Employee Relations Manager in Portsmouth

Robert Half is partnering with a luxury restaurant chain in search for a Senior Employee Relations Manager.

Role Overview: The Senior Employee Relations Manager will lead the Employee Relations function, ensuring ER matters are managed consistently, fairly, and in line with both business values and UK employment legislation. Acting as the subject matter expert for Employee Relations, this role will take ownership of complex and high-risk cases, establish best practice across the organisation, and support managers in navigating people matters with confidence and consistency. Working closely with the Head of HR, the successful candidate will balance employee experience, commercial objectives, and legal risk, ensuring a positive and compliant approach throughout the employee lifecycle. The role will also play a key part in preparing the business for legislative developments, ensuring policies, processes, and management capability remain aligned with evolving employment law.

Responsibilities:

• Employee Relations Leadership
  • Lead complex and high-risk employee relations cases from start to finish, including disciplinary, grievance, performance management, absence management, mental health, and reasonable adjustment cases.
  • Act as the escalation point for employee relations matters across the business, providing commercially focused and legally compliant advice.
  • Set standards and ensure consistency across investigations, hearings, and case outcomes.
  • Provide expert guidance to managers and employees on employment law, policy, and best practice.
  • Coach and develop managers to build confidence and capability in managing employee relations matters effectively.
• Employment Law & Compliance
  • Deliver training and guidance on employment law, employee relations processes, and legislative updates.
  • Support the implementation of employment law changes, ensuring policies, procedures, and management practices remain compliant.
  • Work closely with the Head of HR on complex, sensitive, and high-risk cases.
  • Manage relationships with external legal advisors and support employment tribunal claims, settlement discussions, and legal risk management.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of employment legislation and emerging best practice.
• People Management & Continuous Improvement
  • Line manage Employee Relations Case Managers, providing coaching, development, and quality oversight.
  • Ensure all employee relations cases are accurately documented, tracked, and reported.
  • Analyse employee relations trends and data to identify risks, themes, and opportunities for improvement.
  • Review and enhance employee relations policies, procedures, templates, and guidance materials.
  • Build and maintain external networks to stay informed of developments and best practice within Employee Relations.

Key Accountabilities:

• Delivery of fair, consistent, and legally robust employee relations outcomes.
• Management of complex and sensitive employee relations matters.
• Oversight of employment tribunal activity and legal risk.
• Employee relations reporting, insights, and trend analysis.
• Preparation and implementation of legislative and policy changes.
• Leadership and development of Employee Relations team members.

Experience & Qualifications:

• Essential
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law, ACAS guidelines, and Employee Relations best practice.
• Proven experience managing complex employee relations cases end-to-end.
• Experience advising on employment tribunal matters and working with external legal counsel.
• Strong coaching and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence managers at all levels.
• Experience within a multi-site or operationally driven environment.
• Experience implementing legislative changes, policy reviews, or organisational change initiatives.
• CIPD Level 5 qualification or above.

Working Arrangements: Hybrid working model- 2 days onsite. Regular travel to operational sites as required.