My next series of posts will be on the various niches within HR. If you are fed up in your existing role, looking for ways into HR or are just curious about your options - these are for you! Find out more at www.hrcareerhub.co.uk
Day 1, of course is Employee Relations (ER). I can't start anywhere else, can I? Employee Relations is my favourite part of HR and I specialised in it for a few years when I moved into Shared Services.
ER is a grey area, and this is usually the reason people love it or hate it. There's no single way of managing a case, your role is all about assessing the risks, considering the law, policy and precedent, then deciding on a course of action. There are no certainties in ER because your course of action often relies on certain events or interactions going one of several ways, and so you need to review and amend your advice as the story evolves.
Life in ER is sometimes about being the bad cop. It's this area of HR that gives us nicknames such as 'the fun police' or 'the grim reaper', and it won't make us popular. You will need to dismiss people, you'll need to make decisions that you'd rather not and you will definitely have sleepless nights ahead of some meetings taking place.
Saying that, there are loads of great reasons to specialise in ER:
⭐You get to hear all of the crazy "she did what?!" stories. "Yes, she really did do a poo in someone's garden on the way to work. And, yes, they did scoop it up and confront her with it in the shop!".... "Yes, he really did steal loo roll by stashing it in his motorcycle helmet"... "Yes, they really did try to stage an accident and actually ended up breaking both of their legs!"
🎉You get to make a really positive difference to vulnerable employees - you'll be involved in managing long term absence cases, helping to consider adjustments to get people back to work. In some really sad cases when the employee knows they won't return to work you can ensure they or their loved ones have some financial security by making decisions about their employment that benefit them as much as possible.
🥇You ensure employees are treated fairly
💥You give managers the confidence to handle ER cases
💭There's no right answer - which means you learn all of the time from listening to colleagues' views or experience to develop your own practice
If you are studying your CIPD, Level 5 HR01 includes ER practice as well as the Trade Union relationships. There's also an Employment Law Specialist module which has some overlap but helps you develop your knowledge further.
Don't be scared of ER - release the idea that there's one right answer and one route to get there and it will suddenly not seem so scary!
DM me if you need support with your CIPD modules or if you are looking for career coaching to help you get into or develop your Employee Relations practice.
www.hrcareerhub.co.uk
#bitesizehr #hrcareer #hr #hruk #hrlife #hrcommunity #cipd #cipdlevel7 #cipdlevel5 #cipdlevel3 #cipdstudent #hradvice #hrjob #careeradvice #careergoals #careercoach #mentor
