HR Lead (Employee Relations)

HR Lead (Employee Relations specific) | London (hybrid) | High-growth, multi-site business

The opportunity

What if your ER expertise was used to stop cases happening, not just to manage them? Our client, one of the UK's fastest-growing multi-site retail businesses, is looking for an experienced employee relations specialist to own ER across their UK organisation. With over 50 sites, 2,000 people and a five-year plan to quadruple the workforce, the ambition is clear: equip leaders to handle people matters early and well, so issues are resolved before frustration builds and a case ever takes shape.

The business’s HR function is deliberately decentralised. Managers own day‑to‑day people management, Regional Managers are the first point of escalation, and the central People team stays lean by design. The foundations needed are in place: manager training, formal HR training for regional leadership and a new case management system going live. What they need now is a seasoned ER specialist to build upon these foundations, make the model hold at scale, and to be the expert everyone turns to when it matters most.

What you'll own

Building the confidence and capability of the leadership team. You will coach Regional Directors and senior operators to exercise sound judgement independently, and create practical upskilling that equips site managers to handle people matters early, fairly and well. Alongside this, you will be the technical authority for the most complex, high‑risk cases, including dismissals, appeals, settlements and tribunal claims, and make the judgement calls on when to resolve, settle or defend. You will also manage the relationship with external employment counsel, with a clear mandate to bring expertise in‑house, and lead readiness for the Employment Rights Act changes. The risk tiering framework, the case management system and the case data that shows where risk is building and why will all sit with you, and together they will shape where leaders need support next.

What you'll bring

• Multi-site experience with a dispersed, frontline workforce, ideally in hospitality, retail, care, leisure or similar
• Substantial, dedicated ER experience, where employee relations has been your core discipline rather than one part of a generalist remit.
• Direct experience taking cases through to tribunal and making the call on defend or settle.
• Ideally experienced working in a decentralised HR function, OR the opportunity to work in one (important that the ambition is there if that's the case.
• A track record of building line capability and reducing dependence on a central team.

Why this role

Most ER roles are spent managing the fallout. This one is about ownership: designing the model rather than inheriting it, empowering leaders to handle matters early, and reserving your expertise for the cases that genuinely need it. You will have direct access to the executive team and a remit that grows with every new site. There’s also the growth story – which in itself presents a whole host of exciting opportunities.