Job Description

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world.

JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally.

We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

Employee Relations Advisor

Responsible to: Employee Relations Senior Advisor
Department: Employee Relations
Location: Bury with travel to Kingsway and other Head Office locations

Role Overview: Deliver a professional, proactive and flexible Employee Relations service by providing appropriate generalist advice and support to all colleagues. Driving best practice and ensuring compliance with all Company policies and procedures in line with employment legislation.

Key Duties/Responsibilities:

• To provide practical and effective first line employee relations advice across the Group to Line Managers and colleagues covering Retail, Gyms, Supply Chain and Head Office. This includes (but is not limited to) providing timely and accurate advice with regards to disciplinary, grievance, absence management and family friendly policies.
• Able to manage queries empathetically and in turn communicate outcomes clearly and articulately with the aim of minimising appeals.
• Act as a team player with the wider People team by sharing knowledge and expertise.
• Support and coach Line Managers to effectively manage and resolve employee relations matters through to appropriate conclusions.
• Provide support to Line Managers and the wider People team during meetings.
• Have an excellent working knowledge of up to date employment legislation, best practice and case law.
• Able to work autonomously and prioritise accordingly (with guidance and support from the People Leadership team where required).
• Be able to use Occupational Health appropriately within employee relations casework and write referrals to OH Advisors.
• Communicate with and support the People Leadership team to ensure employee relations policies and procedures are fairly and proportionately applied, whilst identifying opportunities for improvement to current practices.
• Understand the Groups’ responsibilities to statutory regulations.
• Maintain clear audit trails for all People records in accordance with GDPR regulations.
• Support in ensuring that critical monthly and annual cycle People processes are executed within the relevant timescales.
• Assist with project work when required.

Skills/Knowledge Needed:

• CIPD qualified to a minimum of Level 5. Level 3 may be considered if the candidate is able to demonstrate substantial relevant HR generalist based work experience, with a desire to gain Level 5 qualification.
• Previous HR/People Advisor related experience is essential, preferably in a retail environment or another fast-paced, constantly changing People environment, with responsibility for managing high volume complex caseloads.
• Excellent knowledge of employment legislation and Employee Relations policies and procedures.
• Be comfortable offering advice and minute taking in formal meetings to ensure all interactions are documented accurately and conducted appropriately.
• Good communication skills with the ability to guide and influence and the confidence to challenge current practices appropriately where required.
• Able to communicate clearly and articulately with all stakeholders throughout the business.
• Proficient knowledge of Office365 and HR Systems (Previous experience of Dayforce would be advantageous)
• Accurate typing skills recognising the need for attention to detail.
• Proven experience of working within a constantly changing environment.
• Flexible to work outside of standard office hours if required to support a 24/7 operation.

We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits including staff Discount On JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.

Thank you for your time

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