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Railway, Train, Transportation, Vehicle, Locomotive

Employee Relations Advisor

  • 028898
  • Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
  • Permanent - Full Time
  • Closing on: Feb 1 2026
  • Great Western Railway
  • £37,000- £39,000 depending on skills and experience.
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Salary up to £37-39k depending on skills and experience, plus fantastic benefits package.

At GWR, we're more than a train company. We're the proud custodians of one of the UK's most iconic rail networks. Every year, we help over 100 million people travel across the South West, South Wales and London, through some of the country's most scenic routes.

With a modern fleet, ambitious plans and a 91% customer satisfaction score, we're on an exciting journey of continuous improvement. Our people are at the heart of that journey, and as an Employee Relations Advisor, you'll play a key role in supporting our people, every step of the way.

About the Team:

The HR team plays a key role in supporting the organisation to deliver high performance through its people. This is an exciting opportunity to be an Employee Relations Advisor in our Employee Relations team.

Our focus in Employee Relations is to promote consistency and compliance across our people‑management practices, including all aspects of casework management.

The Reward:

As well as a great team environment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including:

  • on-going development,
  • defined benefit pension scheme with the Railways Pension Scheme,
  • free rail travel across the GWR network for you and your family,
  • company-sponsored health care plan,
  • discounted shopping and gym membership
  • employee assistance programme and much more.

About the job:

You will provide generalist support on all people policies and procedures, with a consistent approach to line managers and employees, to ensure delivery of an effective and professional ER service.  You will deal with a variety of employee relations issues, guiding and coaching line managers through their queries around attendance management, grievances, disciplinaries, probation, poor performance, employment law etc.

You will be:

  • Responsible for providing a professional ER advisory service to line managers and employees on all employment matters.
  • Lead end to end case management for employee relations cases, supporting all levels of employees across GWR with a focus on performance, grievance, attendance, and Employee Relations related projects.
  • Provide Line Managers with advice and guidance on a range of employment matters including disciplinary, grievance, performance management, absence management issues and other relevant casework.
  • Liaising with employee representatives and recognised trades unions as appropriate.
  • Acting as the point of contact for line managers and all employees.
  • Work closely with other ER colleagues, to ensure consistency and best practice across the division.

 You'll need to:

  • Be experienced in providing ER advice and guidance.
  • Be experienced in case management.
  • Be able to build strong and effective relationships.
  • Have good influencing skills.
  • Be organised, with strong analytical skills.
  • Be able to work proactively and flexibly.

As a minimum you'll need:

  • CIPD qualified or part qualified.
  • Proven work experience in an ER Advisor capacity.
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
  • Strong IT Skills.
  • Strong relationship building skills at all levels.
  • Knowledge of employment legislation and practical experience of ER procedures, processes and practices.

About the location:

This role is based in Reading, and you will be providing support to the East region.  Flexibility is required to travel across the GWR network as and when required.

Working Pattern:

This role is permanent, 5 days a week, 37 hours.

Application:

Please apply online via our website https://careers.firstgroup.co.uk/brand-gwr

If you have any problems applying, please email gwrrecruitment@gwr.com

We all belong at GWR. This is our vision for providing an inclusive environment for all our colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment. 

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA, ethnicity, religion and disability. We maintain zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/

 

INGWR

Job benefits

benefit

Free GWR travel

benefit

Cash back with Health Shield

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Cycle to work scheme

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Employee assistance programme

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Pension scheme

High street and lifestyle discounts

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Other rail discounts

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