People Advisor (Southern Water Contract) in Worthing

At Lanes Group, nothing is more important than the health, safety and wellbeing of our people, our customers and the communities we serve. As one of the UK's leading infrastructure delivery partners, we employ around 5,000 talented people across a nationwide network of depots and operational locations, delivering annual revenues in excess of £650 million. We provide essential infrastructure, drainage, wastewater and utility services to many of the UK's leading organisations, including a significant number of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies.

In this critical role of ensuring our organisation is known for being the best in everything we do, known for leaving a legacy of absolute quality and compliance, and keeping our promises at all times is our absolute mantra.

As the People Advisor working on the Southern Water contract, you will provide professional, pragmatic and timely HR advice and support to managers and employees across the organisation. You'll be a trusted point of contact for a wide range of people matters, helping managers navigate employee relations issues, apply policies consistently and make informed decisions that support both their teams and the business.

Working closely with the wider People team, you'll support the delivery of operational HR activities across the employee lifecycle, ensuring compliance with employment legislation and company policies. You'll also play an active role in improving people processes, supporting organisational change and contributing to initiatives that enhance employee engagement, wellbeing and overall organisational performance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Employee Relations: Build strong and effective working relationships with managers and employees, providing expert advice and guidance across the full range of people matters to ensure a fair, consistent and legally compliant approach to people management.
• Advise and support managers in managing employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, absence management, probation, performance management, flexible working requests and family-friendly policies.
• Provide coaching and guidance to managers on performance management processes, including the implementation and monitoring of Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs).
• Attend formal meetings, providing procedural guidance, taking accurate notes, and ensuring compliance with company policies and UK employment legislation.
• Manage employee relations cases through to resolution, balancing business needs with employee wellbeing while minimising organisational risk.
• Prepare, review and issue a range of HR documentation, ensuring all documentation is accurate, timely and legally compliant.

Recruitment and Onboarding:

• Support the Talent Acquisition Partner with recruitment activities, providing advice on recruitment and selection best practice.
• Coordinate onboarding activities to ensure a positive and engaging new starter experience.
• Support managers throughout the onboarding process, including induction planning, probation reviews and confirmation of employment.
• Ensure all pre-employment checks and new starter documentation are completed accurately and within agreed timescales.

HR Operations:

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date employee records within the HR Information System, ensuring data integrity and confidentiality at all times.
• Prepare employment contracts, contractual amendments and other HR documentation in a timely and accurate manner.
• Ensure HR policies, procedures and processes are applied consistently across the organisation.
• Produce regular HR reports, management information and people metrics to support business decision-making.
• Respond to employee and manager queries, delivering a professional, responsive and customer-focused HR advisory service.

Absence Management and Wellbeing:

• Monitor sickness absence, identify trends and provide advice to managers on absence management procedures and best practice.
• Support managers in managing long-term absence cases, including coordinating Occupational Health referrals and implementing recommendations where appropriate.
• Advise managers on reasonable adjustments and support employee wellbeing in line with organisational policies.
• Promote employee wellbeing initiatives and contribute to the delivery of the organisation's health and wellbeing programme.

Learning and Development:

• Identify learning and development needs through discussions with managers and workforce planning activities.
• Coordinate training programmes, workshops and learning activities, ensuring accurate training records are maintained.
• Support the delivery of learning and development initiatives that enhance employee capability and organisational performance.
• Monitor mandatory training compliance and provide reporting.

Compliance:

• Ensure all HR practices comply with UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, company policies and HR best practice.
• Maintain compliance with GDPR and data protection requirements in relation to employee records and confidential information.
• Support internal and external HR audits by maintaining accurate records and documentation.
• Keep up to date with changes in employment legislation and HR best practice, sharing knowledge and guidance with managers where appropriate.

HR Projects:

• Contribute to HR projects and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance the effectiveness of the People function.
• Support organisational change programmes, including restructures, consultations, TUPE transfers and other change management activities.
• Participate in the review, development and implementation of HR policies, procedures and guidance to ensure they remain legally compliant and aligned with organisational objectives.
• Identify opportunities to improve HR processes, systems and employee experience through continuous improvement and best practice.

Qualifications/Training Required:

• CIPD Level 3
• Full UK Driver's Licence

Desirable:

• CIPD Level 5

Skills and Experience:

• Excellent communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and HR systems
• High level of confidentiality and professionalism
• Strong organisational skills
• Strong interpersonal, relationship-building, and networking skills
• Ability to multitask and prioritise workload in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent attention to detail

So if you thrive working in a fast-paced environment, where no two days are the same, and want to join a growing company that values you and your ability - whilst delivering the best in employee relations - then we are the right Company for you.

At Lanes Group, we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered. We believe that our differences make us stronger and are committed to providing equal opportunities for all employees. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups.

Please note: we do reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.