Employee Relations Advisor in Edinburgh

Job Type: FTC – until 31/12/2026

Location: Hybrid with travel to our core offices as needed – mainly Edinburgh

Flexible working: All roles are open to part‑time, job‑share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process.

Closing Date: 2nd June 2026

Salary and Benefits: Up to £40,000 DOE plus an indicative bonus range of 8%-16%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more.

Who we are: We’re Standard Life, a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement savings and income. We champion the belief that everyone’s journey to and through retirement can be better, and for more than 200 years, we’ve been helping our customers plan and prepare for their financial futures. Life today is increasingly complicated, uncertain and unpredictable. People move through different careers, face unexpected moments and navigate important choices. We offer our colleagues flexibility, trust and benefits that work for whatever life brings. In return we expect curiosity, connection, accountability and high standards. We make room for what matters – so you can bring your best, every day.

The role: We’re looking for an expert Employee Relations Advisor to support the delivery of people‑related change activity. Working closely with more senior colleagues and stakeholders, you’ll provide practical, compliant ER advice and help ensure a positive and consistent colleague experience. You’ll build your expertise over time, developing the capability to take on and lead more complex work.

Responsibilities:

• Support redundancy and consultation activity, contributing to elements such as business case review, selection criteria, redeployment approaches, and enhancing the overall colleague experience, with the opportunity to lead smaller activities over time.
• Work in partnership with ER Consultants, HRBPs and senior leaders to support the delivery of people‑led change while developing an understanding of how to balance colleague experience with fair, safe and compliant outcomes.
• Provide well‑informed, risk‑aware advice, drawing on existing knowledge of employment law and best practice, while recognising when to seek guidance on more complex or high‑risk matters.
• Contribute to ER aspects of organisational change, supporting senior team members to ensure decisions are commercially sound, compliant and applied consistently.
• Support and guide leaders through change activity, building confidence in coaching and judgement, whilst escalating more complex or sensitive situations as appropriate.
• Maintain awareness of changes in employment legislation and case law, applying updates to day‑to‑day work with support and building capability over time.

You’ll Partner Closely With:

• People Leaders across the business
• HR Business Partners, and the wider People Leadership Team
• Other HR centres of excellence such as Reward, Payroll and Talent Acquisition
• External providers including our preferred outplacement support provision

What are we looking for?

Essential Experience:

• Experience supporting redundancy and restructuring activity, contributing to fair and compliant consultation and selection processes, with guidance from senior colleagues, when needed.
• Good working knowledge of UK employment law, with the ability to apply it in straightforward situations and a willingness to build expertise over time. Regulatory knowledge is beneficial but not essential.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build relationships and support HRBPs and leaders, developing confidence to contribute to decision‑making in change scenarios.
• Able to provide clear, practical ER advice on lower‑risk matters, recognising when to seek input on more complex or higher‑risk situations to ensure appropriate outcomes.

We Want To Hire The Whole Version Of You. We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome – applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you. If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best. We’re reviewing applications as they come in and may close this role before the closing date, so apply early to avoid missing out.