Employee & Labor Relations Manager UK

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com.

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual. At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

The Employee & Labor Relations Manager serves as a strategic advisor and subject matter expert on complex employee relations and labor relations matters for primarily, UK but also Ireland and South Africa.

This role partners closely with HRBPs, business leaders, Centres of Excellence, and legal teams to promote a fair, compliant, and high‑performance culture across the region.

The ERLR Manager will lead high‑risk case management, influence policy, drive proactive ER/LR automation and AI strategies, and support organizational change in line with local legislation and global frameworks.

Key Accountabilities:

• Lead and advise on high‑risk / high‑complexity cases (disciplinary, grievance, performance, misconduct, discrimination and whistleblowing) for UKI & SA.
• Support collective consultations, negotiation processes, and industrial relations strategies. Partner with legal counsel on complex matters, settlements, external claims, and regulatory issues.
• Lead the development, review, and implementation of ER/LR policies and frameworks. Monitor changes in employment law across the region and advise leaders on business impacts and required actions.
• Advise and guide through organizational restructures, TUPE/transfer of undertakings, right‑sizing, and other change programmes. Provide planning, risk-assessment, consultation guidance, and communication frameworks.
• Use data and insights to identify trends, hotspots, and opportunities for efficiencies and automation. Drive initiatives that improve leadership capability, improve employee experience, and reduce ER risk.
• Design and deliver ER/LR training for and business leaders that drives capability levels.
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders, HRBPs, Legal, Compliance, and external partners. Provide executive‑level updates on risk, trends, and case outcomes. Influence leaders toward fair, sustainable, and risk‑mitigated people decisions.
• Understand the Key Performance Indicators and operational metrics that are critical to leading service delivery in order to achieve Service Level Agreements and strong employee experience.
• Make recommendations on continuous improvement opportunities to improve provision of services by reviewing and providing feedback on operational processes, policies, standard operating procedures and work instructions and introduce key improvement plans for execution through automation and AI
• Demonstrates an understanding of AI concepts and frameworks, including awareness of responsible and ethical AI practices, experience generating effective prompts to boost efficiency and productivity, and awareness of AI’s impact on the workforce.

• Qualifications & Experience
  • Significant experience 6-8years in Employee Relations and Labor Relations within a multinational or complex environment.
  • Broad knowledge of employment law across geographies.
  • Proven track record managing complex, sensitive, and high‑risk cases.
  • Demonstrated experience coaching and collaborating with senior leaders, key partners and employee representative bodies.
  • Ability to establish a culture passionate about speed, accountability and continuous improvement while building employee-centric repeatable and sustainable processes required.
  • Experienced in shaping solutions and driving business results, with strong communication and reciprocal partnership skills with internal and external partners to ensure the effective execution of HR solutions across the enterprise required
  • Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

•  Preferred
  • Experience supporting multiple geographies (UK, Ireland or South Africa an advantage)
  • Background in HR Business Partnering, Legal, or ER Centre of Excellence.
  • AI fluency and experience using ER case management tools.