Vacancy Introduction
Come and join our team!
At Our Co-op, we exist to serve our communities across the East of England, putting fairness, care and respect at the heart of how we work with our colleagues. Our People team plays a critical role in ensuring colleagues are supported, treated consistently, and managed in line with both our values and employment law.
This Colleague Relations Advisor role is an opportunity for an experienced ER professional to join a specialist team that supports managers and leaders across the organisation. You will take ownership of a varied and often complex caseload, providing confident, pragmatic advice and ensuring colleague relations matters are handled fairly, consistently and professionally.
Working closely with the Colleague Relations Lead and People Business Partners, you’ll help shape positive employment practices, build manager capability, and contribute to a culture where issues are addressed early, respectfully and effectively.
Want to know more? Take a look at our job description attached to the bottom of this webpage.
Our working patterns are non-contractual.Any advertised working pattern represents the normal working pattern for the role at time of advertisement and may be subject to change.
What you’ll be doing
1. Managing a portfolio of colleague relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, absence, performance, probation and appeals, from start to conclusion
2. Providing clear, practical and legally compliant advice to managers on ER matters
3. Drafting high-quality case correspondence, including invitation letters, outcome letters and case summaries
4. Supporting and, where appropriate, leading investigations, including conducting interviews and compiling evidence
5. Ensuring policies and procedures are applied consistently and in line with employment law and the ACAS Code of Practice
6. Coaching and supporting managers to build confidence and capability in handling people issues
7. Maintaining accurate, confidential and audit-ready case records
8. Identifying trends and insights from casework and contributing to ER reporting and continuous improvement activity
9. Escalating complex or high-risk cases to the CR Lead as appropriate
The person we are looking for
We are looking for an experienced Colleague Relations Advisor who is confident operating with autonomy while working collaboratively as part of a specialist team.
You will:
10. Have solid experience managing ER cases independently within an HR or ER function
11. Possess strong knowledge of UK employment law and best practice
12. Be confident advising and influencing managers at different levels
13. Have excellent written communication skills and experience drafting formal ER correspondence
14. Be calm, objective and professional when handling sensitive or complex matters
15. Be highly organised, able to manage multiple cases and competing priorities effectively
16. Be comfortable working in a hybrid role, with flexibility to travel to sites when required
Perks of the job
At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential. How do we do this?
17. Competitive rates of pay
18. 20% discount in our food stores, along with other discounts across our family of businesses
19. 25 days holiday (plus bank holiday entitlement) which increases with service
20. 5% employer pension contribution
21. Death in service benefit
22. Enhanced family leave and pay arrangements*
23. Opportunities to grow, with award-winning training and apprenticeship programmes
24. Great discounts, deals, and cashback across over high street and online retailers
25. Financial wellbeing support, including Stream®
26. Access to Cycle To Work, Rental Deposit Scheme, and SmartTech (after a qualifying period)
27. Employee Recognition Scheme
28. Long Service Awards
29. Free remote GP service, available 24/7, including prescription, fitness, nutrition, and counselling services
30. Employee Assistance Programme
We recognise the challenges people face trying to balance commitments both in and out of the workplace - perhaps studying, caring commitments, or other employment. We therefore aim to be as flexible as possible, to create shift patterns that work for both our co-op and our colleagues.
* Enhanced on statutory terms, subject to service criteria.
East of England Co-op
Attached documents
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