Employee Relations Specialist, UAE

Job Summary

• Ensuring the relationship between the Bank and its employees is managed appropriately within the Group ER and Conduct framework underpinned by clear standards and ultimately by relevant employment law.
• Effectively managing key external stakeholder relationships with Employee Representative Groups, legal firms and local labour ministries (where relevant locally)
• Directing, managing and working within the operation of employee relations programs and functions in the organization; ensuring compliance with regulations and employment law.
• Providing support to employees and managers in dealing with general employee issues.
• Shaping behaviours and culture through protecting the Bank against employee related risk.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy

• To work closely with HR business partners and HR legal to up-skill line managers in effectively dealing with ER related matters.
• To work closely with HR Business partners to deal with ER related issues and directly managing specific cases as agreed with Head of ER.
• To develop and maintain key internal relationships with stakeholders.
• End to End management ER cases, including Disciplinary, Grievance, Restructures, Poor Performance Management, and Mutual Separation Agreements.

Business

• Execute on the ER priorities and strategies set in place, in alignment with Group ER strategy.
• Effectively manage key stakeholder relationships.
• Build internal networks with HRBPs and business stakeholders where required.
• Collaborate with HR Legal and Compliance and/or external legal counsel for advice on interpretation of local laws and regulations and ER policies, procedures, cases in-country

Processes

End to End Case Management of Grievance Cases

• Work with the HRBP, business and country/regional ER Head to agree the Grievance representative/s to investigate and hear the Grievance.
• Make arrangements for Grievance Hearing including issuing hearing invite/statement of complaint.
• Conduct the Grievance hearing or support the Grievance representative to conduct the Grievance hearing as the case may be.
• Complete analysis of data/facts and reach a fair and consistent resolution/conclusion which minimises the risk to the Bank.
• Update ERCMS at the initiation and conclusion of Grievance.
• Update relevant stakeholders with key findings including any disciplinary actions recommended.

End to End Case Management of Complex Disciplinary Cases

• Level of Involvement and support with the Investigations phase based on case nature and complexity.
• Conduct due fact finding and investigatory interviews including preparation of witness statements and investigation report.
• Make arrangements for the Disciplinary Hearing including issuing hearing invite/statement of disciplinary case and provision of evidence.
• Conduct of the Disciplinary hearing through supporting the hearing manager as required.
• Complete analysis of data/facts and reach a fair and consistent conclusion which minimises the risk to the Bank.
• Update relevant stakeholders with key findings and any relevant information, including any recommendations.
• Update ERCMS at the initiation of the hearing and conclusion of disciplinary hearing and/or appeal.

• Update HRBP and/or PRC team in case of a disciplinary action so that it could be highlighted for any potential P3 impact.

Management of Restructure and Redundancies: Supporting the Business and HR stakeholders in the execution of Restructures and Redundancies.

Management of challenging Poor Performance cases: Supporting PLs in managing challenging poor performance cases.

Management of Mutual Separation Agreements: Supporting Business and HR stakeholders in the management of MSAs.

People and Talent 

• Support in capability building of HR Business Partners and People Leaders
  • With the Country/Regional ER Head proactively support, advise update, educate and train HRBPs and line managers across the ER product areas

Risk Management

Managing employee-related risk across the cluster

• Provide commentary re ER MI and escalate country ER risks based on trends or any new findings/issues.
• Understand current local employment and discrimination law/case developments and be able to anticipate implications for the Bank.
• Create and implement suitable actions to mitigate identified risks.
• Work with HR Legal and external counsel re data disclosure requests, litigation cases and preparation for/ appearance at Labour Court/Employment Tribunal.

Governance 

• Provision of ER governance in order to facilitate positive employment relationships which reflect the Bank’s values and support behaviours which are Here for Good and consistent with the Code of Conduct.

Regulatory & Business Conduct 

• Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct.
• Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct.
• Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate, and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.
• Reporting to PNG as per the UAE Central Bank regulations

Key Stakeholders

Internal

• Country/Business Management Groups
• Global ER team
• Country HRBPs/ Country Heads of HR
• HR Legal and Compliance
• Country Financial Crime Risk and SIS
• Country PRB (Performance, Reward and Benefits)

External

• Legal firms
• Labour Ministries and departments
• ER Forums

Other Responsibilities

• Embed Here for good and Group’s brand and values, Perform other responsibilities assigned under Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures; Multiple functions (double hats);

Skills and Experience

• Confidential Investigations
• Employee Relations
• Employment Law
• HR Legal and Regulatory Environment
• HR: Policies, Standards and Procedures
• Human Resources Consulting
• Human Resources Policies, Strategies and Environment
• Industry Knowledge
• Operational Risk
• Training Solution Recommendation

Qualifications

• Academic or Professional Education/Qualifications: Professional Qualification in Business Management / Human Resources/ Employment Law
• Licences and Certifications/accreditations: Desirable – Professional certifications in HR
• Languages: English/Arabic
• General IT/MS Office skills (i.e., Word, Excel, etc.).

About Standard Chartered

We’re an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we’ve worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you’re looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can’t wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you’ll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together we:

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What we offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies – everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.