Job summary
This post is only open for applications from individuals
employed within the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board.
Organisations within scope are as follows:
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Isle of Wight NHS Trust
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
University Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
NHS Band 5: £32,073 - £39,043 per annum (effective from
01/04/2026)
Hours Per Week: 37.5 full time
Contract Type: Fixed term for 1 year
Base Location: Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
Corporate Hub, Block 4000, Lakeside North Harbour, Western Road, Cosham,
Portsmouth, PO6 3EN
As the single corporate service will be delivered across
both organisations, individuals may be required to undertake business travel
between sites.
Are you a motivated HR professional looking to further
develop your employee relations expertise in a supportive, progressive, and
high performing environment?
As part of our single service offer, you will work across
both Trusts and may be required to travel between sites depending on service
needs. There is flexibility for some home working; however, the role requires a
regular onsite presence to deliver effective support to managers and staff.
Main duties of the job
As an Employee Relations Advisor, you will play a key role
in delivering a high quality, proactive HR service that supports improved staff
experience, effective case management, and positive organisational outcomes.
You will:
- Take the lead on managing absence and ill health cases,
analysing sickness data, producing reports, and supporting managers with
proactive attendance management strategies.
- Act as a primary point of contact for staff and managers
seeking HR advice, providing guidance on a range of HR policies, terms and
conditions, and best practice.
- Support investigations and ER processes, including
disciplinary, grievance, capability, and performance management matters.
- Advise and participate in formal hearings for absence and
less complex employee relations cases.
- Support organisational change processes and ensure managers
understand and apply People Services policies correctly.
- Contribute to training delivery, including management
essentials and employment relations learning.
- Support job evaluation processes in line with NHS job
evaluation criteria.
- Analyse ER data and key indicators, particularly sickness
absence, to support performance reporting.
- Maintain accurate records, support SOP updates, and ensure
effective team resourcing across sites.
- Assist with Subject Access Requests (SARs) and Freedom of
Information (FOI) responses in line with statutory requirements.
About us
Our vision for Single Corporate Services
Isle of Wight NHS Trust (IWT) and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
(PHU) have a shared vision of a single corporate service across our two
organisations, supported by a single set of identical systems and processes,
under joint leadership, to drive significant efficiencies, improve employee
experience, and return time to patient care.
This vacancy is part of the Single Corporate Services
Division.
The vision for our single corporate services is to:
- Be an employer of choice for corporate talent, attracting
and retaining people who share our values for excellence in care and welcome
the opportunity to benefit from the broad range of flexible career and
development opportunities we can offer.
- Improve efficiency through simplified and standardised
policies, processes, and systems, drawing on the best from both Trusts.
- Do things once and reduce any duplication on transactional
tasks giving corporate staff the ability to focus on higher value and more
diverse activities.
- Co-invest in the latest digital solutions and standardise
our approach, meaning we do things once for both organisations.
- Improve learning and development opportunities and sharing
best practice, upskilling both Trusts.
- Co-locate teams in purpose-built facilities on the Island
and in Portsmouth to enable closer working and sharing.
- Build resilience for individuals and our teams.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job summary:
The ER Advisor role at Isle of Wight NHS Trust and
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust encompasses a wide array of
responsibilities aimed at delivering a comprehensive HR service to managers,
line managers, and staff.
The primary focus of the role involves managing absence and
illness effectively, serving as a central point of contact for staff and
managers for general HR advice, and supporting the Employee Relations team in
ensuring compliance with legal requirements. The HR Advisor contributes to
developing a proactive and modern HR service, participates in policy drafting
and reviews, and supports various employee relations functions such as
grievance handling, disciplinary procedures, capability assessments, and
organisational change processes.
Additionally, the ER Advisor helps in coordinating job
matching and analysis, advising on investigations, and participating in formal
hearings. This role involves providing constant support and guidance to enhance
employee relations capability, ensuring effective management of change, and
promoting open working relationships to build a positive employee relations
environment within the organisation.
Specific Core Functions
Absence and Ill Health Management
- Manage absence and ill health matters effectively within the
Trust, providing guidance and support to staff and management.
- Analyse sickness absence data, develop detailed reports, and
collaborate with managers to implement proactive absence management strategies.
- Work with the Occupational Health and Wellbeing Team to
design interventions for absence reduction.
- Provide training, guidance, and advice on sickness absence
management within the organisation.
Point of Contact and Advisory Role
- Serve as a primary point of contact for staff and managers,
offering advice on less complex HR issues.
- Provide comprehensive employee relations advice and guidance
based on policies, NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) and medical terms and
conditions, and best practices.
- Offer consistent advice on employee relations matters to
enhance organisational capability.
- Advise on complex issues such as long-term sickness cases
and termination discussions.
Compliance and Operational Support
- Ensure compliance with legal and statutory requirements
across Divisions.
- Keep the Employee Relations Manager abreast of operational
issues within the Trust/Divisions.
- Support managers and staff in organisational change
processes and effective handling of change initiatives.
- Ensure manager awareness and compliance with People Services
policies and procedures.
