People Advisor

We are looking for a People Advisor to join Team OB in our Support Office.

As a People Advisor at OB, you will play a key role in implementing our People practices, working to drive performance and support the growth of the business. You will collaborate across our Retail, Warehouse and Support Office departments and the senior People team to address any challenges and support the implementation of our People policies and practices. You will provide best practice advice and guidance with an aim of fostering inclusive and high performing teams.

You will be hands on, enjoy spending time out in stores and warehouses and always look for solutions to improve our People practices and enhance our culture.

Our Support Office is based in Tolworth, near Chessington, only a 30-minute journey from London Waterloo. We offer hybrid working with a split of 3 days in the office or field based and 2 days home working per week, and are open to having conversations about working flexibly.

A bit about us …

At Oliver Bonas (OB), our values of Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind are integral to everything we do. Collaboration, imagination, curiosity, and teamwork are key to our success, and everyone has their part to play in making OB a special place to work.

Having fun is key, and a playful and positive approach creates an optimistic environment. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are serious about what we do.

Our team knows their stuff. They’re confident and creative and unafraid to challenge convention to find solutions, taking accountability for their actions, but always with kindness and humility.

More about the role …

An OB People Advisor will:

• Provide employee relations advice in accordance with the company policies and current legislation on day-to-day cases seeking support from the senior People team on more complex cases

• Guide managers to set SMART goals, give quality feedback and drive team development to support business growth

• Conduct and coordinate investigations, disciplinary hearings, grievance hearings and capability hearings, providing support and advice to our teams

• Coordinate and carry out consultations to support organisational changes

• Provide advice and support on flexible working requests, attending meetings when needed

• Partner with the People and Payroll team when processing any family leave/ returners

• Oversee any cases of long-term sickness, working with line managers to support team members back to work

• Write all employee relations related documentation – letters, follow up notes and ensure all records are saved in the system

• Advise our teams on all People practices building their people management skills

• Monitor all employee relations activity across our stores, sharing themes and trends

• Conduct store visits to help improve People practices and promote collaboration and engagement

• Work with the Head of People to manage any industrial tribunal claims, liaising with employment lawyers where appropriate to reach a resolution

• Ensure People policies and processes are followed and support with the development of any changes

• Support the development and delivery of training on people management best practices

• Update the People Admin and Payroll teams on any changes that impact pay in a timely way

• Partner with the recruitment team to attract and retain high-quality talent, aligning with People and business needs

• Support new managers to integrate into the company culture and people practices

• Carry out regular succession planning to identify talent gaps, succession planning needs and areas for growth to support business growth

• Review turnover, conduct exit interviews when needed and help carry out the action plans devised to address feedback

Bonas Benefits:

• Generous employee discount up to 50% off all OB products

• Free access to our 24 hour employee assistance programme with Optima Health – offering financial, emotional and vocational support

• Flexible holiday – 30 days (including bank holidays) – increasing to 35 days with length of service

• Annual discretionary profit related bonus scheme

• Free membership for our Westfield Health Cash Plan

• Auto-enrolment into our pension plan

• Free access to our onsite gym

• Cycle to work scheme

• Refer a Friend incentive

• Quarterly free lunch

• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Voice network and EDI team

• Mental Health First Aider support

• Education and support through 360L eLearning platform

What we look for:

• Proven problem-solving and conflict resolution abilities

• Good understanding of employment law and HR best practice

• International ER experience beneficial

• Good understanding of HR Systems (preferably Access People XD)

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships at all levels

• Good understanding of HR Systems (preferably Core HR)

• Organised and have the ability to multi-task

• Resilient

• Discrete and professional

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at OB

At Oliver Bonas, our promise is to do our bit to make living a joyful experience and give cause for optimism. This promise is central to our work in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). To bring joy to others, we must first ensure everyone at OB feels valued, included and most importantly, can be themselves at work.

It is important to us that our brand reflects wider society and the communities in which we operate. As a result, we welcome all eligible applicants for this role however we are particularly interested in speaking to eligible candidates from the Black, Asian & Mixed Heritage communities.

Oliver Bonas is a Disability Confident Committed employer under the Disability Confident employer scheme.

To read more about our ED&I commitments, head over to the EDI page on our website: