Hermès Senior Employee Relations Specialist
- Employment
- Full-Time
- Seniority
- Senior
- Department
- Human Resources, People & Culture
- Industry
- Fashion, Apparel & Leather Goods
- Posted
- Oct 6, 2026
About Hermès
This prestigious fashion house, renowned for its timeless elegance and innovative designs, is a part of a leading global luxury conglomerate. The brand is committed to excellence and offers a dynamic environment where creativity and business acumen are equally valued.
Hermès is seeking a Senior Employee Relations Specialist to lead complex disciplinary, grievance and workplace investigation matters across its GB operations, while advising HR, managers and senior stakeholders on employee relations, governance and compliance. The role partners with Legal, Internal Audit and other teams to mitigate risk, strengthen practices and build investigation capability. Permanent, full-time position.
Role & Responsibilities
- Lead disciplinary and grievance processes across the business, ensuring compliance with the ACAS Code of Practice, UK employment legislation and internal policies; manage complex and sensitive workplace investigations involving corruption, harassment, discrimination, fraud, conflicts of interest, ethics and anti-bribery concerns.
- Conduct fact-finding and employee relations investigations, producing balanced, objective and well-documented outcomes to support fair decision-making.
- Prepare comprehensive investigation reports, findings and executive summaries for senior leadership, Legal Counsel and, where applicable, regulatory review.
- Ensure actions comply with applicable UK law, ACAS Codes, internal governance frameworks, global compliance standards and best-practice investigation methods.
- Advise and consult strategically with HR, people managers and senior stakeholders on complex employee matters and disciplinary processes.
- Provide specialist advice to HR, Retail Operations and people managers on performance management, conduct issues, sickness absence, probation reviews and informal conflict resolution.
- Deliver practical employee relations recommendations that protect employees, support consistent decision-making and minimise legal, operational and reputational risks.
- Review and enhance employee relations policies, procedures and templates in line with evolving UK employment legislation and best practice.
- Support the HR Director in managing data subject access requests (DSARs), coordinating promptly with Internal Control and Legal when required.
- Continuously review and enhance employee relations practices and conduct frameworks to align with legal requirements, regulatory expectations and industry best practice.
- Partner with Legal and Internal Audit to assess and mitigate legal, financial, operational and reputational risks arising from employee relations matters.
- Identify patterns and trends in employee complaints, investigations and conduct concerns, providing data-driven insights and recommendations to strengthen organisational culture and reduce risk exposure.
- Use sound judgment to determine when matters require escalation to senior leadership or external legal support.
- Advise managers and HR colleagues on process, risk and best practice as a trusted employee relations partner.
- Build strong partnerships with HR, external legal counsel, Security, Internal Control and other relevant business functions to coordinate consistent employee relations standards across stores and operational teams.
- Serve as a key contact for urgent, business-critical employee relations matters with potential legal, regulatory or reputational implications.
- Work with HR and the training team to design and deliver training, coaching and capability-building initiatives covering investigations, workplace conduct, ethics, legal developments and emerging employee relations trends.
- Support the wider HR team in managing complex cases and developing advanced investigation skills.
- Remain current on employment matters.
Skills
Workplace
The successful candidate will be located in London, England, UK.
Culture
The company fosters a collaborative and innovative culture, encouraging employees to push the boundaries of creativity while maintaining a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Hermès, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Senior Employee Relations Advisor», «Senior Employee Relations Consultant», «Senior Workplace Investigations Specialist», «Senior HR Relations Specialist», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.