Everyone is welcome at M&S. No exceptions. It’s your background, abilities and differences that make you, uniquely you. And when you’re part of M&S, that individuality has the potential to make waves.
About the role
This section tells you all you need to know about the position and its responsibilities, outlining everything we hope to see in a successful candidate.
Summary
Manage Employee Relations and Industrial Relations issues within the Organisation. The Employee Relations Business Partner will have the opportunity to participate in significant HR projects and initiatives.
All the details
Help design, deliver and, when required, lead the ROI’s employee relations, colleague listening and business change strategies and plans
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with Unions (by leading or supporting, as appropriate, with the communication, consultation, or negotiation between parties) to create a proactive partnership with each union which, at its heart, jointly delivers business benefit and positive colleague engagement.
Work closely with key stakeholders, to develop and deliver toolkits, training interventions and upskilling strategies which raise line manager ER capability and confidence to ensure policies are applied correctly; colleague experience is enhanced; business change is implemented appropriately; and trade union partners are properly engaged.
Provide expert employee relations advice and input into business change programmes. This includes partnering with ROI People Partners and M&S UK CoE’s as necessary to ensure the effective delivery and end- to-end management of operational or transformational change which can include, when required, assisting or leading trade union negotiations/consultation.
Develop and simplify ROI people policies and processes to ensure they are legal, competitive, practical, meet future business needs, and enhance the M&S brand and colleague experience. This includes ensuring that ROI policies and processes are communicated effectively, and their delivery is supported, when required, with appropriate training.
Partner with subject matter experts to ensure any policy related system change requirements and dependencies are fully understood, resource-effective, will be supported by robust user acceptance testing and, if necessary, launched with user training to ensure successful deployment.
Monitor and interpret changes to ROI employment legislation and undertake external benchmarking to ensure M&S remains compliant and a best practice and innovative employer.
Lead (from design to post implementation review) projects as required and act as the ROI’s subject matter expert by providing guidance and support to HR colleagues, line managers, and colleagues on policy, employee relations and colleague engagement and listening matters.
Manage and provide expertise to line managers on how complex casework should be handled and progressed (working with Legal and other specialists) to the case’s successful conclusion.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement, by seeking feedback, designing and developing metrics and incorporating insights and learning to refine policies and processes and to measure their effectiveness.
Create and maintain effective working relationships with M&S’s UK Policy and ER specialists (and other UK CoEs) to ensure ROI and UK policy and people strategies are (when appropriate) congruent and jointly promote the M&S brand whilst minimising any ER risks or issues across the company’s island of Ireland operation.
Work effectively with the rest of the Ireland People Team, by contributing ideas and expertise and acting as a fully participative team member to assist colleagues in the delivery of all elements of the People Plan and to be a high-performance team.
Meet the Team
Being an in-person business
We're at our best when we're close to customers, and for many of us at M&S, that means working in store every day.
To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected. It also means we can solve problems as soon as they arise, learn and grow as a team, build trust, and get closer to our colleagues.
It takes time to turn around a business as big as M&S: you can’t just instantly pivot from managed decline to sustainable growth. But we’ve done the hard yards, there really is a momentum now and it’s not just a few green shoots of recovery. We’re clear about our strategy, our growth is strong and we’re so confident about the future. It’s great to be part of this.
Our ‘Closer to Customers’ programme means we all get to work in a store for seven days every year. We see how our customers experience M&S and we can appreciate the challenges our colleagues face in store. It’s all part of a determination to listen, to understand and to change things for the better.
Tom (He / Him) | Employee Experience & Engagement LeadRead full story
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Make Your Mark
Opportunities to be heard
Your voice and your ideas matter here. Our 8 colleague networks are places to find support, listen to each other and encourage debate. You can pitch ideas ‘Straight to Stuart’, our CEO, or get involved in our BIG (Business involvement Group).
Experience the business
You’ll spend 7 days each year helping in store and getting closer to our customers. We also organise Insight Days, so you can learn more about specific business units, like Foods.
A support network for parents and carers, offering a space for colleagues to share experiences, exchange ideas, and access useful resources.
Gender Equality Network
Addressing gender-related challenges, raising awareness, and driving action to ensure equal opportunities for all.
Forces Community Network
Supporting colleagues connected to the Armed Forces, aiding their transition to civilian life, and ensuring that they thrive in the workplace.
Health and Wellbeing Network
Providing a safe space for colleagues with all types of health conditions or disabilities and supporting with business initiatives to ensure our stores are truly accessible for our customers.
Cancer Network
Fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, addressing stigma, providing guidance and raising awareness to empower and assist colleagues affected by cancer.
LGBTQ+ Network
Proactively representing LGBTQ+ issues and opportunities to deliver a truly inclusive place to work and shop for our colleagues and customers.
Menopause Network
Initiating and encouraging open conversations about menopause by offering support and sharing experiences.
Culture and Heritage Network
Raising awareness of various religions and cultures through events and comms, to educate others and better represent our M&S colleagues and customers.
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Benefits
Wellbeing hub
Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.
Giving back
Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.
Pay
Earn a competitive salary.
Colleague discount
After completing your probation period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.
Time off
Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.
Bonus
We have discretionary bonus schemes depending on your role and our business performance.
Life assurance
Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).
Workplace savings
We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.
My Choices
Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.
Cycle to work
Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.
Smart tech
Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.
Wellbeing hub
Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.
Giving back
Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.
Pay
Earn a competitive salary.
Colleague discount
After completing your probation period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.
Time off
Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.
Bonus
We have discretionary bonus schemes depending on your role and our business performance.
Life assurance
Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).
Workplace savings
We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.
My Choices
Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.
Cycle to work
Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.
Smart tech
Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.
Here’s what to expect at each stage of the application process. This can change depending on the role you’ve applied to. If you need any reasonable adjustments made at any stage, let us know and we can help.
Send us your application
Fill in our short application form and hit submit.
Online assessment
Depending on the role, you may be invited to take part in an online assessment. Should you be invited to an online assessment your Talent Acquisition Partner will be more than happy to support you with any questions.
Interview
We'll invite you to join us for an interview. This could be remote or in person. Here, we'll ask you some role based technical questions and examine the behaviours we're looking for.
Decision
After we’ve decided, we’ll be in touch. If you’ve been successful, we’ll officially invite you to join the team and let you know the next steps.
Employee Relations Business Partner - Specified Purpose Contract