HR Services Assistant

The HR Assistant operates as the ‘front line contact’ of the HR Services team in the Manchester office and is the first point of contact for all HR related queries from the business. Case escalation is to the HR Services Advisors and HR Services Team Leader if appropriate, or the London HR Operations team. They are responsible for the provision of administrative support, covering all aspects of the employment lifecycle. Location Overview: Manchester The Freshfields Global Centre provides both business and legal services to the firm. Our services are delivered in a way which supports the global nature of our firm and our clients, enables our fee earners to deliver exceptional service to our clients and to do that in a way which is efficient and effective. Function Overview
HR creates value for the firm by attracting and developing the best talent, building a culture of high achievement and delivering excellent HR processes. Operating within a respected HR team, your role will be to provide advice and guidance on HR programmes, policies and practices, resolve queries and deliver first-class customer service to colleagues across our international office network
Key responsibilities and deliverables

• Responding to telephone, email and on-line enquiries and providing answers; managing the enquiry from initial contact to closure and ensuring a high level of customer service. The job holder will ensure that correct and timely advice is provided and escalate issues when appropriate.
• Providing transactional processing and administration for all main HR processes including on-boarding, pre-employment checks, appraisals, performance management, salary and bonus review, secondments, leavers, retirements, maternity/new parent leave, work experience, long service awards and renewal of fixed term contracts.
• Providing external correspondence to include, references mortgage/rental applications and business visa letter.
• Updating documents in response to new legislation or policy changes.
• Actively participate in regular team meetings to ensure information is shared.
• Involvement in HR projects.
• Administration support for the Trainee Development team including trainee new joiners and newly qualified associate processes.
• Updating and maintaining accurate information on the firm’s HR System (Workday) and other filing systems.
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with the other members of the HR team.
• Actively participating in process improvement discussions and implementing necessary changes.

Key Requirements

• Ideally previous HR experience
• Ideally educated to degree level and / or equivalent;
• High level of PC/database skills, including MS Office and Excel;
• Customer service experience within a professional or commercial environment;
• Previous experience of using HR Technology;

Freshfields Overview Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a major international law firm, providing business law advice of the highest quality. We want to be the law firm that clients turn to for legal advice where it most matters, wherever in the world that may be. The Firm has over 2,400 lawyers in 28 offices around the world, providing a comprehensive service to national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

Our people make our firm - we are a people business and want to create a welcoming and supportive environment where all can flourish. We see diversity as a strength which creates fresh perspectives and generates new ideas. We enjoy our work and are determined to do an outstanding job. We deliver best when working in teams. Our culture is a product of the combined mindsets and behaviours of our people which is through the Being Freshfields principles, outlined below:

• we show respect to everyone
• we are there for one another
• we are open with each other
• we are positive role models

We think and work globally - we don’t just say we are one firm; we act like one firm right across the world. We work wherever our clients need us. This is how we define ourselves, not by reference to where we have offices. Cross-border work isn’t just what we do, it is what we excel at. We understand what it really takes to work across different legal systems and commercial environments and to bridge language and cultural gaps.

We aim to add value in everything we do - we are passionate about helping our clients succeed. We use our experience and creativity to help clients make judgements and achieve their goals. In everything we do, we seek to make a real difference to the communities in which we operate.

Freshfields is committed to promoting equality and diversity and to developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds make important and positive contributions to our business and how we service our clients.
Inclusion Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.
Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account (eg the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.