Employee Relations Adviser
Hours: Full-time (37 hours per week)
Reporting to: Senior HR Leader
Line Management: None
About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping a positive and high-performing workplace. As an Employee Relations Adviser, you will be at the heart of delivering expert HR guidance, confidently handling complex casework and partnering with leaders to drive fair, consistent, and legally compliant outcomes.
You’ll act as a trusted advisor, influencing decisions, mitigating risk, and ensuring best practice across all employee relations activity.
What You’ll Be Doing
🔹 Leading Employee Relations Casework
You’ll take ownership of a diverse and often complex caseload, including:
Performance and capability
Disciplinary matters
Grievances
Short- and long-term absence
You’ll:
Provide clear, confident advice to managers on both formal and informal matters
Lead investigations, hearings, and appeals
Ensure every case is handled fairly, consistently, and in line with policy and legislation
Produce high-quality documentation and robust audit trails
Support preparation for legal proceedings where required
Identify and escalate high-risk or sensitive cases with sound judgement
🔹 Partnering with Leaders
You’ll build strong relationships across the organisation, becoming a go-to expert for managers and leaders.
You’ll:
Coach and guide managers through complex people challenges
Support difficult conversations with confidence and empathy
Enable informed, proportionate decision-making
Strengthen leadership capability through practical, hands-on support
🔹 Driving Best Practice & Policy Application
You’ll bring policies to life by applying them thoughtfully in real-world situations.
You’ll:
Interpret HR policies within complex scenarios
Ensure alignment with employment law and recognised best practice
Balance organisational priorities with employee wellbeing
Provide insights to continuously improve policies and processes
🔹 Contributing to a High-Performing HR Function
Beyond casework, you’ll play a key role in strengthening the wider HR service.
You’ll:
Build positive relationships with employee representatives
Contribute to HR reporting and insights for senior stakeholders
Support wider HR initiatives and cross-team collaboration
Champion a culture of inclusion, respect, and engagement
What Success Looks Like
Confidently managing complex ER cases from start to finish
Building trust with managers and stakeholders
Delivering fair, consistent, and risk-aware outcomes
Enhancing leadership capability across the organisation
Contributing to a positive, inclusive workplace culture
Your Professional Approach
You’ll be someone who:
Thrives in a fast-paced, people-focused environment
Communicates with clarity, empathy, and confidence
Brings sound judgement and integrity to every situation
Stays up to date with employment law and HR best practice
Handles sensitive information with discretion and professionalism
Additional Responsibilities
Maintain compliance with data protection and confidentiality standards
Uphold commitments to equality, diversity, inclusion, safeguarding, health & safety, and sustainability
Continuously develop your professional knowledge and expertise
Undertake additional responsibilities in line with the role
£38,000-£45,000 per year, inc benefits Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom