Employee Relations Specialist

Employee Relations Specialist - 3-Month Contract

Location: Central London, near St Pauls and Bank - Hybrid (3 days per week in the office)

Contract: 3 months, with potential for a permanent opportunity

Day Rate: £200-£400 per day via Umbrella company, dependent on relevant experience

Start Date: ASAP - ideally by the end of August, latest 7 September

Are you an experienced Employee Relations Specialist who thrives in a fast-paced, complex organisation? Do you have strong ER case management experience, including complex cases, and a good understanding of Workday?

We are recruiting for a hands-on Employee Relations Specialist to join a large, international technology and professional services organisation with approximately 2,000 employees in the UK and 15,000 globally.

This is an exciting opportunity to join an established HR team of around 20 people and play a key role within a busy HR Shared Services environment. The organisation has a fast-paced, sales-driven culture, so experience of working in a large and complex environment with multiple stakeholders is essential.

The Role

This is a hands-on, non-managerial position suited to an experienced HR/ER professional. In consultancy terms, we're looking for someone operating at Senior Consultant level rather than Manager level.

You don't need previous leadership or management experience. Instead, you'll need to be confident managing a busy ER caseload independently, dealing with complex employee matters and working effectively in a fast-paced, commercially focused environment.

You'll work closely with managers and stakeholders, providing practical and knowledgeable advice across a range of employee relations matters while ensuring cases are managed consistently and in line with UK employment legislation.

Key Responsibilities

Manage a high-volume Employee Relations caseload from start to finish

Handle ER cases (occasionally complex), including disciplinary, grievance, performance and absence matters

Provide practical, confident advice to managers and stakeholders

Support performance management and absence management processes

Review and interpret changes to employment legislation and assess their impact on the organisation

Support TUPE activity and associated employee relations matters

Manage and respond to queries through ServiceNow, the organisation's HR ticketing system

Use Workday as the core HRIS and support the creation, review and implementation of HR templates

Review and improve HR processes, documentation and templates

Work collaboratively within the wider HR Shared Services function

Build effective relationships across a large and complex organisation

Manage competing priorities effectively in a fast-paced environment

Essential Experience:

The key experience we're looking for is

1. Strong ER Case Management Experience

You must have substantial experience managing ER cases independently, with experience handling complex ER matters being a major advantage.

2. Workday Experience

Previous experience using Workday is essential. This is the organisation's core HRIS platform.

3. TUPE Experience

You'll need practical experience of supporting or managing TUPE processes.

4. Large, Complex Organisation Experience

Experience working within a large and complex organisation is essential. International organisation experience would be a significant advantage. Experience within a large organisation of several hundred employees or more is preferred.

You'll also ideally have

Experience working within a fast-paced, commercially focused environment

Strong performance and absence management experience

Experience within technology, professional services, sales or another similarly fast-paced environment is useful, although sector background is less important than organisational complexity

ServiceNow experience would be advantageous, although it's not essential

CIPD Level 3 or above

Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills

A hands-on, patient and pragmatic approach

The ability to work independently without requiring people-management experience

Experience working within an HR Shared Services or similar HR structure would be beneficial

Why Apply?

£200-£400 per day via Umbrella, depending on experience

Initial 3-month contract, with potential for the role to become permanent

Hybrid working with 3 days per week in the office, based around St Paul's and Bank

Opportunity to work within a large, international organisation

Exposure to complex ER matters within a fast-paced and commercially driven environment

One-stage interview process for shortlisted candidates

Immediate start available

Interview Process & Start Date

The organisation is looking to move quickly. Interviews will take place from Thursday/Friday and into early next week, with a single-stage interview involving the HR Director and Head of Strategic Initiatives.