Description

Senior Employee Relations (ER) Advisor | Central London | Up to £44,500 | Permanent

The Opportunity
This is a rare opportunity for a high-calibre ER specialist to join a leading rail operations company during a significant period of business transition. This role is designed for a professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is looking for a career-defining challenge. You will play a key role in navigating organisational change, offering a unique platform to showcase your expertise in high-level industrial relations and complex case management. For the right candidate, this role offers a clear path toward strategic HR leadership.

Responsibilities:

Caseload Management: Act as the primary lead for a busy ER caseload, ensuring disciplinaries, grievances, and long-term sickness matters are concluded fairly, consistently, and with a focus on resolution.

Industrial Relations: Serve as a key point of contact for Trade Unions, utilising your expertise to manage challenging negotiations and build productive, professional working relationships.

Expert Advisory: Provide legally compliant, first-line advice to management on HR policies, flexible working, and robust investigation processes.

Absenteeism & Support: Proactively analyse attendance trends and work alongside managers to implement supportive strategies that reduce absenteeism and help colleagues thrive in their roles.

Change Management: Support the wider HR team in delivering organisational change and integration projects, ensuring all people-related transitions are handled with precision and empathy.

Wellbeing: Manage Occupational Health referrals and lead case conferences to improve attendance rates and embed a proactive health and wellbeing culture.

The Candidate:
We are looking for a resilient, "substance-led" ER professional with around 3–4 years of dedicated experience. You must be a Level 5 CIPD qualified professional (or equivalent) who is comfortable "holding their own" in challenging negotiations and staying calm under pressure. The ideal candidate is a composed communicator who can de-escalate high-pressure situations while remaining solution-oriented. A deep understanding of UK Employment Law and experience in a unionised environment are essential.

Location:
Office-based in Central London, with a hybrid model of 3 days per week on-site. This role requires a flexible attitude toward visiting various depots and stations across the rail route to support local managers and teams.

Salary: Up to £44,500 + Final Salary Pension + Free/Discounted Rail Travel.

About Ford & Stanley Group Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group are in the business of people and performance. Our mission is to create one million better workdays through facilitating great recruitment, leadership and occupational mental fitness. We support our clients in their most challenging business areas – recruiting, developing and retaining the best talent from shop floor to boardroom.

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Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group Ltd is a Disability Confident employer that is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all opportunity seekers. We shall adhere to such a policy at all times and will review on an on-going basis all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. We will treat everyone equally irrespective of sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief or political beliefs and we place an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy