Employee Relations Partner

Are you a seasoned Employee Relations professional who thrives on solving complex people challenges, driving fair outcomes, and making a real impact in a fast-paced, regulated environment? If so, we'd love to hear from you.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and passionate Employee Relations (ER) Partner to join our UK & Ireland People Function. Working closely with the Head of People, UK & Ireland and the HR People Partner team, you will be the go-to expert on complex employee relations matters, organisational change, and employment law compliance.

This is a fantastic opportunity to apply your expertise, judgement and practical, people-first approach to shape the employee experience and strengthen HR governance across the organisation, supporting quarterly Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RSCA) reviews and maintaining HR policies, procedures and employment documentation in line with evolving UK legal and regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations and Organisational Change

• Provide expert advice and end-to-end support on complex employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, performance, capability, conduct and absence management cases. This includes preparing, reviewing and managing case-related documentation, such as meeting invitations, investigation plans, correspondence and outcome letters, ensuring accuracy, consistency and alignment with relevant policies and procedures.
• Support organisational change programmes, including restructuring, redundancy, collective consultation and TUPE.
• Advise on changes to employment terms and conditions.
• Support the management of employment disputes and settlement negotiations, including ACAS early conciliation and employment tribunal claims, working closely with Legal and external advisers.
• Partner with HR People Partners, Legal and key stakeholders to ensure consistent, fair and legally compliant outcomes.
• Act as the employee relations subject matter expert for HR People Partners and managers, providing practical guidance on complex matters and promoting consistent application of policies and employment law.

HR Governance, Policy and Compliance

• Coordinate and support quarterly Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) reviews, including reviewing controls, documenting findings, tracking actions and ensuring timely follow-up.
• Review, update and maintain UK HR policies, procedures and templates to reflect changes in employment legislation, regulatory requirements and internal standards.
• Monitor UK employment law developments and assess their implications for HR policies, processes and practices.
• Maintain and update HR letter templates and standard employment documentation, ensuring legal accuracy, consistency and appropriate version control.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen HR governance, mitigate employment-related risks and improve existing processes.
• Work closely with Legal, Compliance and other stakeholders on relevant regulatory and employment matters.

Training and Continuous Improvement

• Support the development and delivery of manager training on key employee relations topics and employment law developments.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of HR processes, policies and employee relations practices.
• Maintain accurate case records and documentation in accordance with confidentiality and data protection requirements.
• Analyse employee relations case trends and recurring themes, recommending improvements to policies, processes and manager training.

Abou You

You are a confident, empathetic and solutions-focused HR professional who brings both technical expertise and a genuine passion for people. You know how to navigate sensitive and complex situations with care and professionalism, and you're equally comfortable advising a senior leader as you are supporting an employee through a difficult process. You thrive in a structured environment, take pride in the quality of your work, and are always looking for ways to improve how things are done.

Professional Experience and Skills

• Minimum 8 years' experience in employee relations or a comparable HR Generalist role.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law, employee relations best practice and regulatory requirements.
• Proven, end-to-end experience managing complex ER cases independently, including disciplinary, grievance, performance and absence matters.
• Proven experience supporting organisational change, including redundancy, restructuring, collective consultation and TUPE.
• Experience reviewing and updating HR policies, procedures and employment documentation.
• Experience supporting HR governance, risk and control reviews, with the ability to manage actions through to completion.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to advise, influence and challenge senior leaders.
• Excellent judgement, analytical and problem-solving skills, with a pragmatic and solutions-focused approach.
• Highly organised and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage competing priorities without compromising quality.
• Experience in financial services or another highly regulated environment, ideally insurance or reinsurance.
• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent professional experience.

Our company has a hybrid work model where the expectation is that you will be in the office at least three days per week. #LI-Hybrid

For London the annual base salary range for this position is between GBP 74 000 and GBP 110 000 (for a full-time role). The specific salary offered considers:

• the requirements, scope, complexity and responsibilities of the role,
• the applicant's own profile including education/qualifications, expertise, specialisation, skills and experience.

In addition to your base salary, Swiss Re offers an attractive performance-based variable compensation component, designed to recognise your achievements. Further you will enjoy a variety of global and location specific benefits. Eligibility may vary depending on the terms of Swiss Re policies and your employment contract.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. We anticipate and manage a wide variety of risks, from natural catastrophes and climate change to cybercrime. Combining experience with creative thinking and cutting-edge expertise, we create new opportunities and solutions for our clients. This is possible thanks to the collaboration of more than 15,000 employees across the world.

Our success depends on our ability to build an inclusive culture encouraging fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. We embrace a workplace where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and develop professionally regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, skillset, thought or other characteristics. In our inclusive and flexible environment everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and their passion for sustainability.

If you are an experienced professional returning to the workforce after a career break, we encourage you to apply for open positions that match your skills and experience.

We may use AI-powered tools to support the review and evaluation of applications for this position. These tools provide additional insights to our recruitment teams, but all hiring decisions are carefully reviewed and made by people. To learn more about how we use AI in recruitment and how we handle your personal data, please review our Data Privacy Statement before applying.