HR Officer

Employee Relations - Lead on all ER casework including sickness absence, performance management, disciplinary, grievance, probation, and capability matters. - Provide clear, legally informed advice to managers, ensuring fair, consistent, and timely resolution of cases. - Prepare case documentation, letters, investigation reports, and hearing packs to a high professional standard. - Support and coach managers to build confidence and capability in handling people related issues. - Maintain accurate ER case records, trackers, and documentation including meeting notes to support reporting, audit, and compliance. - Identify ER trends and risks, escalating concerns and recommending preventative actions. - Contribute to the development and review of HR policies and procedures to ensure they remain legally compliant and fit for purpose. - Work collaboratively with the HR team to ensure ER learning informs wider HR practice and organisational development. Process Improvement - Review and refine ER processes, templates, and workflows to ensure consistency, fairness, and legal compliance across all casework. - Develop and maintain ER toolkits, guidance documents, and standardised templates to support managers and improve case quality. - Analyse ER data to identify patterns, root causes, and opportunities for early intervention or organisational learning. - Work with managers to improve understanding and application of ER processes through training, ensuring processes are accessible, user friendly, and aligned with organisational needs. - Contribute to wider HR improvement projects by ensuring ER considerations are embedded in system changes, policy updates, and process redesign. - Provide basic compliance guidance to managers, escalating complex issues to senior HR colleagues where appropriate. - Maintain HR systems and databases, ensuring accurate and timely data entry and strong data governance. Professional Responsibilities - Maintain up to date knowledge of employment law, regulatory changes, and HR best practice to ensure high quality ER advice and operational HR support. - Support wider HR activity beyond ER when required by contributing to organisational change initiatives, assisting with the development and review of HR policies, participating in HR projects across the department, and supporting wellbeing, engagement, and EDI initiatives to strengthen organisational culture and practice. - Act as a role model for professional standards, promoting accountability, continuous learning, and a proactive approach to problem solving. - Step up to act on behalf of the Line Manager when required and work across the HR spectrum to provide robust support on all aspects of HR (onboarding, payroll etc) during periods of absence, organisational change, or peak demand. - Uphold confidentiality, data protection standards, and organisational values in all aspects of work. - Build strong working relationships with managers and staff, ensuring HR is seen as a reliable, knowledgeable, and solutions focused partner. - Promote and uphold safeguarding responsibilities, ensuring HR processes support safe practice.