Employee Relations (ER) Advisor – Manchester

Overview

Hello, we’re Starling. We built a new kind of bank because we knew technology had the power to help people save, spend and manage their money in a new and transformative way. We’re a fully licensed UK bank with the culture and spirit of a fast-moving, disruptive tech company. We’re a bank, but better: fairer, easier to use and designed to demystify money for everyone. We employ more than 3,000 people across our London, Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester offices. 

We are looking for an ER Advisor to support the Employee Relations Strategy, by supporting the business in fostering a positive workplace culture by advising on, managing, and resolving complex employee relations issues in a fair, consistent and legally compliant way.  

Working in the People Advisory and ER team, you will act as a trusted advisor to managers and employees, ensuring that policies and procedures are applied correctly, employment law is followed and workplace concerns are addressed effectively to minimise risk and strengthen engagement.  

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Support the implementation of the overall Employee Relations Strategy.
• Provide end-to-end support to managers on ER issues, including grievances, investigations, disciplinary matters, whistleblowing, and complex performance and absence management.
• Support managers and the People Team on complex organisational change initiatives.
• Ensure best practice and compliance with UK employment law, ACAS guidelines, and internal policies.
• Facilitate strong communication between leaders and colleagues to foster a positive and inclusive workplace culture.
• Ensure accurate reporting of ER data for robust analytics, including trend analysis and insights.
• Act as an escalation point for People Partners and People Advisors on complex ER matters.
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve processes for better employee experience.
• Coach and mentor the People Advisors in complex ER case management to promote knowledge transfer.
• Utilise mediation to resolve issues informally through facilitated conversations.
• Contribute to the design and delivery of training sessions for managers on ER-related topics.

Requirements

• Extensive experience in a similar Employee Relations role.
• Proven track record of handling and resolving complex, high-risk ER cases, spanning as a minimum, investigations, disciplinaries and grievances. 
• Experience of managing change programmes is beneficial. 
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment legislation and case law, ACAS Codes, employment practices and advising on appropriate proactive action.
• Employment tribunal preparation and negotiation with external stakeholders, including third party legal counsel would be beneficial.
• Strong relationship management skills with internal and external stakeholder groups, with the ability to foster positive relationships and influence at a senior level.
• Previous experience of the SMCR and the application of FCA Conduct Rules would be beneficial.
• Excellent written communication skills with experience in the preparation of investigation reports and outcome letters which detail findings and recommendations, and policy and process documents.
• Able to organise and prioritise your own workload, to meet deadlines in a flexible, organic, fast-paced environment.
• Agile and able to adapt as projects and priorities change and able to remain composed and positive in the face of any setbacks or challenges.
• Seeing the bigger picture to build strategic plans for delivery.
• Ability to handle multiple priorities such as complex cases and people projects.
• Strong execution skills and acute attention to detail.
• An analytical mindset with the ability to identify trends within a data set.
• Patience and ability to remain calm in stressful situations. 
• Proactive approach to work and generating ideas – challenges the status quo, suggests new ideas/processes of working. 
• A CIPD qualification or currently working towards.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don’t tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’re always open to discussion. So, if you’re excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you’re 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.

We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we may process, where we may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.