ER Specialist

Employee Relations Specialist

Location: Oxford – Hybrid, UK Oxfordshire

Work Pattern: Full time / 6 months' Fixed-term Contract

Reports to: Head of People Services

Salary: £40,000 – £42,000

Yugo is the trusted name for student housing, globally. Every day we connect young people to opportunities and students to spaces. Here at Yugo, we like to do things differently. It's about people, planet, and passion. Our People Team is an integral part of ensuring all of our Yugoers, present and future are looked after. You will be responsible for delivering timely and effective operational and commercial advice to the business and supporting the People Partner in ensuring that the short, medium and long-term objectives of the People function are achieved.

The Employee Relations Specialist plays a key role within the People team, supporting the delivery of a full range of people related services designed to build credibility, trust and confidence with both stakeholders and employees. Working in line with Company policies, procedures and values, the role helps to ensure consistent, fair and legally compliant people practices while effectively managing and mitigating risk to the business.

Reporting to the Head of People Services, the Employee Relations Specialist will work closely with employees, managers and senior stakeholders to provide pragmatic, people-first employee relations advice that balances employee experience, legal requirements and commercial needs. The role offers broad exposure to People projects and initiatives, supporting the Company’s growth ambitions and wider business plan, while contributing to the continuous improvement of employee relations practices across the organisation.

• Manage a varied and high-volume ER caseload, including grievances, disciplinary cases, performance management, absence management, investigations, flexible working requests and appeals.
• Provide clear, practical and legally compliant employee relations advice to managers, supporting them to confidently manage sensitive and complex people issues.
• Act as a first-line point of contact for employees and managers on ER queries, providing timely guidance and signposting to relevant policies, processes and next steps.
• Provide note-taking support in formal employee relations meetings where required, accurately capturing key discussion points, outcomes and follow-up actions.
• Manage short- and long-term attendance matters, including occupational health referrals and capability processes, in line with the Equality Act.
• Prioritise and manage competing caseload demands effectively to ensure timely and proportionate resolution of cases.

• Support internal and external employee transfers in line with TUPE legislation, ensuring accurate administration, legal compliance and timely coordination with relevant stakeholders.
• Support compliance-related activities such as right-to-work and visa processes where required.
• Manage personal and sensitive employee data in line with GDPR requirements, escalating any concerns.
• Stay up to date with changes in employment legislation, case law and industry best practice, making recommendations for updates or improvements where required.
• Support the preparation of documentation for employment tribunals or other legal proceedings, liaising with external advisors where required.
• Maintain accurate and contemporaneous ER case records to support consistency, reporting and future precedent.

• Support the drafting, review and implementation of new and updated policies, ensuring changes in employment legislation and best practice are effectively translated into practical, workable guidance for the business.
• Proactively identify gaps in ER processes and recommend practical improvements.
• Use ER reporting and metrics to identify trends, support continuous improvement in ER practices, enhance engagement and mitigate risk.

• Support and develop line managers at all levels to manage employee relations matters fairly and consistently, including the creation and delivery of engaging ER learning…