People Advisor in Earley

Location: Hybrid working, with frequent travel to our Reading HQ

Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent

Salary: £36,000 per annum

Why Join us?

• 33 holidays days, inclusive of Bank Holidays
• 3 volunteering days to give back to causes you care about
• 3 days grandparent leave for those special family moments
• 24 weeks enhanced maternity leave
• Bespoke training & development opportunities
• Pension & life insurance
• Discounts on high street brands, cinema & holidays via the Perkbox App
• Wellbeing hub & access to employee assistance programme
• Free meals while at work
• Career development & HIT Apprenticeships for all experience levels

About the role:

We are seeking a proactive and experienced People Advisor to provide high-quality first-line HR support across the 'South' region of our business. Acting as a trusted point of contact for Location Managers and employees, you will deliver clear, practical advice on a wide range of employee relations matters, supporting managers to confidently identify and apply the appropriate tools, policies, and procedures. By coaching managers to address issues early and effectively, you will play a key role in fostering positive employee relations, ensuring employees feel supported and treated fairly, and contributing to a consistent, compliant, and people-focused approach that enables the development of engaged, high-performing teams.

You will be joining Holroyd Howe, one of the UK’s leading contract caterers, providing fresh innovative food services solely to independent schools and colleges. We are a team of experienced professionals who tailor our catering service provision specifically to suit children of all ages in order to meet the bespoke requirements of each school. The safety and wellbeing of the people we serve is at the heart of everything we do. A key element is effective allergen management; achieved through training, communication, and care, we create mealtimes where every pupil has a safe experience.

Job Description:

• To provide telephone support and advice on employee relations activities across all sites as the first point of telephone/email contact for Location Managers.
• To manage a busy HR inbox, ensuring that queries are answered and/or referred to the correct person or department promptly.
• To manage and coordinate the Occupational Health referral process, liaising with managers and the Company’s Occupational Health service provider.
• To support People Manager in providing safeguarding and safer recruitment advice, complying with KCSIE and Holroyd Howe.
• Support Managers through checking letters before they are sent out and advising any suggested improvements and recommendations.
• To be responsive and available to managers ensuring managers are responded to as soon as possible and within two hours of initial contact.
• To ensure managers are aware of the policies, Employee Handbook and HR people tools and that they are used effectively.
• To ensure all HR people policies are up to date and fit for purpose by regular review and alignment to legislation.
• To ensure all employee relations tools for managers are up to date and fit for purpose.
• To calculate redundancy payments as required.
• To comply with all Holroyd Howe HR led policies and procedures at all times.
• To develop new tools where necessary and ensure tools are communicated effectively across the business.
• To highlight and refer complex cases to People Manager where appropriate.
• To record key information on employee relations advice on HR Tracker.
• To report on employee relations activity and caseload, identify trends and insight for People Manager.
• To work with People Manager to ensure that measures and recommendations following cases are put in place where appropriate.
• Management reporting on ER cases, i.e. number of cases, reasons, trends or patterns. Use the results to make recommendations to upskill Managers and improve the colleague experience.
• To support colleagues when required in the TUPE out process and inform People Manager and OPS teams to ensure process is complete.

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) on the importance of safeguarding children in an independent school setting is advantageous.
• Proven experience managing a caseload of complex ER cases.
• Up to date employment law knowledge required.
• Previous experience in telephony ER advice role required.
• Experience of working in a fast paced, high volume and dynamic environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to learning and keeping up to date with legislative changes.
• Experience of working at a distance/in a field support role.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to explain processes and policies in plain English.
• A strong telephone manner.
• The ability to quickly build strong working relationships with individual managers and groups and become a trusted and credible People partner and coach.

Additional Information:

We pride ourselves on:

• People first - We’re a company of individuals, united in doing our best for our clients.
• Great food, always - Using only the best ingredients, our food is fresh, authentic and tailored to each school, age group, and specific needs and preferences.
• Food education - We educate pupils through food, encouraging them to understand and develop their own personal tastes and make informed food choices.
• Respect in everything we do - Our respectful codes of conduct inform how we behave towards our clients and customers, suppliers and business partners, and each other.
• Fresh thinking - New ideas for food, service and ways of working help us maintain our position as creative leaders in school catering.

In order to be considered for this role you must be able to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. Holroyd Howe is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all employees to share this commitment. All roles within Holroyd Howe involve regulated activity. It is a criminal offence for individuals barred from working with children to apply for such roles. An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, including a Barred List check will be required for all successful applicants. Shortlisted applicants will be asked to provide information about relevant criminal offences and will be subject to an online search of publicly available information. This search helps identify any issues that may affect suitability to work with children. This appointment is offered on the return of satisfactory professional references.