Full time, 37.5 hours per week

Fixed term contract for 9-12 months.

The HR Advisor will develop and maintain good working relationships with colleagues across the business.

This is a role with lots of variety and offers a great opportunity to be part of a fantastic team in a business that is growing and thriving.

You will champion best practice and timely adherence to company policy in order to ensure the interests of the business and our employees are prioritised.

A true partner with managers across the business regarding employee relations, policies and procedures and ways of working. 

You will balance supporting, advising, coaching and, where appropriate, influencing and challenging managers to ensure fair and consistent procedures and policies are being followed- in line with employment law and apetito's policies.

You will take a proactive role in ER cases, including administration and attending meetings such as hearings, grievances, investigations and appeals.
 
We are looking for a HR Advisor who has proven experience in a HR generalist role which includes providing expert advice in a fast paced environment.

This role is based on-site in Trowbridge and would suit someone who enjoys working in a busy office environment and as part of a team.

Some travel to our sister site in Portbury (BS20) will be required so a driving licence and access to your own transport are essential requirements for this role. 

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

• Advise managers and employees on all aspects of employment relations- such as performance management, sickness absence, disciplinary and grievances.
• Offer quality and timely advice in line with current employment legislation, company policies and best practice.
• Progress case work to a successful outcome using the internal HR Case Management system.
• Work in partnership with Managers offering guidance and support and ensuring compliance with HR policy and procedures.
• Coach Managers on the above areas of people management to develop their competence to manage cases without the need for high levels of support.
• Work with and support HR team members on people projects, e.g. TUPE transfers, redundancy consultation and organisational change.
• Contribute to and deliver training on key people policies, e.g. absence management, discipline and grievance.
• Reviewing the resources that we provide managers to ensure that template letters and guidance notes are up to date.
• Attend meetings in relation to case matters
• Collate data for monitoring and measuring HR key performance indicators and distribute as required (e.g. disciplinary / grievance / sickness levels).
• Compiling and running reports on the HR system, Zellis, to provide key people statistics for the HR Managers and the wider business, e.g. head-count, turnover etc.
• Contribute to reviews of HR practice, processes, policies and procedures to continuously improve and meet business needs. Implement any agreed changes.
• Contribute to any HR updates for the business.
• Undertake reviews of providers of staff benefits and help with the administration and communications associated with these, e.g. apetito Perks and the Employee Assistance Programme ensuring these are appropriately promoted and utilised by staff across the business.
• Production of contracts, offer letters and other appropriate correspondence for new and existing staff, inducting new employees and covering reception when required.
• Supporting HR Managers with organising, managing and facilitating Works Council meetings and Employee Forums.
• Supporting the Director of HR and HR Managers with project work as required and undertaking any other duties reasonably incidental to the role. 

Essential:

• Experience in a HR Advisor role
• Significant experience of dealing with employee relations casework and advising managers on HR policy, procedures and best practice (in particular absence management, disciplinary, grievance and performance management)
• Experience using HR databases and case management systems
• Able to plan and prioritise workload and cases.
• Confident using Microsoft Office applications, in particular word and excel
• GCSE's or equivalent Grade C in Mathematics & English
• Up to date employment law knowledge
• CIPD qualified- part or full
• Full UK driving licence and access to own transport

 Desirable:

• Developing HR processes, procedures and policies
• Experience of coaching managers
• Advising on restructuring and redundancy situations.
• Experience of a multi-site environment.
• Understanding of TUPE legislation and dealing with TUPE transfers

Personal Qualities:

• Give excellent customer service- to internal and external customers
• Positive ‘can-do’ attitude at all times
• Work on own initiative, requiring minimal supervision.
• Forge relationships with a wide-range of stakeholders and adapt personal style as appropriate
• Excellent listening, questioning, persuading and influencing skills
• Able to handle challenging situations with diplomacy and tact
• Think clearly and stay focused when under pressure.
• Lead by example and demonstrate actions and behaviours required of others.
• Flexible in respect of working hours and travel/work locations as some UK travel may be required.

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
• Subsidised canteen
• Free parking
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.
Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.