Employee Relations Advisor

The Employee Relations Advisor will play a key role as part of the Advice Service team that is responsible for providing a front-line Employee Relations (ER) policy and process advice service to all of Thames Water’s managers. This role requires someone that is confident, customer focused and who has strong knowledge of employee relations, People processes, policies and systems.

What you’ll be doing as an Employee Relations Advisor
HR Policy, Process and System Queries

• Providing a professional front-line advisory service that supports managers with HR policy, process and system queries; aiming to resolve as many at first point of contact as possible.
• Responding to queries received through a variety of channels, such as the advice phone line and the case management system.
• Ensuring that queries and cases are escalated to appropriate channels in line with agreed escalation process.
• Keeping your knowledge of policies, processes and systems fully up to date and working in partnership with the wider team develop your knowledge as needed.

Employee Relations (ER)

• Providing a professional, proactive, expert telephone and written ER advisory service to managers across the business, focused on achieving the best outcomes for both the business and our employees.
• Managing cases such as conduct matters, capability and other employee relations issues, including suspensions and investigations. This may include reviewing investigation reports and complex letters or communications.
• Coaching managers on all aspects of people management, including communication, robust decision making, fairness and consistency of application.
• Maintaining case management records to ensure they are clear, concise and in line with GDPR.
• Keeping your Employment Law knowledge up to date via internal and external sources, in order to identify best practice/case law relevant to Thames Water.

Team Performance

• Taking responsibility for your own workload and owning queries / cases through to resolution; communicating effectively with all involved.
• Ensuring achievement of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Working collaboratively and providing support to others within the Advice team, helping to build and maintain a high team reputation for excellent service delivery.
• Working in collaboration as part of the People Services team to deliver the function’s objectives and provide recommendations for People Standards, Policies and process improvements.

Base location – Hybrid Clear Water Court Reading RG1 8DB
Working pattern – 36 hours Monday to Friday
This is a fixed term contract/Secondment for 4-6months

What you should bring to the role
To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need is:

• Customer-focused, with a detailed knowledge of People policies and procedures
• ER knowledge and experience of case management, best practice and processes
• Highly organised and responsive, with the ability to prioritise work to meet tight deadlines
• Confident and tenacious, taking ownership of issues to resolution in a timely manner
• Experience of managing challenging stakeholders
• Resilient and able to be flexible to change in demands, whilst remaining approachable
• Trustworthy, with ability to maintain confidentiality and good understanding and application of DP/GDPR.
• Excellent communication skills, able to adapt and build rapport/provide advice to all levels
• An active listener who is naturally inquisitive and able coach people to reach a solution

Desirable

• Experience of working in a remote People / ER Advisory service using a similar service model / approach
• CIPD qualification

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £45,000 per annum
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.