ER Specialist
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre - Field Based and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Group HR
Closing date: 08 July 2025
Requisition ID: 400003500
Our people are at the heart of our business, and we are looking for those that are just as passionate about that as we are. Join our People team, and come with us on a journey as we transform the way we do HR. Our team is made up of business partners working with leaders to get the most out of their teams, specialist knowledge in our centres of expertise, and colleague-centric, efficient people services. Our work ranges from making sure that our 150,000+ colleagues are paid on time to attracting brilliant talent to drive our strategy, to unlocking the skills and capability of our colleagues. This is a fast-moving business, and we make sure our policies and rewards keep up with that too. We know flexibility is important and helps you be more productive so there's more choice than ever about where and when you work. When it comes to your development, we'll support your growth in your own unique way. When you join us, you’ll be joining a team that knows just what it means to be happy and engaged, and who makes a real impact across our business.
Please note this role is field-based and will involve travel across our South West London & Surrey region at least 2 days per week.
Why join us
For Sainsbury’s People Division, people are the most important asset we have and we’re always looking for the brightest talent to bring fresh energy, experience and inspiration. This helps us to get the best out of our people and make sure they have everything they need to feel valued, engaged and motivated. Within the People Division we do exactly that and take pride in making a real difference to millions of customers’ lives.
As our Employee Relations (ER) Specialist, you will have the opportunity to work in a collaborative and inclusive environment, providing expert advice and solutions on complex cases. Your role will contribute to maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace culture while upholding our commercial responsibilities. As an integral member of our team, you will have the opportunity to build strong relationships with senior leaders and People teams, working together to drive impactful change and continuous improvement.
What you'll do
As an ER Specialist/Partner, you will be accountable for delivering expert ER advice on the cases that are of most significant cultural risk and legal importance to a geographic region encompassing various business areas across Sainsbury’s and Argos. The role is also accountable for ensuring that a blend of reactive and proactive ER advice and solutions are provided, ensuring risks are appropriately assessed, our commercial responsibilities are maintained, and we live our valued behaviours, always. You will lead litigation cases, ensuring effective risk assessment and negotiation, while maintaining case confidentiality. In addition, you’ll also support Business Leaders to manage the end-to-end consultation process, including group and individual consultation.
Who you are
To achieve the very best in the role you will excel in building relationships and have great influencing skills. You will need to demonstrate exemplary judgement, ensuring balanced advice that manages risk but drives end results that are right commercially and / or appropriate to our colleague values. You will partner your specified business area to provide specialist ER case management advisory and support services in complex, high risk or high-profile cases, or where a case requires direct intervention and work in partnership with our Occupational Health Partners and Employment Law team to see cases through to resolution.
Using ER data and MI, you will create ER plans for your business area/s, looking to improve the ER culture and working with our CoEs and Talent teams to develop and create solutions to improve the capability of our managers in the management of employee relations.
Essential criteria:
- Credible expertise in all aspects of HR specifically employee relations, employment law and occupational health within a retail environment.
- Experience of managing complex, high-risk ER cases.
- Experience of creating & executing a data-driven ER plan to make insightful improvements on ER.
- Ability to confidently assess risk in cases & make bold commercial decisions.
- Experience of delivering ER advice that is efficient, professional and credible.
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We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform. Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too. Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave. Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
