Employee Relations Manager

Band 7: £47,810 - £54,710

Full time: 37.5 hours per week

Permanent contract

Base: Block 4000, Lakeside North Harbour, Western Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, PO6 3EN

Are you an experienced HR professional with strong leadership skills and a passion for building positive, fair, and supportive working environments?

We are looking for a highly skilled and proactive Employee Relations Manager to join our dynamic Employee Relations (ER) team, supporting both Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust as part of our Single Corporate Services model.

As part of our single service offer, you will work across both Trusts and may be required to travel between sites in line with service needs. There is flexibility for home working; however, you will be expected to be on site for at least three days per week to provide visible leadership and support.

About the Role

As an Employee Relations Manager, you will play a senior and influential role in shaping the delivery of high‑quality ER services across both Trusts. You will:

• Lead and manage complex employee relations cases, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant outcomes.
• Provide expert guidance to managers on a wide range of HR issues, including disciplinary matters, grievances, sickness management, MHPS, performance concerns, and organisational change.
• Support and develop the Assistant ER Managers and ER Advisors, ensuring high standards of case management and continuous professional growth within the team.
• Represent HR in complex hearings and appeal panels, providing assurance of robust and fair processes.
• Build strong relationships with managers, leaders, Trade Union colleagues, and other stakeholders to deliver collaborative and solution‑focused outcomes.
• Drive process improvement, policy development, and best practice across ER operations.
• Present ER data, analysis, and trends at divisional and Trust-level meetings to support effective and informed decision‑making.
• Lead and deliver training programmes for managers to strengthen people management capability and embed a just and learning culture.
• Support the coordination and response to Employment Tribunal claims, Subject Access Requests (SARs), FOI requests, and police enquiries relating to investigations.
• Take responsibility for divisional ER leadership, reporting performance and ensuring alignment with Trust objectives.

Why Join Us?

• Influence and lead the delivery of ER services across two forward‑thinking NHS Trusts.
• Take on a senior and impactful role with opportunities to drive culture change and service improvement.
• Work in a supportive team that values expertise, collaboration, and innovation.
• Benefit from development opportunities within a large, integrated HR service.

This is a key leadership role, offering the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on culture, capability, and staff experience across two large NHS organisations. If you are a confident HR professional with strong leadership capability and a drive to deliver high‑quality employee relations services, we would love to hear from you.

For additional information, please see attached Job description

Qualifications

Essential 

• Degree‑level qualification or equivalent relevant experience.
• CIPD Level 7 (postgraduate) or equivalent professional HR qualification.
• Evidence of ongoing continuing professional development.

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience managing complex ER casework, including sickness, health & wellbeing, and conduct matters.
• Proven experience supervising or managing staff.
• Strong background in policy development, process redesign, and implementing improvements.
• Experience engaging positively with Trade Unions.
• In‑depth knowledge of employment legislation including TUPE, discrimination, and constructive dismissal.
• Demonstrable experience implementing initiatives to reduce sickness absence.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong understanding of best practice in attendance management and healthy workplace initiatives.
• Knowledge and experience applying NHS Medical and Agenda for Change Terms & Conditions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including report writing for senior leadership and tribunals.
• High digital literacy and the ability to use systems and data effectively.
• Strong commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion with particular awareness of disability‑related matters.
• Ability to analyse complex information, exercise sound judgement, and make informed decisions.
• Ability to coach and develop managers, investigators, and ER team members.
• Up‑to‑date knowledge of employment legislation, ACAS codes, and HR best practice.

Additional Information

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and DisAbility, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.

About the Company

As part of the Single Corporate Service, Employee Relations Team provides a service across both Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and plays a vital role in creating a fair, supportive, and inclusive workplace culture.

Our team mission is to drive the delivery of high-quality employee relations services, provide specialist advice and support to managers, and ensure compliance with employment legislation and Trust policies.

We work closely with managers and staff to resolve issues constructively, promote wellbeing, and ensure consistent application of policies. From managing complex cases to developing people-related policies.

Our responsibilities includes advising line managers on various HR matters such as disciplinary actions, grievance resolutions, performance management, attendance issues, and conflict resolution. A core aspect of your role will be to enhance managerial capabilities and enabling them to address personnel and work environment challenges effectively.