Employee Relations Partner

Job Summary:

The Employee Relations (ER) Partner serves as a trusted advisor to leaders and employees, providing expert guidance on employee relations matters, workplace investigations, payroll administration, policy interpretation, and regulatory compliance. This role ensures fair, consistent, and legally compliant people practices while supporting accurate and timely payroll operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for employee relations matters, including performance concerns, conduct issues, policy violations, accommodations, leaves, and workplace conflicts
• Coach managers on appropriate documentation, corrective action, and employee issue resolution
• Partner closely with HR Business Partners, Legal, Payroll, and Leadership to ensure consistent application of ER practices
• Conduct impartial, thorough workplace investigations involving complaints of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or other policy violations
• Gather facts through interviews, documentation review, and evidence analysis
• Prepare investigation summaries, findings, and recommendations in alignment with policy and legal standards
• Maintain accurate, confidential case files and records
• Administer or support end-to-end payroll processing in partnership with Payroll or Finance (as applicable)
• Ensure accurate entry and approval of pay changes, bonuses, overtime, timekeeping corrections, and retroactive adjustments
• Review payroll reports to identify discrepancies, resolve errors, and confirm compliance with wage and hour laws
• Respond to employee payroll inquiries with professionalism and discretion
• Support payroll audits, reconciliations, and regulatory compliance efforts
• Ensure payroll practices align with employment policies, collective agreements (if applicable), and applicable laws
• Interpret and apply HR policies, payroll procedures, and employment laws
• Educate managers and employees on policy expectations and pay-related practices
• Support updates to ER and payroll-related policies as needed
• Facilitate mediation and conflict resolution conversations
• Promote respectful workplace standards and inclusive behaviors
• Identify trends in employee relations or payroll issues and recommend proactive improvements
• Assess employee relations and payroll risk exposure and recommend mitigation strategies
• Track and analyze ER and payroll-related trends for leadership reporting
• Support employment claims, audits, and regulatory inquiries

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 3 years of experience in employee relations, HR operations, or HR generalist roles
• Hands-on experience conducting workplace investigations
• Working knowledge of payroll processing, wage and hour laws, and timekeeping practices
• Strong understanding of employment laws and HR best practices
• Excellent communication, judgment, and conflict resolution skills
• Proven ability to manage sensitive information with discretion and professionalism