HR Generalist - 18 Month FTC

HR Generalist 18-Month FTC

Salary: £40-£50K

Closing date for applications: 28th August 2026

Are you an experienced HR professional who thrives in a fast-paced, operational environment? Do you enjoy providing practical people advice, supporting managers and employees, and navigating a wide range of employee relations and HR matters?
 

At CrossCountry, we're looking for an HR Generalist to play a key role in supporting our managers and colleagues across the business. This is an exciting opportunity to make a real impact by providing professional HR advice, supporting positive employee relations and helping to create an inclusive, fair and high-performing workplace.
 

Working within a highly unionised environment, you'll work closely with managers, employees and Trade Union representatives to ensure fair, consistent and legally compliant people practices that support both our colleagues and our business objectives.
 

What You'll Be Doing

As an HR Generalist, you'll provide comprehensive HR advice and support across the employee lifecycle, working closely with managers and employees to resolve people matters effectively and ensure a consistent approach to HR practices.
 

Key Responsibilities
 

• Serve as a key point of contact for managers and employees, providing professional and practical advice on HR policies, employment law and people-related matters.

• Manage a diverse portfolio of employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, attendance, capability, performance and investigation processes.

• Support and coach managers through complex people matters, ensuring decisions are fair, consistent and aligned with company policies and employment legislation.

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with Trade Union representatives, supporting consultation, local negotiations and the early resolution of issues.

• Provide advice and guidance on terms and conditions, contracts, policies and procedural changes.

• Support organisational change initiatives, including restructures, TUPE transfers, role redesign and consultation activities.

• Maintain accurate HR records, case documentation and management information to support effective case management, reporting, compliance and audit requirements.

• Contribute to workforce planning and people management through analysis of absence, turnover and workforce trends.

• Lead proactive absence management activity, supporting complex and long-term absence cases and coordinating Occupational Health referrals where appropriate.

• Support managers throughout the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, probation, contractual changes, performance management and employee development.

• Work collaboratively with HR Support, Resourcing, Payroll and other People teams to ensure an effective and consistent HR service.

• Deliver training, guidance and coaching to managers on employee relations, HR policies and effective people management practices.

• Support the development and implementation of HR policies, processes and initiatives that improve the employee experience and promote consistency across the organisation.

• Champion a culture of inclusion, wellbeing, fairness and employee engagement.

• Ensure all HR activities are compliant with employment legislation, data protection requirements and company policies.

What We're Looking For

Essential

• Experience in an HR Generalist role within a unionised, corporate or operational environment.

• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.

• Proven experience managing a range of employee relations cases from initial advice through to resolution.

• Experience of working collaboratively with Trade Union representatives and supporting consultation processes.

• Experience providing HR advice and support across a broad range of employee lifecycle activities.

• Excellent communication, relationship-building and influencing skills.

• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.

• CIPD Level 3 qualified or equivalent experience.

Desirable
 

• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent experience.

• Experience within rail or another highly regulated industry.

• Experience using HR systems such as Workday.

• Experience supporting organisational change, restructuring or TUPE processes.

• Experience of using HR data and management information to identify trends and support decision-making.

Why Join CrossCountry?
 

At CrossCountry, our people are at the centre of everything we do. We are committed to creating an environment where colleagues feel valued, supported and empowered to succeed.
 

This role offers the opportunity to:

• Make a meaningful impact across a nationally recognised organisation.

• Develop your HR expertise across a broad range of employee relations and generalist HR activities.

• Build effective working relationships with managers, employees and Trade Union representatives.

• Develop your knowledge and experience within a complex and dynamic operational environment.

• Contribute to organisational change and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Be part of a collaborative People team dedicated to delivering a high-quality employee experience.

Diversity & Inclusion

At CrossCountry, we believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communi
ties we serve. Inclusion is not just part of our strategy—it's fundamental to our success. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued and able to bring their authentic selves to work.

Ready to take the next step in your HR career?

If you're passionate about people, enjoy solving problems and want to make a difference in a busy and varied HR environment, we'd love to hear from you.

Did you know you can set up alerts for new job opportunities?

Simply navigate to 'My Job Alerts' in the Jobs Hub to get started.