Senior Employee Relations Advisor in Sunderland

Senior Employee Relations Advisor - 12-Month Fixed-Term Contract (Maternity Cover) - Newcastle

About the Role:

We are looking for an experienced Senior Employee Relations Advisor to join our HR team on a 12-month fixed-term contract to provide maternity cover.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Employee Relations professional to play a key role within our HR function, providing expert advice and guidance across a broad range of complex employee relations matters.

Reporting to the Senior Employee Relations Manager, you will partner closely with HR Business Partners, managers and senior leaders to deliver commercially focused, pragmatic and legally compliant employee relations support. You will take ownership of complex casework from initial consultation through to resolution, helping managers navigate challenging people issues while ensuring a fair, consistent and compliant approach.

Alongside managing casework, you will contribute to organisational change initiatives, identify trends and opportunities through ER data, and support continuous improvement across our Employee Relations function.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert employee relations advice and guidance across the full employee lifecycle.
• Independently manage a broad range of complex employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, conduct, performance, absence and whistleblowing matters.
• Lead thorough and impartial investigations, including evidence gathering, witness interviews, report writing and recommendations.
• Coach and support managers through formal processes, hearings and difficult employee conversations, building confidence and capability.
• Act as the subject matter expert for complex and sensitive employee relations matters, balancing commercial objectives with legal compliance.
• Support organisational change programmes, including restructures, redundancy consultations and organisational redesign initiatives.
• Manage long-term absence cases and Occupational Health referrals, ensuring appropriate support and compliance with company procedures.
• Assist with employment tribunal preparation, settlement agreements and legal documentation where required.
• Work collaboratively with HR Business Partners to identify trends, mitigate risk and develop proactive solutions to recurring employee relations issues.
• Deliver training and coaching to managers to promote consistent and effective people management practices.
• Ensure employee relations activities are delivered in line with company policies, employment legislation and HR best practice.
• Analyse employee relations data to identify trends, monitor performance and drive continuous improvement.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of Employee Relations processes, policies and governance.
• Build strong working relationships with stakeholders across the business, acting as a trusted HR partner.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• Significant experience in an Employee Relations role, with strong knowledge of UK employment law.
• Proven experience managing complex and sensitive employee relations cases independently.
• Excellent investigation skills, including fact-finding, report writing and evidence-based decision making.
• Experience supporting disciplinary, grievance, capability, absence management and organisational change processes.
• The confidence to coach, influence and challenge managers while building credible relationships across all levels of the business.
• Strong commercial awareness, with the ability to balance legal risk against business priorities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• A collaborative approach, working effectively across HR and the wider business.
• Strong analytical skills, with experience using employee relations data to identify trends and support continuous improvement.
• Resilience, sound judgement and a proactive, solution-focused mindset.

Desirable

• CIPD Level 5 qualification or above.
• Experience working within a multi-site operational environment.

Why Join Verisure?

You will be joining a growing global organisation where HR plays a key role in supporting our people and business success. This is a great opportunity to develop your HR Operations career while gaining experience within a fast-paced and evolving environment.