Hi,
I work in HR since 2019 and o have worked in different areas of HR such as Employee Relations.
Currently I work as HR Advisor but I do general advice on T& C of contracts of rrsident doctors in my Trust not so much on Employee Relations per se. I just finished my CIPD Level 5 diploma course, and I was wondering how can I become a HR Advisor in Employee Relations as I don't have the experience in hearing or handling any cases as requested in most of the jobs from I can see. What would you advise me to do to get the experience needed to apply for jobs in future?
Thanks
Daniele
I currently work in a senior role in HR in the NHS. If you are currently working as an HR Advisor (Band 5-6) you really should already be handling casework, so I assume you're actually working in an HR Administrator (Band 3-4) role covering the general inbox and phone line, answering basic queries and forwarding more complex ones to the team's advisors.
Having completed your Level 5 (congratulations!) you are certainly qualified to be getting more involved in casework and, given that most NHS Trusts do not have enough people to handle all of their cases, I imagine the team manager would be happy to have a new pair of hands to take on some of the work.
Without changing job, you are unlikely to be able to take on specific case handling duties yourself, but you can certainly get involved in things like scheduling hearings, note taking in investigation meetings and panel meetings, compiling and distributing investigation reports etc. This will give you more exposure to how case handling is done (both well and... not so well) to allow you the necessary learning that, when a vacancy arises for a more senior role with a focus on ER case management, you'll be ideally positioned to make the step up.
I'd second Robey's suggestions about gaining exposure while working in your current role - if there's scope to do it, ask if part of your professional development can involve working with the ER team on case handling (not a secondment - more like shadowing over an agreed period) starting with something like acting as the notetaker for formal cases (this is beneficial to see how case hearings are handled in reality rather than theory, what role the different attendees play etc), and next, getting involved in the prep for cases - as Robey has outlined, it's far more than just scheduling hearings - the documentation prep and written correspondence is super-important in case handling. That's the formal casework bit of ER but an awful lot of ER advisory work is focused on pre-empting issues becoming formal - largely by working closely with line managers to support them maintain a good ER environment - you're already doing advisory work in your current role on Ts & Cs and recruitment practice, so it's an expansion of the range of advice you're able to offer into people management advice. hope this is useful
I'd second Robey's suggestions about gaining exposure while working in your current role - if there's scope to do it, ask if part of your professional development can involve working with the ER team on case handling (not a secondment - more like shadowing over an agreed period) starting with something like acting as the notetaker for formal cases (this is beneficial to see how case hearings are handled in reality rather than theory, what role the different attendees play etc), and next, getting involved in the prep for cases - as Robey has outlined, it's far more than just scheduling hearings - the documentation prep and written correspondence is super-important in case handling. That's the formal casework bit of ER but an awful lot of ER advisory work is focused on pre-empting issues becoming formal - largely by working closely with line managers to support them maintain a good ER environment - you're already doing advisory work in your current role on Ts & Cs and recruitment practice, so it's an expansion of the range of advice you're able to offer into people management advice. hope this is useful
