Employee Relations (ER) Partner
Location: Hybrid - Attached to Solihull (Expectation to travel UK wide)
Full Time, Permanent (37.5 hour per week)
Band 4
Make a difference every day
At Serco, we deliver essential public services that make a real difference to people's lives. As an Employee Relations Partner, you'll play a key role in ensuring that Serco operates ethically, lawfully, and fairly across our UK business.
You'll be the go-to expert for all matters relating to employment law, managing Employment Tribunal and ACAS Early Conciliation activit. You will be responsible for providing commercially focused advice to managers and People & Culture colleagues. This is an exciting opportunity to make a tangible impact by guiding fair outcomes, protecting Serco's reputation, and supporting our people.
What you'll be doing:
* Managing all ACAS Early Conciliation and Employment Tribunal (ET) activity efficiently and cost-effectively.
* Conducting advocacy at Employment Tribunal hearings (preliminary and final) - where required.
* Prioritising and assessing incoming claims, providing timely risk evaluations and advising stakeholders on prospects and strategy.
* Drafting responses to ET claims, devising case management and defence strategies, and identifying key risk areas.
* Preparing documentation for hearings, including witness statements, tribunal bundles, counter schedules of loss, and skeleton arguments.
* Liaising professionally and effectively with external stakeholders such as ACAS, unions, solicitors, and barristers.
* Advising on settlement agreements, including drafting and negotiation, ensuring outcomes are expedient and cost-effective.
* Providing guidance on complex internal employee relations cases and contributing to proactive learning initiatives to reduce ER risk.
* Providing timely briefings on employment law updates and case law implications, supporting the design of relevant training materials.
What you will bring:
* Strong knowledge of UK employment law and data protection.
* While a degree in employment law or a related discipline is an advantage, we're equally interested in those who bring proven, practical experience in employment law and employee relations.
* CIPD qualified or working towards
* Proven experience advising on all aspects of employment law, ideally within an in-house environment.
* Experience managing Employment Tribunal cases and working with ACAS conciliations.
* Strong negotiation and advocacy skills, with the confidence to represent the business externally.
* Proactive and solutions-focused, with a high level of attention to detail and commercial awareness.
Additional information
* This role requires regular travel to attend meetings, hearings, and other events across the UK.
Why Serco
* Meaningful work - you'll help ensure that our people are treated fairly and that our operations uphold the highest ethical and legal standards.
* A supportive, collaborative culture where you can influence real change.
* Opportunities to develop your expertise in employment law, ER strategy, and case management.
* Flexible and varied work - including involvement in hearings, projects, and people initiatives.
What we offer:
* 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
* Annual leave purchase scheme.
* Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
* Flexible working options.
* Serco discounts which include cinema, merlin entertainment and online shopping discounts, and discounts on mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
* A range of benefits to support the health and wellbeing of you and your family such as Employee Assistance Programme, Simply Health Cash Plans, and more.
* A wealth of career development training to suit your future aspirations. These range from role specific training, leadership coaching, formal study and much more to support you to build your career with Serco.
* A safe and supportive culture.
* A company passionate about diversity and inclusion.
All Serco employees must ensure that their current line manager is aware of their application. For confidential enquiries please contact MyHR. Serco are Disability Confident Leader employers and are committed to employing and retaining people with disabilities. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. For help with your application please contact