Salary:  upto £43,500 pro rata depending on skills and experience.

Who are we?

GWR is the proud custodian of Brunel's railway - one of the most prestigious networks in the world.  We have some of the newest trains in the country and exciting plans to extend our services.   With more than one hundred million passenger journeys each year, we carry people to over 275 stations in the South West, from Cornwall and South Wales to London, passing through beautiful country and some of the UK's top tourist destinations. 

We are transforming the way people think about train travel, empowering our team of over 6,000 people from all different backgrounds to make it a great experience for our customers.  Together, we will revalue rail as a very special way to travel – relaxing, fast, efficient, friendly and fun.

About the team?

The Senior Employee Relations Advisor is an exciting opportunity within our Employee Relations team in HR, reporting to the Employee Relations Manager, who reports to the Head of Employee Relations.  Our drive in Employee Relations is to ensure greater consistency and compliance in our people management practices including casework management.

About the job?

As a Senior Employee Relations Advisor you will play a critical role within the Employee Relations team in HR providing general employee relations guidance.  Managing a small team of ER Advisors, you'll be responsible for the team providing casework support to a wide range of managers and colleagues across GWR.

You'll deal with a variety of employee relations issues, guiding, coaching and assisting managers and colleagues through their queries around attendance management, grievances, disciplinaries, probation, poor performance etc.  You'll manage casework through various escalations and to tribunal where required.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Managing and supporting ER Advisors.
• Providing Line Mangers with advice and guidance on a range of employment matters.
• Provide additional support to the ER Manager and Line Managers by attending hearing and meetings as appropriate.
• Support the ER Manager in developing managers through coaching/facilitating during day to day management activities etc.
• Assist in the progress of ACAS conciliations and Employment Tribunal claims.
• Work closely with Employee Relations colleagues, to ensure consistency and best practice across the department

You'll need to be: 

• Experienced in all aspects of casework and employee relations.
• Experience of managing a team.
• Strong and proven organisational skills, attention to detail and analytical skills
• Able to multi task, plan and prioritise workload to meet tight deadlines
• Highly IT literate with excellent Word and Excel skills
• Proactive in problem solving
• A team player
• An excellent communicator both verbal and written, good listener and confident in delivering advice to customers across all levels of the organisation.
• Able to build strong working relationships in and outside of the HR team

As a minimum, you will need to have: 

• Previous experience in Employee Relations and specifically casework
• CIPD qualified/HR equivalent qualification
• Extensive knowledge and practical experience of HR Procedures, processes and practices.
• Working knowledge of Employment Law and amendments to legislation.

About the location?

The role is based in Plymouth or Exeter and you will be providing support to the West region, with flexibility to be able to travel as required across the GWR network.

Working Pattern?

3 days a week, 27 hours per week

Perks & Benefits?

• Health & Wellbeing: Health Cash Plan, health screenings, EAP, gym discounts.
• Lifestyle: Costco membership, bike scheme, retail discounts.
• Financial: Pension, share-saving schemes, payroll giving.
• Travel: Free GWR Travel pass. Discounted Friends and Family tickets, Eurostar, and European rail travel.

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