Employment Law and Policy Manager

Accountable for managing employee litigation raised via Employment Tribunal in the UK and WRC in ROI. Acting as the go to person with ACAS and IBEC in all early conciliation. This role will be responsible for managing the risk with UK Employment Tribunal and where appropriate look to manage low risk cases internally by completing ET3 responses and representing the company when Counsel is not required.

This role will also advise and draft policy updates to ensure Bidvest Noonan achieve their ambition of becoming an employer of choice.

Key accountabilities

• Working in partnership with ACAS and IBEC leading on all litigation and settlement agreements. Managing cases appropriately and working in partnership with line managers.
• Support and attend Employment Tribunal cases and hearings when required. Providing expertise, preparing relevant documents and responses to the Tribunal, and ensuring the organisations best interests are well-represented.
• Assist the Director of Employee Relations in the development of the individual case management strategy by ensuring that high profile cases are managed, other cases are resolved quickly, and lessons are learnt.
• First escalation point for Employment Law matters from the business.
• Keep employee policies up to date and draft new policies where legislative changes require.
• Provide colleagues and managers with support, specialist expert advice, guidance and interpretation of HR policy and practice, specifically in relation to employee relations activity so that they are aware of business approach and their obligations within the process or situation.
• Provide support for complex Employee Relations cases, appeals and/ or IR disputes as appropriate, specifically in cases which are high-profile, complex or of a sensitive nature. Working in partnership with the appropriate People Business Partner to ensure litigation is managed effectively.
• Work collaboratively with the People Business Partner team to support the resolution/preparation of employee litigation cases.
• Support the Director of Employee Engagement to work with the HR leadership team in improvement activities relating to HR process and policy, data management and HR service level.
• Ensuring engagement is maintained and managers act in a way that involves employees and fosters a positive work environment not losing sight of our mission to make Bidvest Noonan a great place to work.
• Ensuring managers are upskilled to deal with people-management challenges and interpreting policies in a fair and effective manner.
• Contribute to the completion of regular and customised management information on a timely basis, produces interpretation of trends and findings, summaries and completes various MI reporting requirements for senior management consideration.
• Help to build and deliver best practice across the group to help to embed our HR ethos and values
• Deliver coaching and support to Employee Relations Advisors to build confidence and support learning and development
• Deliver coaching, case learnings and training to managers in matters relating to HR in line with best practice and employment legislation.
• Build trusted, credible relationships with leaders and HR teams to provide specialist ER advice and solutions for complex, high risk or high-profile ER cases), following through to resolution and tracking advice given in the ER Case Management system.
• Work in partnership with stakeholders/leaders and relevant HR Teams, to provide a blend of insights based on data and knowledge into the ER environment for a geographic location/region/business area, ensuring appropriate ER solutions are formed and delivered that address risk areas and drive desired improvements.
• Demonstrate exemplary judgement, ensuring balanced advice based on assessment of risk that drives end results that are right commercially and / or aligned to our valued behaviours.
• Hold high standards of case confidentiality and ensure that confidentiality is a clearly understood element of all business relationships between the team and those they advise.
• Identify and coach leaders/managers to improve the management of employee relations cases, helping to develop line manager expertise, specifically, in managing disciplinaries, grievances, capability, and performance related issues. Work with the Learning teams to provide input to pro-active learning interventions that improve knowledge and skills for line managers in managing such issues.
• Support in own key ER projects including HR policy updates, wellbeing initiatives and occupational health.
• Act as the ER expert in key business practices including Whistleblowing, client removal etc, identifying ER risk and providing feedback to continuously build line manager capability
• Conduct and support regular case reviews with the ER Team to build capability and ensure we're providing credible ER advice that delivers our ER strategy.
• Any other duties commensurate with the capability of the post holder and as required by the nature of the role.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience required

• Employment law Solicitor
• Exceptional & demonstrable record of delivering against targets
• Experience of employment legislation.
• Full understanding of ACAS and the Employment Tribunal System (WRC and EAT in Ireland)
• Ability to establish credibility and be able to influence at Operational level
• Excellent networking skills and stakeholder engagement skills
• Have independence and the ability to challenge constructively and positively
• Evidence of working successfully with central functions in a shared services environment

About Us

Bidvest Noonan is a team of 27,000 passionate and customer-focused people. We work together to deliver exceptional service and value to customers across the UK and Ireland. We recruit great people to deliver our services and we provide them with the resources, training, and direction they need to do their best work.

We always put people first. Our people are exceptional and go the extra mile to deliver outstanding services. We celebrate and recognise their successes at every opportunity. At Bidvest Noonan, we strive to make each person feel appreciated, engaged, and supported so that they can reach their potential, knowing it has a positive impact on our overall success.

Bidvest Noonan is highly committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can feel valued and respected. We are delighted to welcome applicants from our Armed Forces community and people from diverse backgrounds and identities.