Head of Employee Relations EMEA in London

K&K Talents is a Recruitment Agency who have been retained by our client to run this search. They are building a team from scratch and looking for dynamic resources who are from IT and Consulting Background.

We are seeking an experienced Employee Relations leader to head the Employee Relations (ER) function for EMEA. The ER leader will develop a deep understanding of Client business and will collaborate with HR teams, Legal functions and business leaders to drive the Employee Relations function through Policy formulation, Process streamlining, enablement of stakeholders and other interventions.

As the Head of Employee Relations, you are a subject matter expert on employee relations issues and lead the Employee Relations function within HR for a region. You will ensure compliance with the applicable labour laws and regulations and work on enabling awareness to leaders, managers and employees about ER related policies. The Head of ER for EMEA will be responsible for interventions to sustain culture & values that align with the organization’s goal and strategy to create a more positive and productive work environment.

This strategic position will be responsible for reviewing, formulating and implementing the Employee Relations function/practices in the EMEA region. You will head the ER team in EMEA and be the point of contact for all Employee Relations matters in the region such as preventive and corrective actions of behaviour/value incidents, disciplinary processes, major employee grievances and investigations.

Details of Roles & Responsibilities:

• Strategic ER Management: Responsible for ER strategy for EMEA region. Provides specialist advice on employee relations requirements and procedures to Business leaders, HR leaders and Senior management.
• Establishing/sustaining/and improving ER processes and serving as process owner for operational matrices.
• Drives ER processes including separations/terminations, absence management, performance management, workplace grievances, investigations and creation of required documentation to support those processes in close coordination with Legal teams.
• Review the Employee relations practices/policies involving value violations (disciplinary process), grievance redressal process, performance deficiency process and suggest changes/improvements.
• Guide & enable Business partner HR, Business leaders, Manager community on the following:
• Values adherence: Proactive measures to avoid the occurrence of various types of value digressions. In case of incidents of value digressions, process & methods to conduct investigations and ensuing actions.
• Employee grievances: Proactive measures to avoid the occurrence of grievances among employees to ensure a positive work environment. In case of the occurrence of grievances, process to be followed.
• Performance deficiencies: Enable Business partner HR and Business leaders on the process to be followed in performance improvement plans or poor performance exits.
• Drive anti-sexual harassment initiatives, and coordinate internal investigations in case of any incident.
• Work with Labour authorities and other stakeholders for statutory compliances involving Employee relations functions.
• Collaborate and coordinate with Work councils or Employee Unions in the countries as applicable with an objective of a positive work environment in line with Business strategy and business need.
• Conduct or support central teams in case of any whistleblower investigations as needed.
• Conduct trend analysis to forecast and take measures to prevent incidents.
• Undertake management development activities by coaching, influencing, and sharing knowledge to increase manager’s abilities to manage their teams.
• Stay current on employment law, ER practices and trends. Track and interpret trends in employee relations to proactively identify issues and develop training and other interventions and solutions.
• Promote the Company’s Culture and policies.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Minimum of 12 – 20 years’ experience in HR with at least 10 years exposure to Employee Relations functions.
• ER leader will be a subject matter expert of Employee Relations of UK&I, Germany, France, Benelux, NORDICS, Switzerland. Exposure to Eastern Europe will be an added advantage.
• Strong team player who enjoys a fast-paced, evolving international environment and who is proactive, assertive, decisive, and resilient.
• A key capability is the ability to understand the global business context and to be able to make practical, risk-based decisions that drive business outcomes based on solid employment law knowledge and experience, process improvement mindset and key understanding of HR matters.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in dealing with conflict resolution.
• Ability to adapt quickly to a changing environment.
• Coaching and Influencing skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office skills (Outlook, Excel, Word, PPT etc.).