Assistant People and Workforce Advisor

Job responsibilities

Communication

• Provide generalist HR advice on all employment matters, in liaison with the People & Workforce Advisor, with particular regard to effective and early resolution of discipline, performance, grievance, dignity at work and sickness absence casework which may occasionally be complex and sensitive requiring tact and dipl
• Promote a just and learning culture through advice provided to staff and managers.
• Escalate enquiries in relation to complex employee relations matters, such as Safeguarding issues, potential exclusions, to the Senior HR People & Workforce Team.
• Liaise with and potentially interview staff in order to gather evidence and facts in respect of issues which will involve skills including challenging where appropriate, persuasive and influencing to ensure the facts are clea
• Maintain close liaison with the Trusts Occupational Health department ensuring that any delays or issues with sickness absence cases are raised and actions put in place to rectify probl
• Support the People & Workforce Team with the design and delivery of specialist training to small or large groups on HR policies, procedures and practices and employment legislation on a Trust-wide

Analytical and Judgement Skills

• Manage a caseload and provide advice and support for line managers in achieving the Trust objective in the reduction of sickness absence. This includes all aspects of sickness absence management including advising managers of reasonable adjustments, redeployment process and ill-health retirement.
• Under the direction of the People & Workforce Advisor to undertake investigations into non-complex employment matters which will require the post holder to use their judgement when supporting the Investigating Officer on the outcomes or sanctions as necessary
• Review and analyse information submitted to the People & Workforce Team on HR issues (including disciplinary, performance, grievance, and harassment) to determine the best way forward, with a focus on early and informal resolution.
• Review and analyse the key performance indicators for the People & Workforce Department to ensure casework administration is undertaken in an efficient and timely manner.

Planning and Organisational Skills

• Support with the monitoring and responding of queries received by the People & Workforce Department relating to employee relations matters, ensuring they are acknowledged in line with key performance indicators and progressed without delay.
• Plan and complete casework within agreed timescales which will require good diary management and a flexible approach. The post holder will be required to organise their own day to day activities/workload
• Ensure that any documentation required for reports is completed within the defined timescale

Policy and Service Development:

• Ensure that record keeping for all employee relations issues is of a sufficient standard to ensure that the Trust is able to defend Employment Tribunal case
• Deliver a customer focused and user friendly service which provides accurate, timely and professional advice to managers and maximise the use of appropriate technology and resources.
• Contribute to the achievement of Corporate objectives by commenting on policies and procedures which impact across the organisation (e. Sickness Absence, Investigations).
• Propose initiatives that modernise, reduce inefficiencies, and cost and draw these to the attention of the People & Workforce Department as appropriate.
• Contribute and provide support to the People & Workforce Department with the ongoing developments for the Department and wider Trust.

Human Resources

• Act as a point of contact for information and advice on employment policies and procedures including employment legislation, NHS terms and conditions, pay and Inclusion, taking advice from the People & Workforce Advisor as required.
• Attend meetings to provide information and advice on the employment processes and updates to line managers and staff.
• Ensure all documentation complies with current regulations and employment law and advise managers on required changes as

Information Resources

• Responsible for on-going and real-time updating of internal databases and systems to ensure accurate reports can be provided up to and including executive level

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification for further details

Qualification(s) and Professional Training

Essential

• oLevel 3 CIPD certificate in Human Resources or equivalent experience.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• oRecent experience of working in a large organisation, providing generalist HR advice
• oExperience of working in partnership with Staff Side and Trade Unions
• oExperience of preparing, analysing and presenting reports
• oUp to date and working knowledge of Employment Law and Human Resource Best Practice e.g., ACAS
• oEvidence of recent CPD

Desirable

• oKnowledge of NHS Terms and Conditions of Employment

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• oExcellent communication skills including the ability to communicate complex information with fully developed persuasive, coaching, negotiating, and influencing skills.
• oAbility to work autonomously, without direct supervision and as part of a team.
• oGood IT skills (to include as a minimum: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, databases)
• oAbility to interpret and apply Terms and Conditions of Employment
• oAbility to set own priorities, meet tight deadlines and work independently.
• oAbility to gain and maintain credibility and establish good working relationships with staff at all levels across the organisation.
• oAbility to maintain confidentiality and deal with situations in a sensitive manner.
• oAble to work to tight deadlines and pay attention to detail.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• oAble to concentrate with frequent interruptions and where work is unpredictable
• oAble to deal with distressing or emotional circumstances i.e. during disciplinary and sickness
• oProactive with the ability to work on own initiative, responding to immediate requests.
• oFlexible approach to work, willing to adapt to regular changing situations.
• oProactive and self-motivated.

Other

Essential

• oAble to undertake occasional travel nationally and locally.

Desirable

• oAccess to own transport.

Trust Values

Essential

• Effective Open Communication
• Excellence and safety in all that we do
• Challenge but support
• Expect respect and dignity
• Local healthcare that inspires confidence

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).