Employee Relations Manager in London

SALARY £50,000 + up to 10% bonus

This is a fantastic opportunity to work for a restaurant group that has been voted in the Top 100 Best Companies in the UK but, most importantly, is a happy place to work that puts our people first. We focus on building meaningful careers for our teams whilst serving the very best of British produce alongside genuine hospitality from people who care. As a certified B-Corp, we aspire to create an inclusive environment where everyone can be true to themselves, feel genuinely cared for and have equal opportunities for growth and progression. We are committed to building a diverse team that includes and respects a variety of voices, identities, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, which in turn elevates our philosophy even further – to ensure Everyone Leaves Happy, including you!

Your role: We're looking for a senior People Relations Manager to join our People Team. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is passionate about creating positive workplace cultures and believes that great employee relations starts long before formal processes begin. You'll lead our employee relations strategy by building management capability through practical training, coaching and proactive support. Working closely with our Operations and People Teams, you'll equip managers with the confidence, skills and knowledge to manage people fairly, consistently and in line with our values and employment legislation. As our People Relations expert, you'll provide guidance on complex employee relations matters whilst using insight and data to reduce workplace conflict, improve manager capability and create an environment where our teams feel supported, heard and empowered to thrive.

Your responsibilities in a nutshell:

• Lead and continuously develop our employee relations strategy, focusing on prevention through training and early intervention.
• Design and deliver engaging employee relations training programmes for managers across the business.
• Create practical workshops covering absence management, investigations, difficult conversations, disciplinaries, grievances, performance management, equality, wellbeing and conflict resolution.
• Coach managers to confidently manage people issues before they escalate into formal processes.
• Develop practical ER guides, toolkits and resources to support managers in day-to-day people management.
• Act as the senior point of contact for complex employee relations matters including disciplinaries, grievances, capability, investigations and long-term absence.
• Support managers through formal hearings, appeals and organisational change processes.
• Review and maintain HR policies and procedures to ensure they remain legally compliant, practical and aligned with business needs.
• Deliver policy training and support implementation across all restaurants and head office.
• Work with the People and Operations Teams to identify cultural trends and reduce workplace conflict through proactive initiatives.
• Support restructures, contractual changes, redundancy consultations and TUPE processes where required.
• Produce monthly employee relations reports and training impact analysis for the leadership team, using data to drive continuous improvement.

Your experience and skills:

• Previous senior People Relations or HR experience within a multi-site business with excellent knowledge of UK employment law and best practice, with experience managing complex employee relations cases from start to finish.
• Proven experience delivering engaging management training and developing leadership capability.
• Strong ER skills with the ability to manage sensitive and complex situations objectively and fairly.
• Excellent coaching, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively when required.
• Comfortable analysing people data and using insights to influence decision making and drive positive change.
• Passionate about creating inclusive, supportive workplaces where people can perform at their best. Preferably Level 5 CIDP qualified.

Your benefits:

• Blacklock Experience-for-two at one of our restaurants to celebrate passing your probation.
• 50% off food in all of our restaurants (up to 4 people).
• 33 days' holiday including Bank Holidays.
• Charity Day – we'll pay you while you help others (optional volunteering day each year).
• 'Extras' Discounts.
• £500 bonus for referring a friend.
• Cost price chops and wine.
• 12 weeks paid maternity & adoption leave and 2 weeks paid paternity leave.
• 2 days paid Paw-ternity leave to look after your first puppy.
• Anniversary gifts including extra holidays, a weekend away and a fully paid sabbatical to celebrate your key milestones with us!
• Free mortgage advice.
• Hardship Loan Scheme.
• Face-to-face counselling support, legal advice and hardship grants through our Employee Assistance Programme.
• Awesome team parties including Blackstock, our annual company festival!

If you like what you've heard so far and you feel that this role is a bit of you, we'd love to hear from you! (This is an office-based role and our office is located on Dean Street, London.)