South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust

People Relations Advisor

The closing date is 29 October 2025

Job summary

Are you a People Professional who can confidently apply your knowledge and understanding of employment law to real-world situations? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you.

You will be working within a team of People Relations Specialists and be responsible for a defined caseload, working with and advising managers on matters such as sickness absence, disciplinary and grievance and performance concerns along with terms and conditions of service and organisational change. Your role is integral to delivering one of the Trusts strategic objectives being the best place to work and learn

You will have experience in a multi-faceted environment and have the ability to work independently; using your own initiative whilst also recognising the importance of being a good team player.

You will need to have a CIPD qualification and membership of the CIPD, have a proven track record in building and developing relationships with all levels of staff, influencing and coaching managers, as well as working in partnership with Trade unions.

The role is hybrid working, days both at home and office based at Fieldhead Hospital in Wakefield, you may travel and work at any site in the South West Yorkshire footprint.

At the time of advertising, this role does not meet the minimum requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor candidates to work in the UK. For this reason, we are unable to sponsor anyone for a skilled worker visa for this role unless you can prove your right to work.

Main duties of the job

Policy Development & Review Participate in the creation and evaluation of employment policies and procedures to ensure they reflect the Trusts values and support fair, inclusive practices.
Manager Coaching & Support With guidance from the Senior People Relations Advisor, coach and support managers in proactively addressing workforce issues. Ensure consistent application of People Relations policies to maintain safe, effective, and compassionate services.
Specialist HR Advice Provide expert guidance to managers on a wide range of employment matters, including:

Sickness absence and wellbeing
Grievance and disciplinary procedures
Organisational change processes
Induction-related concerns
Grading and discrimination issues
Diversity, equal opportunities, and employment terms

Investigation & Hearing Participation Advise managers on conducting formal investigations and participate in hearing panels, up to the level of issuing final written warnings.
Employment Law Expertise Continuously develop and apply knowledge of employment legislation and case law to ensure accurate and legally sound HR advice.

All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect patients.

About us

We are a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental health and learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and are the lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.

Our mission is to help people reach their potential and live well in their communities, we do this by providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employ staff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make a difference to the lives of service users, families and carers.

We encourage and welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we value diversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Being a foundation Trust means were accountable to our members, who can have a say in how were run. Around 14,300 local people (including staff) are members of our Trust.

Join us and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improving the mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet and help each year.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.

We do reserve to right to close vacancy before the advertised closing date if necessary, so please apply as soon as possible.

Date posted

15 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£31,049 to £37,796 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9378-QA01412

Job locations

Fieldhead Hospital

Ouchthorpe Lane

Wakefield

WF1 3SP

Job description

Job responsibilities

37.5 hours per week

JOB SUMMARY

The People Relations Advisor will work as part of the Trustwide Operational People Relations Team and will provide a comprehensive, professional and business focussed advisory service with the support of the Senior People Relations advisor and People Relations manager. This will involve coaching and advising Line Managers and employees on a range of employment practices, policies and terms and conditions.

The People Relations Advisor will support the People Relations Business Partners and People Relations managers in their work as part of the Care Group Management Team to promote a valued based approach to the leadership, management and development of the workforce which enables the delivery of safe, effective, caring and well led services in line with the Trusts missions and values.

A key area of work will be to support the Trusts initiatives and workstreams to transform its services and workforce advising on the necessary People Relations interventions to achieve organisational change.

The People Relations Advisor, together with colleagues in the People Relations Team will be expected to support the delivery of key strategic People Relations and People Directorate outcomes in the Care Group.

The delivery of key strategic People Relations and People Directorate outcomes will be supported by the key Enablers of:

Developing a Productive and Quality Workforce

Positive Staff Wellbeing and Effective Engagement

Developing Effective Leaders and Managers

KEY RESULT AREAS:

Strategic People Directorate Outcomes to support the achievement of Trust objectives:

To support the Trusts value based approach to the recruitment and retention of a sustainable workforce able to deliver safe, effective and caring services participating in job matching and evaluation, redeployment etc. of staff due to organisational changes.

To participate in the provision of advice to Managers on the implications of TUPE and other employment legislation e.g. fixed term workers.

To support the People Relations Business Partner and People Relations Managers in the achievement of objectives in the Care Group Annual Plans where People Relations advice or intervention is required e.g. cost improvement programmes affecting the future employment of staff.

As a member of the Trustwide People Directorate Team to provide a comprehensive People Relations service and support, in line with the Trusts values and to meet Care Group objectives.

To participate, as appropriate, in the development and review of value based employment policies and procedures.

With the support of the Senior People Relations Advisor,support and coach Managers in the skills to handle workforce issues as soon as they arise using the People Relations policies in a value based, fair and consistent way in order to ensure safe, effective and caring services are maintained. This includes providing specialist People Relations advice on sickness absence management/wellbeing, grievance, discipline, organisational change processes, issues arising from value based induction, grading discrimination, diversity/equal opportunities and terms and conditions of service.

To provide specialist advice to Managers on the handling of investigations participating on hearing panels when required up to a level of a final written warning.

To build own knowledge of employment legislation and case law in order to inform the advice provided to Managers.

To support the People Relations Business Partner and People Relations manager in embedding value based and model employment practices in the Care Group.

To liaise with colleagues in the People Directorate, where appropriate, re value based recruitment, apprentices etc.

To understand the workforce performance information provided to the Care Groups and how this can be used to support Managers to optimise workforce effectiveness and efficiency e.g. sickness absence trends by service line.

To participate in the delivery of People Relations related training to Managers.

To engage in personal continuous professional development and take advantage of training provided to the People Relations Team which will then impact on the level of service and People Relations advice provided to Managers.

To support the development and implementation of the e-HR system to provide quick and accessible advice and guidance to Managers and staff.

To contribute to the transformation process of the Operational People Relations Team, being involved in discussions about new ways of working and how this will continuously improve the People Relations service offer to the Care Groups.

Strategic People Directorate Enablers

To support the achievement of key strategic People Directorate outcomes to:

1. Developing a Productive and Quality Workforce

To participate in the development of bids for external tenders within the Care Groups and participate in the provision of advice on any subsequent remodelling of the workforce and handling of TUPE transfers of staff.

To ensure that any advice given in relation to the redesign and/or the reduction of the workforce is handled in line with best practice,relevant employment legislation and Trust policies.

2. Positive Staff Wellbeing and Effective Engagement

To support effective partnership working with Staff Side Representatives in order to maintain good employee relations in the best interest of the Trust, services and staff.

To be aware of wellbeing initiatives and action plans from the six month staff wellbeing and engagement survey and how these can be promoted within the Care Groups.

3. Developing Effective Leaders and Managers

To coach Managers in areas of day to day People Relations management increasing their confidence and competence.

For full details of the role please see the supporting documents attached.

We are aware that an increasing number of applicants are using AI technology to generate responses on NHS Job application forms. We strongly discourage this and will conduct a thorough screening process before selecting candidates to progress to the next stage. If you are using AI to enhance your application, please disclose this in your NHS Jobs application form.