As an Employee (/ Labor) Relations Specialist at Maersk, you will drive employee and labor relations strategy across operational environments in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. This permanent, full-time, office/site-based role requires 5 days per week on-site, focusing on workforce risk management, union engagement, and organizational change.
Requirements
7-10+ years of experience in Employee Relations, Labor Relations, Employment Law, or Industrial Relations.
Strong knowledge of local employment and labor law.
Experience working with unions, works councils, and employee representative bodies.
Proven background supporting frontline, operational, blue-collar, or site-based workforces in logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, or similar industries.
No specific university degree is explicitly required by the posting.
Skills & Responsibilities
Employee and Labor Relations Expertise: Provide expert guidance on complex investigations, grievances, and disciplinary cases to maintain a high-performing workforce.
Union Engagement: Lead negotiations and collective bargaining activities with unions and employee representatives to ensure business continuity.
Organizational Change Support: Partner with business leaders to support restructures, site expansions, and workforce transformation initiatives.
Leadership Coaching: Coach managers on conflict resolution, workforce engagement, and employee relations best practices.
Potential transition routes: People from Human Resources Business Partner or Employment Law backgrounds may bring relevant stakeholder management and legal advisory skills, alongside meeting the 7-10+ years of ER/LR experience requirement.
Job description
Job title - Employee/Labor Relations Specialist
Location - Shah Alam Selangor (Kuala Lumpa) Malaysia
Role type – Permanent, office/site based 5 days per week
At Maersk, we're transforming the future of logistics, and we're looking for an experienced Employee Relations Specialist to help build a resilient, engaged, and high-performing workforce across our operations in Malaysia and wider region.
This is a strategic and hands-on role where you'll partner closely with business leaders, People Business Partners, and operational teams to deliver expert employee and labor relations support across Contract Logistics and other operational environments. You'll play a key role in ensuring business continuity, managing workforce risks, supporting organisational change, and fostering positive relationships with employees and representative bodies.
What You'll Do
As a trusted advisor, you will:
Provide expert guidance on complex employee and labor relations matters, employment law, investigations, grievances, disciplinary cases, and disputes.
Partner with business leaders to identify and mitigate workforce and labor relations risks.
Lead engagement with unions, works councils, and employee representatives, supporting consultations, negotiations, and collective bargaining activities.
Support organisational change, restructures, start-ups, site expansions, and workforce transformation initiatives.
Build leadership capability by coaching managers on employee relations best practices, conflict resolution, and workforce engagement.
Drive responsible labor standards and governance across both directly employed and third-party labor populations.
Key Areas of Impact
In this role, it will be critical that you:
Keep business leaders appraised of evolving labor standards, employee relations trends, and critical industry-relevant legislative updates.
Lead or manage the escalation of material employment and labour relations risks, including business continuity planning and crisis management activities in partnership with regional and global stakeholders.
What We're Looking For
7-10+ years' experience in Employee Relations, Labor Relations, Employment Law, or Industrial Relations.
Strong knowledge of local employment and labor law.
Experience working with unions, works councils, and employee representative bodies.
Proven background supporting frontline, operational, blue
based workforces within logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, transportation, or similarly labor
-
intensive industries.
Excellent stakeholder management, influencing, and communication skills.
Ability to balance legal, operational, people, and commercial considerations in a fast-paced business environment.
Why Maersk?
Join a global organisation where your expertise will directly influence business success, employee experience, and workforce stability. You'll work alongside talented colleagues across a highly collaborative international network while helping shape the future of employee relations in one of the world's leading logistics companies.
Interested? We'd love to hear from you.
Maersk is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we embrace different styles of thinking. Maersk is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants without regard to race, colour, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy or parental leave, veteran status, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are happy to support your need for any adjustments during the application and hiring process. If you need special assistance or an accommodation to use our website, apply for a position, or to perform a job, please contact us by emailing accommodationrequests@maersk.com.
