Job Description
Job Title: Employee Relations Manager
Reporting to: Head of People
Job Family: People Department
Reporting Structure: Responsible for People Advisors
Role Purpose
The Employee Relations Manager leads the delivery of effective employee relations strategies, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant people practices across Kids Planet. This role partners closely with leaders, People Partners, and employees to resolve workplace issues, strengthen management capability, and drive our CARE values.
The role provides line management and coaching to the People Advisors team, ensuring high-quality, consistent People service delivery. The Employee Relations Manager also oversees employment tribunal claims, working collaboratively with insurers and solicitors to achieve commercially viable outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
Employee Relations & Case Management
• Manage and resolve employee relations issues, including investigations, disciplinary actions, grievances, and performance concerns.
• Provide expert guidance to managers on sensitive employee matters with fairness, consistency, and empathy, supporting a safe place for employees and leaders alike.
• Drive a consistent approach to case outcomes across all areas of the business, ensuring alignment with values and policies.
• Encourage reflection and learning through case analysis, identifying trends and opportunities to improve decision making and management capability.
• Look beyond policy where appropriate, finding supportive and people centred solutions that strengthen the workforce and promote long-term wellbeing.
• Maintain accurate documentation and case records in accordance with legal and company standards.
Line Management of People Advisors
• Lead, coach, and develop the People Advisors to deliver proactive, people focused support
• Foster a strong sense of community within the team, encouraging collaboration, excellence, and shared learning
• Oversee case allocation, workload management, and quality of employee relations cases handled by the team.
• Provide regular feedback and mentoring to build capability, confidence, and professional growth.
• Support succession planning and create opportunities for development that inspire the team to drive excellence in all aspects of their work.
People Management Training
• Coordinate and deliver the People Management Training programme across the business to strengthen leadership capability
• Regularly review training content to ensure it remains relevant, engaging, and fit for purpose.
• Coach and mentor the People Advisors to deliver high quality, impactful training sessions.
• Drive uptake and engagement in management training courses, reinforcing their value and importance.
• Review the effectiveness of courses through participant feedback, and outcomes to continuously improve.
Employment Tribunal Claim Management
• Lead the management of employment tribunal claims, ensuring timely coordination of case documentation, responses, and witness statements.
• Work collaboratively with external insurers and solicitors.
• Advise internal stakeholders on risk, case progress.
• Conduct reflective reviews following tribunal outcomes to identify lessons learned and strengthen processes that drive excellence.
Policy & Compliance
• Interpret and apply employment legislation, regulations, and company policies consistently across the organization.
• Review, update, and communicate People policies to ensure legal compliance and alignment with company values.
Culture & Engagement
• Identify workplace trends, recommend proactive strategies, and contribute to culture-improvement programs.
• Facilitate training and coaching for leaders on topics such as performance management, conflict resolution, and respectful workplace practices.
Data & Reporting
• Track and analyse employee relations metrics to identify patterns and recommend improvements.
• Present insights and reports to leadership to inform decisions and enhance employee experience.
Qualifications
Education & Experience
• Professional HR certification Level 5 (preferred).
• 5+ years of experience in employee relations, HR business partnering, or similar role.
• Demonstrated experience managing employment tribunal or legal claims.
• Prior experience leading or managing People Advisory teams.
• Proven experience conducting investigations and managing complex employee cases.
Skills & Competencies
• In-depth knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practices.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and mentoring capabilities.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to manage sensitive and confidential information with discretion.
• Commercial acumen and sound judgment in risk management.
• Analytical mindset with experience using data to drive decisions.
• Experience in HRIS and case management systems