Employee Relations Partner

What you’ll be doing

• Manage and respond to day-to-day Employee Relations queries from managers and HR colleagues, providing clear guidance on relevant policies, procedures and processes.
• Triage issues, identify the appropriate route and escalate complex, sensitive, high-risk, legal, union-related, business-critical or precedent-setting matters promptly.
• Support managers with sickness absence processes and cases, including review preparation, documentation, meeting packs, follow-up actions and progress tracking.
• Prepare accurate ER case files, chronologies, case summaries, evidence bundles, investigation packs, invitations, outcome templates and supporting correspondence.
• Coordinate formal meetings and hearings, including scheduling, documentation, note-taking support and secure record management.
• Track cases across the UK and Ireland through agreed governance, maintaining case status, action logs, timelines, risk points and documentation quality.
• Monitor overdue actions and case progression, following up with stakeholders and escalating delays or material risks through the agreed governance route.
• Support disciplinary, grievance, performance, capability, probation, flexible working, sickness absence, redundancy, organisational change, consultation and TUPE-related ER processes.
• Support settlement agreement administration and engagement with internal Legal or external solicitors where directed and appropriately authorised.
• Apply agreed ER standards, templates and governance consistently across the UK and Ireland while recognising local policy and legal requirements.
• Maintain confidentiality, data protection and audit-ready record standards across all ER activity.
• Contribute to ER metrics, management information and insight on case volumes, themes, risks, recurring issues and opportunities for improvement.

What we’re looking for

• Practical Employee Relations experience in a complex, fast-paced organisation, ideally within business services, outsourcing or another operational environment.
• Experience supporting a varied ER caseload, including disciplinary, grievance, performance, capability, absence and organisational change matters.
• Experience preparing formal case documentation, investigation materials, hearing packs, chronologies, outcome correspondence and accurate case records.
• Working knowledge of employment law and ER practice in both the UK and Ireland, with the ability to recognise jurisdictional differences and seek specialist advice when required.
• Experience supporting managers through formal processes and handling sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.
• Strong organisation, prioritisation and follow-through, with particular attention to deadlines, documentation quality, governance and auditability.
• Confidence using HR systems, case-management tools and Microsoft 365 applications to maintain records, track actions and produce management information.