HR Employee Relations Specialist in Exeter

HR Employee Relations Specialist – Exeter, Devon – Permanent 💼 Salary & Benefits package: £50,000 – £55,000 per annum + excellent benefits package 📍 Location: Exeter, Devon 📅 Contract: Permanent 🏡 Working Pattern: Hybrid – 3 days in the office and 2 days from home Are you an experienced Employee Relations professional with a strong background in managing complex employee relations matters, looking for an opportunity to make a real impact within a successful professional services organisation? Carrington Wood is supporting the recruitment of an Employee Relations Specialist based in Exeter, Devon, offering an excellent opportunity to join an established and growing organisation in a key HR position. Working closely with HR Business Partners, HR Advisors and senior leaders, you'll play a pivotal role in managing complex employee relations cases, providing commercially focused advice and helping shape effective people practices across the organisation. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who combines strong technical knowledge with a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach and enjoys supporting managers through challenging people situations. What You'll Be Doing ✔ Leading and managing a broad range of employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance, absence and flexible working matters ✔ Acting as a trusted adviser to managers and senior stakeholders, providing expert guidance on complex and sensitive employee relations issues ✔ Providing commercially focused advice, balancing employment law considerations, business priorities and the employee experience ✔ Leading and overseeing workplace investigations, ensuring fair, thorough and consistent processes ✔ Working closely with HR Business Partners and Advisors to provide specialist support and strengthen management capability ✔ Coaching and advising managers on best practice when handling difficult people matters ✔ Developing, reviewing and improving HR policies, procedures and employee relations guidance ✔ Ensuring employee relations processes remain compliant with current UK employment legislation and HR best practice ✔ Monitoring employee relations trends and management information, identifying opportunities to improve processes and reduce organisational risk ✔ Supporting consistent decision-making and positive employee relations practices across the organisation ✔ Keeping up to date with changes in employment legislation and translating these into practical guidance for the business ✔ Contributing to wider HR initiatives and helping enhance the overall employee experience What We're Looking For 💡 A minimum of 3–5 years' experience in an HR or Employee Relations role, with strong hands-on employee relations experience 💡 Proven experience managing complex disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance and absence cases 💡 Strong knowledge of UK employment legislation and HR best practice 💡 Experience conducting and managing workplace investigations 💡 The confidence and credibility to advise, influence and challenge senior stakeholders where appropriate 💡 A commercially minded and pragmatic approach to problem-solving 💡 Excellent communication, coaching and interpersonal skills 💡 Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple complex cases simultaneously 💡 Excellent attention to detail and the ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive information 💡 The ability to work collaboratively with wider HR teams and provide trusted specialist advice 💡 A proactive, solutions-focused approach with a genuine interest in improving employee relations and management practices Why You'll Love This Role ✔ Competitive salary of £50,000 – £55,000 per annum ✔ Excellent additional benefits package ✔ Hybrid working arrangement – 3 days in the Exeter office and 2 days from home ✔ The opportunity to join a successful and growing professional services organisation ✔ A varied and influential position dealing with complex and interesting employee relations matters ✔ Exposure to senior stakeholders, providing the opportunity to influence decision-making across the business ✔ The chance to develop and improve employee relations practices, policies and processes ✔ A collaborative and supportive HR team where your expertise will be valued ✔ The opportunity to make a genuine difference to management capability, employee experience and organisational culture 📩 Interested? Apply now or get in touch with Carrington Wood for a confidential conversation about this Employee Relations Specialist opportunity in Exeter. Carrington Wood is a specialist recruitment consultancy supporting organisations across Cornwall, Devon and the wider South West. We recruit across Finance, Accounting, HR, Administration, Customer Service and Business Support on both a temporary and permanent basis