Employee Relations Manager

Reporting to: Sr Manager – HR Operations

Location: Jakkur (Yehalanka) Bangalore | 5 days work from office

Experience: 7–10 years of relevant HR experience; 6+ years of highly relevant, hands-on ER experience may also be considered.

Role Purpose

The Manager – Employee Relations (ER) will manage employee grievances, critical incidents, disciplinary matters, suspension, termination, and involuntary separation cases. The role will ensure sensitive employee matters are handled in a structured, fair, timely, confidential, and well-documented manner, with ownership of ER records and statutory/HR letters and close coordination with HRBPs, Business, Legal, and other stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities :

Employee Grievances & ER Case Management

• Manage employee grievances and ER cases, including fact-finding, case tracking, stakeholder coordination, and closure.
• Maintain confidential case records covering case status, ownership, ageing, actions, escalation, and closure.
• Identify recurring grievance themes and provide insights to HR leadership for preventive interventions.

Critical Incidents & Disciplinary Matters

• Manage critical employee incidents involving conduct, behavioural, workplace, and other sensitive matters.
• Coordinate investigations, statements, evidence, and disciplinary actions arising from misconduct, policy violations, and Code of Conduct breaches.
• Ensure cases are handled consistently in line with approved policies and established processes, in consultation with HR leadership and Legal where required.

Suspension, Termination & Involuntary Separation

• Manage end-to-end HR Operations processes for suspension, termination, and involuntary separation cases.
• Coordinate required approvals, employee communications, separation documentation, and stakeholder actions with HRBP, Business, Legal, Payroll, IT, and other teams.
• Track cases through final resolution and ensure appropriate records are maintained.

ER Letters, Records & Documentation

• Own ER documentation and the central repository for sensitive employee case records.
• Draft, coordinate, and maintain ER/statutory letters including show-cause notices, warning/disciplinary letters, suspension letters, termination letters, and involuntary separation documentation.
• Ensure approved templates, version control, confidentiality, data accuracy, and audit readiness of ER records.

Policy, Compliance & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with HR leadership and Legal to ensure ER processes align with applicable employment laws, statutory requirements, and internal policies.
• Support review of the Code of Conduct and disciplinary/ER processes and recommend improvements based on case trends.
• Collaborate with HR Operations, HRBPs, Business, Legal, Payroll/Finance, IT/Admin/Security, and other stakeholders to ensure timely resolution of cases.

Reporting & Process Improvement

• Prepare ER MIS covering grievances, critical incidents, disciplinary cases, suspension, termination/involuntary separation, ageing, and pending actions.
• Highlight high-risk, overdue, or recurring cases and provide actionable insights to HR leadership.
• Strengthen ER case management through standard workflows, checklists, templates, documentation protocols, and HRMS/HR Tech enablement.

Required Skills & Competencies

• Strong hands-on experience in Employee Relations and HR Operations.
• Experience in grievance handling, disciplinary processes, misconduct cases, and sensitive employee matters.
• Hands-on experience in suspension, termination, and involuntary separation processes.
• Strong experience in drafting and managing HR/ER letters and case documentation.
• Working knowledge of applicable employment/labour laws and internal HR policy frameworks.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication, judgement, confidentiality, and conflict-handling skills.
• High attention to detail with strong documentation and case follow-through discipline.
• Good analytical and reporting skills with working knowledge of Excel/MIS; HRMS/HR Tech experience is an advantage.
• Open to Travel to manage ER Cases, if needed, for investigation purposes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate/Postgraduate in Human Resources, Business Administration, Labour Relations, or a related field.
• 7–10 years of relevant HR experience with significant hands-on Employee Relations exposure.
• Candidates from retail, technology, consumer, or other high-volume/multi-location workforce environments will be preferred.