Human Resources Business Partner

Our client, a leading specialist law firm advising some of the world's most innovative companies, is looking for an experienced People Partner to join their People Partnering and Advisory team on a 6-month fixed term contract.

This is a varied generalist role blending strategic business partnering, employee relations, people projects and operational HR. You'll partner with stakeholders across the firm — providing pragmatic, commercially focused people support.

A key focus: Employment Rights Act readiness

A central priority for this role is supporting the firm's response to the changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act. You will:

• Keep up to date with the incoming legislative changes and translate them into practical policy, process and contractual updates
• Review and update agreements, policies and processes to ensure compliance
• Upskill and coach managers on the changes, working with the Learning & Development team to identify and deliver training needs
• Guide and coach managers on confidently handling conversations around office attendance and hybrid working expectations, sickness absence, working abroad and related monitoring/compliance matters

Wider responsibilities

• Partner with business leaders, providing expert, commercially focused advice across the full range of people matters and building manager confidence and capability
• Lead employee relations cases from consultation through to resolution, ensuring legal compliance and mitigating risk
• Act as a point of escalation across the employee lifecycle — onboarding, probation, role changes, family leave, flexible working and leaver arrangements
• Monitor sickness absence triggers and working abroad data, advising managers on appropriate processes and interventions
• Support key People Team initiatives including salary and reward reviews, occupational health provider review, and DE&I reporting and action plans (e.g. gender pay gap, menopause action plan)
• Use people data and insights to identify trends and support evidence-based decision making

What we're looking for

• An experienced HR generalist with broad expertise across the employee lifecycle; professional services background advantageous but not essential
• Strong employee relations experience and a sound, current understanding of UK employment legislation — including awareness of the Employment Rights Act and its practical implications
• Proven ability to coach, upskill and influence managers and senior leaders, with the confidence to constructively challenge
• Experience leading HR projects with strong organisational skills and sound judgement in complex or sensitive situations
• Excellent written and verbal communication; comfortable producing complex letters, scripts and contracts
• Data-driven, with strong Microsoft Office skills
• Ideally CIPD qualified

What's on offer

A competitive salary and benefits package including 25 days' holiday (plus buy scheme and holiday bonus), private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, pension, and extensive wellbeing support — within a genuinely collegiate, inclusive culture with hybrid working.