Senior Employee Relations Adviser

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is one of the biggest trusts in the country, following the merger of Mid Essex, Basildon and Southend hospitals in April 2020.

Main area Employee Relations Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday-Friday) Job ref 390-NR-COR-SO-5843

Site Southend Town Westcliff-on-Sea Salary £39,959 Per Annum (Pro Rata for Part Time) Salary period Yearly Closing 22/10/2026 23:59

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is the onlyacute hospital provider in the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS), which is a system of health and care partners working together for our local population.

Within Mid and South Essex there are 149 GP practices, operating from over 200 sites, forming 27 Primary Care Networks and one Ambulance Trust. There are also three main community and mental health service providers who work together through a community collaborative.

We collaborate with other valuable partners, including three Healthwatch organisations, nine voluntary and community sector organisations and three top tier local authorities, with seven district, borough and city councils, as well as our local universities.

Job overview

Senior Employee Relations Adviser - Southend Hospital

Are you an experienced Employee Relations professional looking for an opportunity to make a real impact in one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country? We are seeking a skilled and motivated Employee Relations Adviser to join our team, providing high-quality operational HR and ER support to services across Southend Hospital and the wider Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

In this varied and rewarding role, you will manage a wide range of employee relations casework, providing expert advice and guidance to managers on matters including disciplinary, grievance, capability, attendance and workforce wellbeing. You will also contribute to policy development, staff training, reporting and data analysis, helping to drive continuous improvement across the service.

Working at a senior operational level, you will play a key role in designing and delivering proactive Employee Relations interventions that support the Trust in achieving its performance targets and improving workforce outcomes. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is passionate about problem-solving, building positive working relationships and delivering excellent customer service.

If you are a confident ER professional with strong communication skills, sound employment relations knowledge and a commitment to supporting a positive workplace culture, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

If successful you will be expected:

• To ensure the provision of advice to all managers within the MSE Trust regarding all aspects of employment policy and procedure for all staff, as well as associated employment issues.
• To interpret, analyse and provide advice on employment matters with particular regard to effective and timely resolution of discipline, grievance, bullying and harassment case work, often involving complex and sensitive issues requiring tact and diplomacy.
• To deal with Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, Subject Access Requests (SAR) and other reporting requirements as delegated by Head of Employee Relations, taking into consideration the Data Protection Act and Trust policies.
• To support Head of Employee Relations with ACAS cases and the preparation of Employment Tribunal (ET) claims, including preparation of bundles, drafting initial responses, preparing witnesses statements and tracking of cases.
• To ensure records keeping for ET and ACAS cases are of a high standard and to ensure the Trust can present Employment Tribunal cases in a logical, structured manner.
• To maintain accurate and up to date records using our ER Caseworker system Conformity to a high standard.

Working for our organisation

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well-being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For more information on this varied and rewarding role, please see the attached Job Description.

We look forward to your application!

Please be aware that we reserve the right to close the vacancy early should a high number of applications be received.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Studying towards CIPD Level 5 qualification
• Associate membership of the CIPD Post graduate diploma or equivalent experience

Experience

• Demonstrable previous experience in a HR Advisory role
• Experience of working collaboratively with Trade Union representatives at a local and regional level
• Prior experience of working in the NHS
• Experience of dealing with medical ER issues under MHPS, and of medical terms and conditions of employment

Skills

• Excellent written communication skills, demonstrated throughout application
• Ability to work independently to a high level

Please be aware as per the new Immigration guidelines we cannot sponsor candidates with a salary (full time or pro Rata) under the current minimum threshold.

Please note, the selection processes at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values, please be advised that the use of AI in applications are monitored. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills, and you will be required to declare on your application if AI has been used before submitting your application.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

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