Employee Relations Specialist

Employee Relations Advisor

This role can be based in either London or Birmingham.

The Company

SSP is a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, with c.42,000 colleagues in over 600 locations across 37 countries. We operate sit-down and quick service restaurants, cafes, lounges and food-led convenience stores, principally in airports and train stations, with a portfolio of around 550 international, national and local brands.

These include our own brands Upper Crust, Millie's Cookies etc. as well as franchise brands such as M&S, Starbucks and Burger King.

Our purpose is to be the best part of the journey, and this is underpinned by our aim to bring leading brands and innovative concepts to our clients and customers around the world, with an emphasis on great value, taste, quality and service.

What You’ll Be Doing

A Specialist will either have existing experience or will be trained in the following areas. Training is ongoing based on the need to adapt our policies and processes to changing regulations. Specialists will be expected to network and review latest legal updates to ensure their knowledge remains current.

Employee Relations

To provide professional, balanced and expert advice and support to line managers at all levels within the business. This will include:

• ACAS guidelines
• Performance Management
• Disciplinary Process, incl. case analysis
• Grievances, incl. resignation in haste/complaints
• Whistleblowing, incl. management of our international case management system
• Appeals
• ACAS Early Conciliation
• Tribunal case preparation and management

People Policies:

To have expert knowledge of our various people policies and guides, to provide advice and support on the following:

• Maternity/Adoption/Paternity/Shared Parental Leave/Parental Leave
• Compassionate Leave / Dependency Leave / Force Majeure Leave
• Equality & Diversity

Attendance Management:

To have expert knowledge of our attendance policy, alongside the ability to apply sound judgement on the following:

• Unauthorised Absence & Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR)
• Absence Without Leave (AWOL)
• Short-Term Absence incl. Intermittent absence
• Long-Term Absence incl. Occupational Health case management
• Reasonable Adjustments
• Ill-health Terminations

Right to Work in the UK:

To have an excellent knowledge of the regulations relating to checking right to work in the UK and to provide support on the following:

• Completing checks on eligibility to Work in the UK, Ireland and Guernsey
• Visa renewals & appeals
• Employer sponsorship visas
• Training line managers on RTW validation using Right-check

Data Protection:

To have a good understanding of the General Data Protection Regulations to support the following areas:

• Subject Access Requests (SARS)
• Right to be Forgotten requests
• Personal Details Correction
• Privileged communications
• Data Protection policies
• ICO contact
• Data breaches

Employment Legislation:

To be able to support front line managers with employment issues relating to:

• Working Time Regulations, incl. Child & Young Workers
• Fixed term contracts
• Probation periods
• Hour’s consultations
• Redundancy consultations
• Flexible working
• Banded hours in Northern Ireland

Coaching & Development

As part of the employee relations service, alongside providing expert advice, Specialists will also:

• Carry out ad-hoc review of Investigation and Performance Management documents to escalate any trends or concerns early in the process
• Complete regular case analysis to identify risks and opportunities to improve process
• Provide feedback and coaching directly to all managers involved in the cases that are reviewed
• Make recommendations for the improvement and enhancement of our manager and colleague guides, policies, and letter templates

To be successful in the role you will need:

Essential:

• Up-to-date knowledge of HR legislation and best practice
• Great listener
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Good administrative and IT skills
• Experience in letter writing
• Highly organised
• Strong team player
• Ability to build key working relationships and influence colleagues at all levels

Desirable:

• CIPD Qualified
• Experience of working in HR Function or Operations with a strong ER record

Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at SSP. We are an equal opportunities employer committed to engaging all of our people, so they feel valued and motivated; we champion diversity, promote inclusion, and ensure equality. We respect and protect human rights and prevent discrimination; and we positively impact our communities. We encourage and welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates regardless of background, gender, race, religious beliefs, disability, sexual identity and orientation or age.