Employee Relations Manager

Description:

• Ensure that any employee relations issues are dealt with at the highest level of professionalism and sensitivity and are addressed in compliance with Hydro One’s legal obligations and internal policies and procedures.
• Innovate and identify opportunities to create and/or improve policies and programs to increase their effectiveness for employees, people managers, and HR partners while meeting compliance and business objectives, as well as industry best practices.
• Work collaboratively with key stakeholders to assess the impact of policies and practices and make recommendations to address areas of inconsistency or practice improvement.
• Draft and revise employee policies, programs, and supporting materials owned by Employee and Labour Relations. Advise and provide guidance on the interpretation and administration of policies, procedures, and programs.
• Provide recommendations of appropriate action; ensure concerns are documented thoroughly, addressed, and resolved in a timely manner, in partnership with internal and external legal counsel and compliance. Follow up regarding investigations and performance management/employee disciplinary concerns.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and partner with employees and business leaders to provide resources and mentorship when employee issues arise.
• Champion and promote a positive employee relations climate, providing appropriate counsel and support to ensure that any employee relations processes are delivered to maximize the employee experience.
• Maintain awareness of changing legal and regulatory requirements and practices within the industry.
• Assess risk associated with employment-related processes, from a variety of perspectives, including legal/regulatory, reputational, and impact on employee experience.
• Lead project teams tasked with creating or changing employment-related programs.
• Liaise with risk management partners such as Labour Relations, Human Resources, Risk and Legal groups to ensure employment practices are consistent with Hydro One’s risk tolerance.
• Prepare briefing notes, analytics, and other materials for reporting to senior leadership (e.g. emerging trends, employment risks).
• Represent management in arbitrations, tribunals, and collective bargaining, when necessary. Make recommendations regarding collective agreement provisions.
• Manage the escalation of issues to the appropriate parties.