Job Requirements
Role/ Job Title: Lead-Employee Relations
Function/ Department: Employee Relations & HR Compliance
Job Purpose:
The Lead – Employee Relations will serve as the subject-matter expert and trusted advisor on all Employee Relations (ER) matters for Wholesale Banking, New Age Channels, and Contact Centres. This strategic role is responsible for fostering a fair, compliant, and people-first culture by partnering with senior leaders, HR Business Partners, and line managers. The incumbent will manage complex disciplinary and grievance cases end-to-end, design preventive ER programs, identify systemic risks through people-data analysis, and ensure ER practices are legally sound, consistent, and aligned with the bank's values.
Roles & Responsibilities:
- Own end-to-end management of misconduct and disciplinary cases, ensuring alignment with bank policies and principles of natural justice.
- Ensure documentation, timelines, and archival of case files meet audit and regulatory standards.
- Drive timely resolution of cases while maintaining confidentiality, fairness, and legal defensibility.
- Provide expert guidance to HRBPs, business heads, and line managers on performance issues, conduct concerns, disciplinary actions, and remedial measures.
- Coach managers on investigation best practices, difficult conversations, disciplinary letters, and fair performance improvement plans.
- Act as the escalation point for high-sensitivity or high-impact cases and collaborate with senior leadership on resolution.
- Manage and resolve employee grievances through structured, empathetic, and timely interventions (e.g., informal conciliation, mediation, formal grievance hearings).
- Ensure grievance mechanisms are accessible, impartial, and perceived as fair across business units.
- Design and implement preventive ER initiatives such as manager workshops, employee awareness campaigns, leadership sensitization, and behavioral interventions.
- Partner with learning and leadership teams to embed consistent people-management practices across Wholesale Banking, Digital/New Age Channels, and Contact Centers.
- Analyze ER metrics and case trends to identify systemic risks and recommend policy, process, or capability interventions.
- Develop dashboards and periodic reports for senior leadership, Audit, Compliance, and Legal teams to highlight trends, risk outlook, and corrective actions.
- Lead policy formulation and periodic reviews for employee conduct, disciplinary procedures, grievance redressal, and related processes.
- Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Internal Audit to ensure ER processes meet regulatory requirements and mitigate litigation or regulatory risk.
- Ensure ER practices are aligned with statutory requirements, labor laws, and industry best practices.
- Support cross-functional investigations (e.g., fraud, ethics, regulatory matters) and represent ER in relevant committees.
- Promote inclusion, ethical behavior, and the bank's values in everyday practice.
Secondary Responsibilities:
- Support organizational initiatives related to culture, compliance, and leadership development from an ER perspective.
- Contribute to cross-functional projects and committees as the ER representative.
Education Qualification:
Graduation: Bachelor's degree any relevant stream
Post-graduation: Master's degree in Human Resources or Law (preferred).
Professional certifications in Labour Law, Employee Relations, or HR Compliance are an added advantage.
Experience:
- Minimum 15 years of progressive experience in HR or Employee Relations.
- Prior experience in banking, financial services, or other highly regulated sectors is preferred.
- Proven track record of managing complex ER cases, policy formulation, and stakeholder engagement.
Technical Skills:
- Strong understanding of labour laws, regulatory frameworks, and ER case management tools.
- Proficiency in data analysis and dashboard creation for ER metrics.
Functional Skills:
- Expertise in grievance handling, disciplinary procedures, and policy development.
- Ability to coach and influence senior stakeholders and line managers
Behavioral & Soft Skills:
- High ethical standards, discretion, and integrity.
- Strong interpersonal, communication, and conflict resolution skills.
- Analytical mindset with a proactive approach to risk identification and mitigation.
