Employee Relations (ER) Lead- Bristol

Job Introduction

DAC Beachcroft is looking to appoint an Employee Relations (ER) Lead to join our busy HR team.

You will lead DACB's Employee Relations activity in delivering advice and guidance on ER related matters.  You will work with the ER team and across the wider HR team to drive early intervention and resolution, cultivating an inclusive working environment.

Our HR team is predominantly based in Bristol but this role could be based in any of our office locations.

We are a Disability Confident employer and guarantee to interview anyone with a disability, long term health condition or neurodiversity whose application meets the essential criteria for the role.  If this applies to you and you feel you meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy as set out in this advert then please contact recruitment@dacbeachcroft.com in confidence, quoting the reference number for this vacancy in the subject box of your email, and a member of the Recruitment team will be in touch.

Role Responsibility

• Leading and co-ordinating the activities of a team of ER Advisors, ensuring cases and queries are effectively responded to and resolved fairly, consistently and commercially, within a reasonable timeframe
• Guide the ER team, as subject matter experts, to deliver in line with legislation, best practice, case law and local policies, ensuring knowledge is shared and kept up to date. This is to enable them to coach and develop Line Managers to improve performance and create an engaging environment that promotes the right culture in line with our values
• Acting as an escalation point for particularly complex and high risk cases and change programmes, as well as managing some general case work to appropriately support levels of demand within the team
• Work alongside the HRBP's and other key stakeholders on the proactive management of cases and the creation of prevention strategies
• Provide mechanisms for effective counsel and support to the team, particularly when handling cases which are complex or distressing
• Proactive use of the case management system (ERIC) to record and maintain accurate records on all referred ER cases
• Provide ER input to key projects and business initiatives as and when required, such as change changes linked to terms and conditions, restructuring and TUPE
• Know when and how to draw in experts (eg legal, mediation) and other professional advisors and specialists where appropriate
• Manage relationships with external suppliers and consultants, such as Occupational Health and People Pool, ensuring that they provide the support and advice required in an effective and timely manner
• Keep informed of legal and market practices in respect of ER and ensure all DACB policies and procedures are up to date and in line with current employment law, and ensuring line managers and the HR Team are up to date with any change in policy
• Share lessons learnt from all complex ER cases in order to support development of the team and leaders across the business
• Provide and deliver training, coaching and guidance on management topics as part of a drive to improve manager capability, encouraging early management of issues to avoid escalation and maximise performance
• Proactively analyse ER data to identify recurring trends and themes and derive insights that help shape relevant programmes and interventions
• Ensure all legislative reward reporting is completed accurately, alongside the HR Data and Systems team

Firm wide:

• Understands DAC Beachcroft as an international firm.  Works with awareness of this structure to operate as one team/brand
• Actively operates in the best interests of the firm at all times internally and externally
• Operates in a regulated environment, effectively managing risk and compliance issues including data security
• Works in partnership with others to manage and mitigate commercial risk

The Ideal Candidate

• Significant experience of managing complex end-to-end employee relations cases, and a full knowledge of key ER processes, including the following areas (not exhaustive):
  • Formal processes such as grievance, disciplinary, whistle blowing, appeals, redundancy, contract terminations, consultation, redundancy and TUPE (inbound and outbound)
  • Remedial performance management processes including probation management and informal and formal performance management processes
  • Absence - long-term and short-term, prevention and adjustments, handling serious mental health cases, including ability to involve other stakeholders as appropriate and liaison with individual and external professionals
  • Managing health conditions including Occupational Health referrals, supplier management
  • Family leave including shared parental leave, maternity and adoption
  • Contractual matters including ending of fixed term contracts, secondments and relocation, contractual changes, renegotiations and termination (grounds and consultation), harmonisation of terms and settlement agreements, enactment of termination related contractual clauses such as garden leave and restrictive covenants, advising on incoming recruits in relation to contractual issues such as termination clauses and restrictive covenants
  • Responding to DSARs (in collaboration with risk team)
  • Conflict resolution, including mediation, ACAS Early Conciliation, Employment Tribunal cases (triage, assess and liaise with legal experts)
• Experience of working in a professional services or financial services environment is preferable
• A CIPD qualification, or part qualification, is desirable but not essential
• Experience in people management, ideally in a team management or supervisory capacity
• Expert knowledge of UK employment legislation and evidence of change management and TUPE experience; knowledge of other jurisdictions also desirable
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, coaching and influencing skills, able to confidently and effectively communicate and collaborate with colleagues at all levels
• Able to evaluate commercial or financial risk, people implications and recommend action to mitigate where appropriate
• Capable of handling complex and difficult situations with thought, confidence and attention to detail
• Curious mindset; ability to challenge the status quo and propose and implement solutions
• Excellent presentation, written and communication skills
• Highly organised and able to prioritise workload and meet deadlines
• Ability to monitor, analyse and interpret data in order to influence key decisions
• Team oriented, flexible and enthusiastic with a positive and committed approach

About the Company

We are a leading international legal business with over 2,500 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We have 11 offices in the UK as well as offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Miami. We also have associations/alliances with firms in Malaysia, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Central America, the USA, Australia and Germany.

We are a broad-based commercial firm with a strong heritage in insurance, health and real estate. This is complemented by a fast-growing Business Advisory capability. We represent a wide range of clients, ranging from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for all of the UK’s top-ten insurers, we are market leaders in the provision of strategic, commercial and regulatory advice to providers and commissioners in the health sector, and in real estate we advise all of the UK’s top-12 housebuilders.

We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 142 Chambers UK 2021 practice area and individual lawyer rankings. In Legal 500 UK 2021, the firm received a top tier ranking for 37 of its practice areas, and 58 DACB lawyers were singled out in the ‘Leading Individual' rankings.

Our successes have been recognised by the legal industry and the markets in which we operate. These accolades include two top prizes in the ‘Excellence in Business Development’ and ‘Excellence in Technology & Innovation’ categories of the 2020 Law Society Excellence Awards – the highest accolade for law firms in England & Wales. Our health sector team won the ‘Crisis Management Team of the Year’ award at the 2020 British Legal Awards for its support to the NHS at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our Cyber & Data Risk team received the ‘Business Development Innovation Award’ at the 2020 Legal Innovation Awards, as well as ‘Cyber Law Firm of the Year’ at the prestigious Insurance Insider Cyber Rankings Awards, for its market-leading suite of digital tools to help our clients prepare for and respond to cyber and data risk crises.

Our vision is to be leading business advisers, recognised for our insight and our outstanding commitment to clients, and for being the place where talented people want to work. For further details on our work and our culture, please visit www.dacbeachcroft.com.

Application Details

At DAC Beachcroft, we don’t just accept your differences we celebrate them.  From bespoke solutions for our clients, to treating you like an individual.  Our strength comes from your diverse ideas and bringing the whole you to work. So if you’re good at what you do, come as you are.  We welcome direct applications and are happy to talk flexible working.

We also want you to be at your very best.  Please feel free to let us know of any changes we can make at any point in the recruitment process that will help support your application.  If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV.  Your application will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

Note for Recruitment Agencies – the DAC Beachcroft recruitment team is responsible for managing all current vacancies through direct hiring and referrals wherever possible.  We do work with recruitment agencies and where we require external support we will formally release those vacancies to the agencies on our Preferred Supplier List deemed best placed to assist us.  Speculative CVs sent by any agency to any DAC Beachcroft employee without a specific request by the recruitment team will not be accepted and with no introduction fee applicable.  Our recruitment team can be contacted at recruitment@dacbeachcroft.com

DAC Beachcroft