We are recruiting a People & Employee Relations Advisor to join a UK HR team supporting a large, complex, multi-site, unionised operational environment.
Client Details
A global industrial organisation with a long-standing UK presence, offering the scale, complexity, and operational challenge suited to HR professionals looking to deepen their Employee Relations experience.
This position is fully onsite during probation, based in St Austell, Cornwall, moving to a hybrid model (2 days working from home, 3 days onsite) once probation is completed. A relocation package is available for candidates who need to move.
Description
This is a hands-on, operational roles with a strong focus on Employee Relations alongside core People Operations delivery. You'll be a visible, trusted HR presence on site, working closely with managers and employees to ensure fair, consistent, and legally compliant people practices. This is a practical HR role balancing:
- Employee Relations (c.60%) - managing ER cases from end to end
- People Operations (c.40%) - delivering accurate, timely HR support across the employee lifecycle
You'll support managers across multiple operational sites, providing pragmatic ER advice, driving process discipline, and helping improve consistency in people practices.
- Manage a range of ER cases including disciplinaries, grievances, absence, performance, and conduct issues
- Lead investigations, prepare documentation, and support formal hearings
- Provide risk-aware, practical advice in line with UK Employment Law and policy
- Deliver HR operational support across onboarding, contracts, changes, leavers, and exit processes
- Maintain accurate HR and ER records and support reporting on ER trends
- Act as a first point of contact for HR queries for managers and employees
- Support continuous improvement of HR and ER processes, templates, and documentation
Profile
This role will suit someone who is hands-on, pragmatic, and confident working in a unionised operational environment.
Essential experience:
- Proven experience operating in a unionised environment
- Direct ownership of Employee Relations cases
- Strong working knowledge of UK Employment Law
- Experience within a complex, multi-site organisation
Highly desirable background:
- Mining, rail, manufacturing, construction, or other safety-critical / heavily regulated sectors
You'll also bring:
- Understanding of shift patterns and complex pay structures
- A process-driven mindset with the confidence to challenge and improve what exists
- Strong prioritisation skills and ability to work independently
- Clear examples of continuous improvement within HR or ER activity
- Strong attention to detail and confidence working with HR data
- Experience using Workday or a similar HRIS (strongly preferred)
Job Offer
- Competitive salary.
- Opportunity to work in a supportive and professional environment.
- Comprehensive benefits package including a relocation package (details to be confirmed).
- Hybrid working after 6 month probation.
This is a fantastic opportunity for a motivated People & Employee Relations Advisor to contribute to a forward-thinking organisation. If you meet the above criteria, we encourage you to apply today!
