Employee Relations Lead (6 month FTC) – BDO UK, London, England, United Kingdom
Overview
BDO is an accountancy and business advisory firm that provides the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world. This role is part of the HR team that ensures we are all reaching our potential, enabling employees to succeed and inspiring a unified culture of development across the firm.
Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
* Develop and implement the ER strategy in alignment with the firm’s overall HR and business objectives.
* Lead the ER team, providing direction, support and development opportunities to ensure high performance.
* Oversee complex case management and risk decisions, providing commercial guidance on high‑risk ER issues.
* Ensure the team delivers timely and pragmatic advice and guidance to the business, setting realistic KPI’s and clear objectives.
* Ensure the team clearly understands their roles, responsibilities and takes ownership of their actions.
Legislation, Policy and Compliance
* Take full ownership of compliance with the firm’s ER allocated ISQM risks and processes, including relevant inputs on Rhiza.
* Oversee the team’s development and maintenance of ER policies and procedures, ensuring legal compliance and best‑practice alignment.
* Support the Senior ER Manager in governance of ER processes and procedures, consulting stakeholders and reviewing as necessary.
* Ensure timely and quality responses to all Tribunal claims and ACAS Early Conciliation, with appropriate escalation to the Senior ER Manager and ER Lead.
* Act as the final escalation point for complex ER queries and risk‑based decisions, accountable for overall technical decision‑making.
Collaboration and Stakeholder Management
* Build strong, credible relationships with the Head of People, People Culture Executive, the Firm’s LT, Partners and HR teams, acting as a trusted advisor on complex ER matters.
* Collaborate with internal Ethics, Risk and Legal teams to improve culture and governance, developing and maintaining measures to mitigate risk.
* Work with HR and other departments to support firm‑wide and HR strategic projects.
* Take ownership of external relationships, including legal advisors and occupational health, to bring knowledge and best practices into the firm.
Data and Analytics
* Review key themes and trends identified by the ER Senior Manager, providing proactive solutions and recommendations to leadership.
* Maintain relevant metrics to measure the effectiveness of the ER team, reporting trends and improvement areas to stakeholders.
* Support accurate data capture in the case management system to meet internal and regulatory reporting requirements.
Training and Development
* Coach and develop the ER Senior Manager and ER team, fostering a supportive and developmental culture.
* Identify training needs and facilitate workshops or sessions, ensuring the team has the necessary skills and behaviours.
* Develop and deliver training to business stakeholders on ER matters where relevant.
Qualifications
* Substantial experience managing complex Employee Relations cases at senior level.
* Strong technical and current knowledge of employment law and best‑practice trends.
* Proven experience building, developing and leading a team.
* High emotional intelligence and a calm, patient, pragmatic and balanced approach to sensitive matters.
* Confidence in creating and interpreting ER‑related data, producing analysis and presenting recommendations.
* Experience developing continuous process improvement and encouraging new ways of working.
* Accountability for risk‑based decision‑making in complex ER case management, including Employment Tribunals and TUPE.
* Gravitas to influence all seniority stakeholders with strong communication and influencing skills.
* Professional services and/or regulated environment experience is advantageous.
* Experience using Navex (Ethics Point) as a case management system would also be desirable.
Seniority level
Director
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Human Resources
Industry
Accounting
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