience: 

• CIPD qualified and registered 
• Extensive experience of providing expert advise on Employee Relations in large, complex, unionised organisations 
• Managing a team 
• Successful achievement of managing complex investigations 
• Experience of managing complex projects to tight deadlines
• Experience of providing expert advise to senior managers 

Essential Knowledge and Skills: 

• Ability to communicate with a wide range of people regarding complex issues
• Knowledge of employee relations best practice 
• Excellent knowledge of patient confidentiality 
• Ability to deal with very sensitive information 
• Ability to present complex information in a formal setting 
• Ability to analyse data to be presented 

Desirable Experience: 

• NHS experience 
• Good knowledge of employment law 
• Understanding the current financial restraints that the NHS is experiencing 
• Knowledge of Agenda for Change regulations 
• Prince 2 Qualified 
• Experience using ESR 
• Smart card holder 
• Experience using e-DBS

Personal Specification: 

• Ability to gain the confidence of and influence people in situations where hostility may be encountered 
• Excellent communication skills both over the phone, via email and face to face
• Excellent attention to detail
• Motivated and enthusiastic team player 
• Ability to act on own initiative 
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Pro-active and motivated team player 
• A desire to be successful
• Problem solving skills