Employee Relations Processes and Investigations
- Provide advice and support on investigations, including
grievances, discipline, and performance management.
- Assist in employee relations hearings, particularly for
absence management and less complex cases.
- Act as an adviser for non-complex disciplinary, capability,
and grievance hearings.
- Review management cases for formal hearings, identify gaps,
and support managers in decision making.
Please refer to the attached Job Description for further details.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job summary:
The ER Advisor role at Isle of Wight NHS Trust and
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust encompasses a wide array of
responsibilities aimed at delivering a comprehensive HR service to managers,
line managers, and staff.
The primary focus of the role involves managing absence and
illness effectively, serving as a central point of contact for staff and
managers for general HR advice, and supporting the Employee Relations team in
ensuring compliance with legal requirements. The HR Advisor contributes to
developing a proactive and modern HR service, participates in policy drafting
and reviews, and supports various employee relations functions such as
grievance handling, disciplinary procedures, capability assessments, and
organisational change processes.
Additionally, the ER Advisor helps in coordinating job
matching and analysis, advising on investigations, and participating in formal
hearings. This role involves providing constant support and guidance to enhance
employee relations capability, ensuring effective management of change, and
promoting open working relationships to build a positive employee relations
environment within the organisation.
Specific Core Functions
Absence and Ill Health Management
- Manage absence and ill health matters effectively within the
Trust, providing guidance and support to staff and management.
- Analyse sickness absence data, develop detailed reports, and
collaborate with managers to implement proactive absence management strategies.
- Work with the Occupational Health and Wellbeing Team to
design interventions for absence reduction.
- Provide training, guidance, and advice on sickness absence
management within the organisation.
Point of Contact and Advisory Role
- Serve as a primary point of contact for staff and managers,
offering advice on less complex HR issues.
- Provide comprehensive employee relations advice and guidance
based on policies, NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) and medical terms and
conditions, and best practices.
- Offer consistent advice on employee relations matters to
enhance organisational capability.
- Advise on complex issues such as long-term sickness cases
and termination discussions.
Compliance and Operational Support
- Ensure compliance with legal and statutory requirements
across Divisions.
- Keep the Employee Relations Manager abreast of operational
issues within the Trust/Divisions.
- Support managers and staff in organisational change
processes and effective handling of change initiatives.
- Ensure manager awareness and compliance with People Services
policies and procedures.
Employee Relations Processes and Investigations
- Provide advice and support on investigations, including
grievances, discipline, and performance management.
- Assist in employee relations hearings, particularly for
absence management and less complex cases.
- Act as an adviser for non-complex disciplinary, capability,
and grievance hearings.
- Review management cases for formal hearings, identify gaps,
and support managers in decision making.
Please refer to the attached Job Description for further details.
Person Specification
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of a range of HR policies, processes and practices e.g. absence and capability, disciplinary and grievance procedures.
- Knowledge of current employment law, data protection and ACAS Codes of Practice.
- Understanding of best practice in HR.
- Excellent interpersonal effectiveness including diplomacy, influencing, negotiation and facilitation skills.
- Able to establish credibility and rapport with line mangers.
- Sensitive and responsive when dealing with challenging or emotional circumstances.
- Able to prioritise and respond flexibly to changing demands.
- Ability to work autonomously and show initiative.
- Commitment to equal opportunities.
- Excellent PC User skills including all basic Microsoft packages.
- Ability to analyse situations and exercise independent judgement.
Desirable
- Understanding of NHS Terms and Conditions (e.g. national AFC and Medical).
- Trained in Job Evaluation.
- Use of ER Case Management Systems.
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to degree level or equivalent relevant experience.
- Level 5 CIPD qualification or equivalent relevant experience.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in an Operational HR role dealing with complex and sensitive issues.
- Experience of advising managers on a range of HR issues, in particular absence management.
- Experience of involvement in policy development and implementation.
- Experience of taking minutes at formal hearings.
Person Specification
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of a range of HR policies, processes and practices e.g. absence and capability, disciplinary and grievance procedures.
- Knowledge of current employment law, data protection and ACAS Codes of Practice.
- Understanding of best practice in HR.
- Excellent interpersonal effectiveness including diplomacy, influencing, negotiation and facilitation skills.
- Able to establish credibility and rapport with line mangers.
- Sensitive and responsive when dealing with challenging or emotional circumstances.
- Able to prioritise and respond flexibly to changing demands.
- Ability to work autonomously and show initiative.
- Commitment to equal opportunities.
- Excellent PC User skills including all basic Microsoft packages.
- Ability to analyse situations and exercise independent judgement.
Desirable
- Understanding of NHS Terms and Conditions (e.g. national AFC and Medical).
- Trained in Job Evaluation.
- Use of ER Case Management Systems.
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to degree level or equivalent relevant experience.
- Level 5 CIPD qualification or equivalent relevant experience.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in an Operational HR role dealing with complex and sensitive issues.
- Experience of advising managers on a range of HR issues, in particular absence management.
- Experience of involvement in policy development and implementation.
- Experience of taking minutes at formal hearings.
