Employee Relations Specialist

**Employee Relations Specialist - Hemel HempsteadTemporary for approx 6 months **Purpose:**Drive standardisation and best practices across two locations in key areas of Employee Relations. Support and influence the employee experience and business performance by helping create a management team with the right skills to lead and support their people.**Key Responsibilities:**- Partner with management teams in Hemel Hempstead and Lakeside depots.- Drive absence management activity, supporting colleagues back to work.- Address absence concerns, promote a positive work environment, and ensure compliance with company policies and employment law.- Work closely with colleagues, managers, and the HR team to ensure adherence to attendance and leave policies.- Utilise support services to promote health and wellbeing.- Train and advise site managers on best practices for effective absence management.- Provide data and insights to managers and ensure people's systems are up-to-date.- Hybrid working: 3 days a week on-site, with travel to both depots. Interaction with night shift teams may require early or late starts.**Accountabilities:**- Manage an end-to-end caseload covering absence disciplinaries, capability processes, AWOL cases, and sickness absence cases.- Ensure proper record-keeping and documentation for all absences and returns.- Provide regular progress reports to key stakeholders and produce case load reports for the HR dashboard.- Manage multiple cases against SLAs and prioritise based on risk.- Coach line managers in managing formal meetings and attend as note-taker or lead meetings as needed.- Seek proactive opportunities to improve line manager capability in dealing with ER issues.- Provide accurate information on policy, procedure, and company T&Cs in high-level cases.- Stay updated with changes in employment law and best practices, recommending policy/process improvements.- Support training sessions for supervisors and managers.**Qualifications:**- Excellent spoken and written English.**Knowledge & Experience:**- Experience in ER caseload management and managing absence cases.- Strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel and Word.- Experience of coaching managers.- Knowledge of employment law, policy changes, and their impact on the business.- Experience working in a unionized environment.**Technical & People Skills:**- Attention to detail and accuracy.- Ability to spot risk and advise accordingly.- Strong communication skills.- Ability to evaluate training methods and identify needs.- Ability to set realistic deadlines and facilitate adherence.**Impact & Influence:**- Experience using HR information systems to access, input, and compile relevant data.- Ability to interpret data to provide accurate advice and recommendations.- Experience handling complex ER issues and providing timely advice.- Added value approach, identifying opportunities and providing proactive solutions.- Experience in business improvement, reviewing activities and cases to share key learnings.**Key Role Dimensions:**- Reporting to: HR Business Partner Depots- Job Grade: Band C- Location: Hemel Hempstead/Lakeside Hybrid- Financial/Budget Responsibility: N/A- People Responsibility: N/A- Key Stakeholders: Line Management, HRBPs, ER Manager and Advisors, Wider People Services, Reward, Talent, L&D, Comms, Employees, and Union Representatives. If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion on your career.

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