Employee Relations Manager

Job title:

Employee Relations Manager

Company

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Job description

Employee Relations ManagerEmployerKingston CouncilLocation(s)KingstonContract TypeFixed TermLength of Employment / Contract End Date18 months/31st December 2025Working HoursFull TimeGradeIHours Per Week36Salary Range£44,019 – £49,083Salary BasisPer annumLeave Entitlement30 daysApplication Deadline07/07/2024, 23:55Anticipated Interview Date(s)16th July 2024About the BoroughThis special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else – it is where the first kings of England were crowned.Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston’s riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.About the RoleThe Employee Relations and Policy team, consisting of an ER apprentice, ER advisor, ER manager and a Senior ER manager are great assets in our forward thinking People and OD service. They are working with a fresh new employment policy framework, as we collectively develop our positive performance culture. You would come at a great time as we continue to develop a strong and trusted relationship with our managers, staff and our unions.About UsWe work closely with the shared services serving The Royal Borough of Kingston and the London Borough of Sutton in People and OD, Finance, Customer Service, Neighbourhoods, Environment and ICT.Our service is in the second year of delivering their five year People and OD strategy. We are progressing our work on Management and Leadership development, recruitment and retention and EDI strategies and system and efficiency improvement. We are an award winning HR Shared Service, because people are at the heart of everything we do and our Service is very proud to have won the MJ Award for community diversity and inclusion, 2022.About YouTo be successful in the role you will be an excellent communicator and people person and enjoy working in an agile, flexible and visible team, you will be available to work in our Kingston office some of the time. We support one another and those involved in Employee Relations casework, to bring about robust conclusions, minimise distress and disruption, whilst dealing with all aspects of performance. You will have the CIPD or an equivalent qualification and/or evidence of equivalent knowledge and experience and up-to-date knowledge of employment legislation, to inform progressive and present an evolving policy framework, with clear expectations defined to all. There is scope in this role to be involved and work with our Business Partners and Workforce Development team, as well as resourcing, payroll and data teams, you will help us manage change and TUPE, on occasion.We welcome your experience from all sectors, as long as you have a strong interest and want to know more about council work as we deliver essential services to our community and aim to make Royal Borough of Kingston the best place to work and live.Our Offer To YouAs an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Application ProcessPlease apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.We are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) so all personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc is completely anonymised during the shortlisting process. Our hiring managers review applications based on the knowledge, skills and experience demonstrated in your application, and how well these match the job profile. Our HR Shared Service with Sutton Council was recently recognised nationally for having the ‘Best Inclusion and Diversity Programme’ at the PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards 2023, something that we’re incredibly proud of.Hiring managers are encouraged to ensure that their interview panel is diverse, and representative of a range of protected characteristics, to help remove unconscious bias and ensure candidates are treated fairly during the selection process. Some characteristics may not be obvious, but our panels are diverse wherever possible. We have a number of measures in place to inform and support our approach, including mandatory EDI and unconscious bias training for all staff, safer recruitment training for diverse panel members, engaging with our staff networks and encouraging allyship. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.Additional InformationWe are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough. Our aim is to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and staff feel a sense of belonging. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role.We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the

Expected salary

£44019 – 49083 per year

Location

Kingston upon Thames

Job date

Sat, 22 Jun 2024 02:14:43 GMT

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