Employee Relations Specialist

Job Description

Closing Date: 28//05/2026

Hybrid working - 3 days in the office, 2 days working from home

About the role

The Employee Relations Specialist provides expert advice and guidance across a broad range of employee relations matters, ensuring compliance with legislation and company policies. They build and maintain strong relationships with trade union and employee representatives and contribute to the development and implementation of HR policies related to employee relations. The role works closely with the Group ER team to align policies and support cross-functional collaboration when required.

They partner with People & Culture Partners/Directors and managers to lead group programme consulations, support dispute resolution processes, and manage ER-related risks in a timely and proficient way, backed up by data to identify trends and inform decision-making.

This role is part of the Design & Delivery team, working as a flexible, T shaped practitioner to deliver high quality people products and support COE priorities through consistent, collaborative and transparent ways of working.

What you’ll be doing

• Leads group employee relations activity within wider change initiatives, providing specialist People Relations expertise and partnering proactively with People&Cultue Partners, P&C Directors and senior leaders.
• Builds and maintains constructive relationships with trade union representatives (CWU/Prospect) and employee representatives, ensuring regular engagement and consultation on workforce‑impacting matters.
• Provides expert advice and guidance to in‑unit and Group People teams, managers and employees across a broad range of Employee Relations matters, including employment law compliance.
• Supports the senior Group ER Manager and Group ER Strategy Director in developing, implementing and maintaining People policies, procedures, collective agreements and contracts, ensuring alignment with legislation, best practice and company values.
• Analyses and presents key Employee Relations data — such as grievance trends, disciplinary activity and collective bargaining outcomes — to identify insights and inform decision‑making.
• Works as part of an agile, cross‑functional P&C organisation, contributing ER expertise to projects beyond core specialism to deliver value across multiple HR domains.

Essential Skills / Experience

• Proven experience in successfully handling negotiations/consultations with trade unions/employee representatives to resolution.
• Solid understanding of employment law and its practical application in policy development.
• Trusted advisor with strong stakeholder management and commercial insight.

Desirable Skills / Experience

• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to apply business knowledge to decisions.
• Experience ensuring compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements.
• Able to implement and support change management activities.
• Designs processes and products with accessibility and inclusion in mind.
• Competent in project and risk management across full project lifecycles.
• Demonstrates a growth mindset with continuous learning and development.
• Applies inclusive leadership and values diverse perspectives.

Our Package

Tailored benefits make a real difference. That’s why we offer a comprehensive range to support your growth, wellbeing, and everyday life. You can design the package to suit you and your lifestyle.

Your core benefits include:

• 10% on target annual bonus
• Access to an online private GP 24/7 for you and your immediate family
• Market-leading paid carers leave with up to 2 weeks off
• Equalised maternity, paternity, and adoption leave – 18 weeks’ full pay and 8 weeks’ half pay
• Discounted EE and BT products, including mobile and broadband
• Market leading Pension scheme – 5% from you and 10% from us
• Holiday purchase scheme

You can select additional benefits, including healthcare, dental, gym memberships and more when you’re ready.

BT Group is the UK’s leading communications group and the holding company behind some of the country’s most recognised brands – including BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet. Our purpose is as simple as it is ambitious: we connect for good. Our customers include consumers, small, medium and large businesses, public sector organisations and other communications providers.

BT Group’s role is about setting direction, unlocking value and creating the conditions for our brands and businesses to thrive.

Having come through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, our focus now is on what comes next – simplifying how we operate, using technology and AI to work smarter, and organising ourselves to serve customers better and grow sustainably. Group teams shape strategy, policy, brand, capital allocation and transformation, helping the whole organisation perform at its best.

We have a singular culture that unites all our people: we are customer-first challengers, who are committed, clear and connected. These behaviours unite us as one team to deliver for our colleagues, our customers, our stakeholders and the country. Joining BT Group means working at the heart of a business that matters to the UK, with the opportunity to shape decisions, influence outcomes and help set the future course of one of the country’s most important companies.