ER Manager

Are you ready to chart your own career path? With our refreshed strategy, we're building on our rich heritage and transforming our business to be more scalable and efficient, unlocking the capabilities needed for future success. This includes significantly investing in technology, streamlining the way we work and creating an environment where colleagues feel engaged, empowered and accountable; where they can show up, speak up and perform - because we believe in the difference our work makes.

At a glance:
Location:
Home Worker

Workplace Type:
Hybrid

Employment Type:
Permanent

Seniority:
Mid-Senior Level

The Employee Relations Manager will be responsible for shaping and delivering a proactive ER strategy that protects the organisation from risk while building leadership capability and employee trust. Operating at a senior level, the role will focus on the development and implementation of an ER framework and HR policy, providing expert guidance on complex employee issues such as grievances and disciplinary matters, manage investigations, advise on employment law and foster a positive employee relations culture through training and communication and often involving negotiations.

*What you'll be doing:
Policy*

• Ensure policy is up to date and reflects current legislative and regulatory requirements and the cultural direction of SJP.
• Ensure consistent application of policy and provide expert guidance in policy interpretation.

*Complex Case Management*

• Lead on high-risk and complex ER cases, including disciplinary, grievance, performance, absence, whistleblowing, and investigations.
• Ensure timely, fair, and consistent resolution in line with employment law, company policy, and regulatory requirements.
• Draft and review ER documentation, such as investigation reports, hearing packs, and outcome letters (utilising technology and hub resources wherever sensible to do so)

*Advisory Support*

• Provide specialist ER advice to managers, People Partners and People Hub, ensuring compliance and alignment with best practice.
• Advise on preventative actions to reduce ER risk, such as early intervention strategies and manager coaching.
• Support the Head of People Hub & ER in developing ER policy and guidance that is simplified, standardised and aligns to our cultural goals

*Organisational Change & Consultation*

• Lead & oversee employee consultation processes in relation to restructures, redundancies, TUPE, and other organizational change programmes.
• Provide expert advice to leaders and HR colleagues on the legal and practical requirements of collective and individual consultation.
• Build strong working relationships with employee representatives and work councils to ensure transparent and constructive engagement.
• Develop and maintain guidance, templates and tools to ensure consultation processes are delivered consistently and in line with legal requirements (utilising HR Advisers and Hub where appropriate)

*Regulatory, Risk Management, Mitigation & Governance*

• Maintain a deep understanding of UK employment law and regulatory frameworks relevant to the financial services sector.
• Support the Head of Hub & ER in developing, implementing & maintaining an ER framework that mitigates risk, ensures compliance, and aligns with the organisations regulatory and commercial priorities.
• Monitor emerging legal, regulatory and market trends to anticipate risk and adapt ER policies and practices accordingly.
• Monitor ER case trends, escalating potential risks or recurring themes to the Head of People Hub & ER.
• Partner with Compliance, Risk, and Legal teams to ensure alignment in high-stakes or cross-functional matters and ensure consistent application of employment law and regulatory requirements.

*Training & Capability Building*

• Design & deliver ER capability programmes, toolkits, and guidance to enable line managers to manage people issues confidently and effectively.
• Equip leaders with the knowledge and confidence to manage employee issues and change processes effectively and fairly.
• Provide consultation and coaching to senior managers on decision making, risk mitigation, and managing sensitive conversations.
• Act as a trusted advisor to executives, balancing legal, regulatory, and people considerations with business priorities.
• Ensure ER advice and consultation activity strengthen organisational culture and build employee trust.
• Partnering with L&D to create learning loops from ER case trends to inform ongoing training and leadership development (utilising HR Advisers and the Hub where sensible to do so)
• Deliver ER training for managers on topics such as conduct, performance management, and investigations (utilising HR Advisers and the Hub where sensible to do so)

*Building Business Trust*

• Act as a credible, solutions-focused partner to senior stakeholders, balancing people, legal & commercial considerations.
• Build transparent and constructive relationships with employee representatives and or work councils, working groups as appropriate.

*Continuous Improvement*

• Recommend and support process improvements within ER case handling and documentation (Utilising HR Advisers and the Hub where sensible to do so)
• Contributes to the development of tools, templates, and resources for the People Hub to improve consistency and efficiency (utilising HR Advisers and the Hub where sensible to do so)

*Essential Criteria*

• Extensive senior level experience in employee relations within complex, regulated environments
• Proven track record of leading consultation processes linked to restructuring, redundancies, and organisational change.
• Strong understanding of UK employment law, consultation obligations, and best practice in organizational change management
• Skilled in managing relationships with employee representatives or works councils.
• Demonstrated ability to manage high risk ER issues with discretion, judgement and commercial pragmatism.

*Desirable Criteria*

• Law degree or similar
• CIPD qualified or equivalent experience

What's in it for you?
We reward you for the work you do,
whether that's through our discretionary annual bonus scheme that reflects both personal and company performance, competitive annual leave allowance (28 days plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase an additional 5 days), or online rewards platform with a variety of discounts.

We also have benefits to support whatever stage of life you are in, including:

• Competitive parental leave (26 weeks full pay)
• Private medical insurance (optional taxable benefit)
• 10% non-contributory pension (increasing with length of service)

Reasonable Adjustments
We're an equal opportunities employer and want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible and inclusive for all, if you require reasonable adjustment(s) at any stage please let us know by emailing us at

Research tells us that applicants (especially those from underrepresented groups) can be put off from applying for a role if they do not meet all the criteria or have been on an extended career-break. If you think you would be a good match for this role and can demonstrate some transferable experience please apply, regardless of whether you tick every box.

What's next?
If you're excited about this role and believe you have the skills and experience we're looking for, we'd love to hear from you Please submit an application by clicking 'apply' below and our team will be in touch.

As a business regulated by the FCA we would advise you to familiarise yourself with the conduct regulations and in particular consumer duty obligations prior to an interview with SJP.