Employee Relations Lead; FTC

Ideas | People | Trust

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world.

We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams that lead them.

Our greatest asset is our people, so our HR team focus on ensuring we are all reaching our potential. They use their specialist expertise to help us attract great talent, enable our employees to succeed and inspire a unified culture of development across our firm. By playing a role in the recruitment and management of our people, they help change lives and influence the future of BDO.

Join a driven and passionate team where you can be yourself, while also helping your colleagues to achieve their ambitions.

Leading organisations trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with them and building long-lasting relationships.

You’ll be someone who is both comfortable working proactively and managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with senior managers, directors, and BDO’s partners to help businesses effectively. You’ll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to organisations we work with.

As the Employee Relations (ER) Lead, you will oversee the entire ER function at BDO, ensuring the delivery of high-quality ER services across the firm. You will lead a team of 13 ER professionals, including the Senior ER Manager, and work closely with senior leadership and Partners to support the business effectively. Your role will involve strategic planning, provide commercial guidance and support to the firm on risk mitigation, compliance, thought leadership on ER policy implementation ensuring the firm is proactive, maintaining or implementing ahead of trends alongside ownership of overall delivery of ER team activities.

Strategic Leadership:

• Develop and implement the ER strategy in alignment with the firm's overall HR and business objectives.
• Lead the ER team, providing direction, support, and development opportunities to ensure high performance.
• Oversee complex case management/risk decisions and provide commercial guidance on high-risk ER issues.
• Ensure the ER team delivers timely and pragmatic advice and guidance to the business, ensuring realistic KPI’s are set and objectives are clear.
• Ensure the team clearly understands their roles and responsibilities and takes ownership of their actions.

• Take full ownership of compliance with the firm’s ER allocated ISQM risks and processes including relevant and timely inputs on Rhiza.
• Oversee the team’s development and maintenance of ER policies and procedures, ensuring they are legally compliant and reflect best practices.
• Provide support and guidance to the Senior ER Manager in their responsibility for ensuring high quality, robust governance of ER processes and procedures, consulting with stakeholders as needed and reviewing as necessary.
• Ensure the team provide timely and quality responses to all Tribunal claims and ACAS Early Conciliation by ensuring appropriate consultation with lawyers and decision making escalation to Senior ER Manager and ER lead.
• Act as the final escalation point for ER team complex queries and risk-based decisions, being accountable for overall technical decision making within the team.

liBuild strong, credible relationships, including with the Head of People, members of the People Culture Exec, the Firm’s LT, Partners, HRLT and HR Generalist team acting as a trusted advisor on complex ER matters, providing strategic guidance on risks impacting the firm.

Develop and apply commercial solutions to resolve business and employee issues.
• Work closely with senior…