People Advisor - Employee Relations

Job Description

At Hft, our vision is to create a future where learning disabled people can live the best life possible. We do this by campaigning for positive change, providing personalised support and creating solutions for living independently.

We're looking for an experienced People Advisor / Employee Relations Advisor to join our People Operations team, providing expert advice and support to managers across Hft.

This is a hands-on, fast-paced role for someone who thrives in a busy employee relations environment, has strong employment law knowledge and is confident managing complex cases independently.

A key part of this role is managing a high-volume, active caseload of employee relations matters. You'll be balancing multiple live cases at different stages, from early-stage sickness absence management through to complex disciplinary, grievance, capability and performance matters. You'll need to be highly organised, comfortable prioritising competing demands and confident progressing cases efficiently, without compromising on fairness, quality or compliance.

This role is particularly suited to someone with substantial employee relations experience who is used to managing a significant caseload and can hit the ground running.

What you'll be doing

• Managing a high-volume caseload: Independently oversee a substantial number of live employee relations cases, ensuring each is appropriately prioritised, monitored and progressed through to conclusion.
• Advising on complex cases: Provide clear, practical and legally sound advice on disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance management and sickness absence matters.
• Supporting managers throughout the process: Guide managers through investigations, formal meetings, decision-making and outcome documentation, helping them understand their responsibilities and take appropriate action.
• Balancing competing priorities: Manage multiple cases simultaneously, keeping track of deadlines, identifying delays and ensuring urgent or high-risk matters receive appropriate attention.
• Managing risk and providing challenge: Assess case risks, recommend appropriate next steps and confidently challenge managers when necessary to achieve fair and consistent outcomes.
• Maintaining accurate records: Keep case management systems and documentation up to date, ensuring employee relations information is accurate, confidential and compliant with data protection requirements.
• Building management capability: Coach and support managers to improve their confidence and competence in handling employee relations matters.
• Identifying trends and improvements: Recognise recurring issues across your caseload and share insights with the wider People team to help improve management practice and reduce avoidable employee relations issues.
• Working collaboratively: Partner with People Business Partners and colleagues across People Operations to provide a consistent, joined-up approach to employee relations.

What you'll bring

We're looking for someone who combines strong technical employee relations knowledge with the practical experience and resilience needed to manage a demanding caseload.

You'll bring:

• Substantial experience in an employee relations advisory role, independently managing a high-volume caseload of live cases.
• Demonstrable experience managing employee relations matters from initial assessment through to conclusion, including complex and sensitive cases.
• A strong working knowledge of UK employment law and the ability to apply legislation, policies and procedures to real-life situations.
• Experience advising managers on disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance management and sickness absence matters.
• Experience supporting or conducting workplace investigations and advising on appropriate next steps and outcomes.
• The confidence to assess risk, exercise sound judgement and challenge managers constructively when required.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands, manage multiple active cases and meet deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex issues clearly and sensitively.
• A methodical approach to case management, record-keeping and handling confidential information.
• The ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with colleagues across the People team.
• A CIPD Level 5 or Level 7 qualification, or working towards one, would be desirable. Experience in a generalist HR environment, analysing employee relations data or working with trade unions would also be beneficial.

What success looks like

You'll help ensure employee relations cases are managed efficiently, consistently and fairly across Hft. By maintaining oversight of a substantial caseload, providing sound advice and helping managers make informed decisions, you'll play an important role in managing risk, improving management capability and supporting a positive working environment.

You'll be comfortable working at pace, making decisions within your remit and knowing when to escalate more complex or high-risk matters.

Why join Hft?

At Hft, our values are at the heart of everything we do. We are Diverse, Kind, Positive and Visionary, and we're committed to creating an environment where people feel supported, respected and able to make a difference.

This is an opportunity to bring your employee relations expertise to an organisation with a meaningful purpose, working alongside colleagues who are passionate about improving the lives of learning disabled people.

Selection Process

We will be shorting application on an ongoing basis. Should your application be shortlisted, you will be invited to attend a pre-screening interview with a member of the recruitment team. Should you be successful at this stage, the final assessment process will involve a competency-based interview and the opportunity to get to know the team.

Working arrangements

This is a role is predominantly remote however there will be travel to our services based in the East region. Candidates must therefore be based in the East of England.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

We are committed to recruiting people from diverse backgrounds and believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce helps us better support the people we work with to live their best lives. If there is anything we can do to support you to do your best during the application and selection process, please contact Kate Boughton.