HR advice line: Instant access to employee relations specialists

Our advice line team members are highly qualified and have extensive experience. Each adviser typically:

• Holds a degree-level education, often with postgraduate HR qualifications;
• Is CIPD/MCIPD-qualified (or working towards these credentials); and
• Has a minimum of three years’ practical experience in general HR roles.

All advisers complete a rigorous internal accreditation programme and engage in continuous professional development. Our senior advisers have specialised expertise in areas such as industrial relations, TUPE, change management, and policy development, ensuring you receive expert and tailored advice for your specific HR challenges.

Our HR advisers take a thorough, hands-on approach to understanding and implementing your HR policies and procedures. We start by mapping and documenting all your existing processes, ensuring we capture the practical application of each policy, not just its theoretical framework.

To ensure seamless delivery, we work closely with your HR team and line managers, gathering insights on how your policies function on a daily basis. By immersing ourselves in your company’s culture, we align with your objectives and become a natural extension of your in-house HR team. This collaborative approach drives the efficient and effective implementation of your HR policies, tailored to meet your specific needs.

When a line manager raises an employee relations issue, our HR advice line assigns a dedicated case adviser to manage the end-to-end process. This includes:

• Gaining a clear understanding of the line manager’s desired outcome;
• Coaching the line manager through each step of the case;
• Planning and executing next steps to ensure a swift resolution;
• Implementing interventions and escalations when necessary; and
• Providing case-specific documentation and ongoing support.

Through proactive case management, our advisers ensure that employee relations issues are addressed efficiently, with a focus on resolving them effectively and in a timely manner.

To ensure line managers follow through on HR advice, our case advisers take a proactive approach to manage the process. They set clear next steps and schedule follow-up actions to keep the case on track. In fact, more than half of our advice line team’s calls are outbound, with advisers reaching out to managers to confirm that they are effectively applying the advice provided.

Our case management system is also configured to include notifications that prompt managers to take timely action and, if they do not, escalate accordingly. All interactions with the advice line are supported by follow-up case notes in writing.