Employee Relations Business Partner

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Main area: Workforce & OD
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time – 37.5 hours per week (will consider flexible working)
Job ref: 311-H750-25

Site: Trust Headquarters
Town: Ashton-Under-Lyne
Salary: £53,755 – £60,504 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 26/02/2025 23:59
Interview date: 20/03/2025

If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople .

We are seeking an experienced HR professional with a keen interest in employee relations to work as the ER lead of an exciting new ER function at Pennine Care.

You will work as an Employee Relations Business Partner providing senior operational leadership to a team of Senior ER Advisors, ER Advisors, and ER Assistants ensuring that they are fully supported to provide a high quality, business-focused, responsive service to the wider Trust. Ensuring that the Employment Relations advisory service is delivered to the highest possible professional HR standards.

You will bring with you significant experience of employee relations working at a senior level within HR and experience of leading a team of HR professionals. You will be driving change, improving the experience of our staff and leaders through the provision of high-quality employee relation support that is based on developing a just culture and creating a great place to work.

As part of a new team, you will embrace innovative thinking about how we can do things differently within the Trust to move forward with our Employee Relations agenda. You will develop strong business relationships with workforce colleagues, Network HR Business Partners, and service leads across the Trust, developing the appropriate business-focused employee relations interventions.

Some home/remote working is supported in the role.

Main duties of the job

You will be a credible, experienced professional who can evidence significant experience within an ER setting. You should be an individual driven to achieve success with the ability to influence, motivate, and collaborate.

Utilising your skills to support an effective just and learning culture, you will demonstrate the ability to design and implement inclusive conflict resolution approaches. You will bring with you a proven track record of taking initiative and driving forward improved ways of working to develop this newly developed ER function.

You will play a lead role in nurturing and developing a new team managing a diverse agenda, acting as the subject matter expert providing both strategic and operational resolutions for complex employee relations issues with excellent management, persuasion, and negotiation skills, and a flexible approach to work. You will have a current knowledge of Employment Law and a competency in application in terms of policy and practice.

The postholder will need to be MCIPD qualified and should be able to evidence continued professional development and knowledge in the field.

Working for our organisation

We are proud to provide high-quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester – Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, and Tameside and Glossop.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.

All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage, and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.

If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
• Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance.
• Access to Continued Professional Development.
• Involvement in improvement and research activities.
• Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service.
• Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure, and travel.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Work with the Head of Workforce & Deputy Director of Workforce & OD to operationally deliver the Trust’s strategic vision and work collaboratively with the workforce colleagues and Network senior leadership teams on the design and implementation of an effective Employee Relations Service.
• Work with the Head of Workforce to support the development of Employee Relations improvement plans and provide specialist HR advice to inform such development and improvement plans and key business objectives.
• Hold responsibility for relevant people management training across the Trust including Investigation Skills Training, Absence Management training, and all management development training to support an effective Employee Relations service. The postholder will be expected to analyse the requirements of the organisation based on data and develop training solutions to suit.
• Provide advice and leadership as the subject matter expert on complex HR issues in order to minimise risk and financial exposure whilst still holding the Trust business objectives in mind.
• Lead and support the development of relevant workforce policies to support the direction of improvements and trust values with regards to Employee Relations matters ensuring compliance with legislation and developing best practice in the NHS and HR.
• This includes responsibility for negotiating workforce policy with staff side partnership colleagues, ensuring policies are kept updated, and that new legislation and best practice are included into internal policy.
• Operate as an advocate of the Trust values, engagement, change, and modernisation in support of business and workforce strategies, championing best practice people management, influencing key business decisions to ensure the most effective implementation of Employee Relations practices.
• Act as the organisational expert in employment relations matters, employment law, and terms and conditions of employment to ensure that not only the Trust is compliant, but that people management best practice is evident in all workstreams.
• Work in collaboration with workforce colleagues to support the implementation of the Trust’s People Strategy to develop sustainable improvement action plans for an Employee Relations service that supports Trust objectives, builds management capability, and maintains best practice.
• Taking a lead on the most complex employee relations matters across the Trust, including sitting on complex Disciplinary, Grievance, and Appeal panels internally, as well as liaising with solicitors and preparing and representing the Trust at Employment Tribunals externally.
• Monitor compliance with KPI targets and consider proactive approaches to improvement, identifying trends that need focused review and attention.

Sponsorship: We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible roles and requirements on the government website.

What happens after your application has been received?

You will be informed about the progress of your application following shortlisting via email. Only applicants who clearly demonstrate the criteria listed in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview. Interview invites will be sent out via email.

What happens if I am offered the position after interview?

The hiring manager will make contact with you to verbally offer you the position. The hiring manager will then inform Recruitment of the decision and provide relevant paperwork. You will be sent a formal conditional offer via email.

What pre-employment checks will I need to complete?

By conducting pre-employment checks, the recruitment team will verify that you meet the pre-conditions of the role you have been offered. Pre-employment checks will be carried out according to NHS Employment Check Standards. The checks are:

• Identity verification.
• Right to work check.
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role).
• Professional registration and/or qualification check.
• Occupational health assessment.
• Employment history and reference validation.

All applicants external to NHS will be required to provide HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years. This information will be used to validate employment history and references as part of pre-employment checks.

If you are offered a position with us and you require sponsorship to support your right to work, we will review your eligibility in line with government guidance. If the role you have been offered is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not able to evidence your right to work, your conditional offer could be withdrawn.

What happens when pre-employment checks are complete?

Recruitment will liaise with you and the hiring manager to arrange a start date for your new position. You will then be booked onto a Trust Welcome Session and be sent your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.

Other important information

• We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and recognise the importance of ensuring our diverse service user population is reflected within our workforce. Unfortunately, we know that, at present, there is underrepresentation of our communities in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from diverse communities to help us grow, learn, be better and consider the brilliant innovation diverse people bring.
• If you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria on the person specification for the post.
• If you require reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please phone us on 0161 716 3181 at the earliest opportunity. We will support you to complete your application.
• Unfortunately, we are not able to guarantee the transfer of lease cars, or cover the costs of early termination charges.
• We have a strict policy on unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Please do not contact our hiring managers directly.

We reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received. To ensure your application is considered, please submit at the earliest opportunity.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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