Employee Relations Specialist
London | Hybrid (3 days per week across Central London sites)
Initially 3-Month Fixed-Term Contract | Immediate Start
Salary: £70,000–£80,000
The Opportunity:
Hawkwood is exclusively partnering with a well-established, multi-site organisation to appoint an experienced Employee Relations Specialist on an initial 3 month FTC with potential extension.
Operating across multiple UK locations, our client is undergoing a significant period of organisational transformation and is seeking additional Employee Relations expertise to support an increase in casework while enabling the wider HR team to deliver a number of strategic people initiatives.
Reporting into the senior HR leadership team, you'll take ownership of a varied Employee Relations caseload across a large operational workforce, providing pragmatic, commercially focused advice to managers and leaders across the business. Alongside day-to-day case management, you'll also have the opportunity to support a large-scale, business-critical project that is expected to generate increased Employee Relations activity over the coming months.
This is an immediate requirement, offering an initial three-month contract with the potential to be extended for the right individual.
What you'll do:
- Manage a varied portfolio of Employee Relations cases from initial consultation through to conclusion.
- Advise managers on disciplinary, grievance, capability, probation, absence management and performance matters.
- Lead workplace investigations, ensuring fair, consistent and legally compliant outcomes.
- Prepare investigation reports, outcome letters and supporting documentation.
- Coach and support managers to confidently manage Employee Relations issues.
- Partner with HR Business Partners to prioritise and resolve cases across multiple operational sites.
- Provide practical guidance on UK employment legislation and HR best practice.
- Maintain accurate case records and Employee Relations trackers.
- Assess risk and escalate complex matters where appropriate.
- Build strong relationships with operational leaders across the business.
- Support the implementation of evolving Employee Relations processes and wider people initiatives.
- Contribute to a significant organisational project requiring dedicated Employee Relations support.
You will bring:
- Proven experience independently managing end-to-end Employee Relations cases within a large, multi-site operational business.
- Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
- Excellent investigation, interviewing and report writing skills.
- Confidence coaching and influencing managers at all levels.
- The ability to manage multiple priorities within a fast-paced environment.
- A pragmatic, commercially focused approach with excellent stakeholder management skills.
- Experience supporting operational or blue-collar workforces within environments such as luxury hospitality, retail, construction, logistics, manufacturing, facilities management, healthcare or similar multi-site businesses.
- The ability to build credibility quickly and add value from day one within a changing organisation.
We recognise how challenging this current job market is for candidates, and Hawkwood are therefore striving to provide the best candidate experience we can. If you are interested in this opportunity, we kindly request that you apply via this LinkedIn advert, as opposed to sending us an email or LinkedIn direct message. We are eager to ensure that each candidate application is considered fairly, and receives a consistent experience. Unfortunately, we cannot ensure this standard if you inquire about a role via email or LinkedIn message, as it falls outside of our established process.