Absence Management Officer – UK & Ireland

Role Summary

The Absence Management Officer will join the Global Human Resources Center of Excellence Services Team, offering expert operational support to various business divisions and corporate departments across the UK and Ireland. The role focuses on managing employee sickness absence by delivering consistent, high-quality services in accordance with company policies, employment laws, and established standards.

This position supports employee wellbeing and fosters a positive workplace culture by assisting managers and employees throughout sickness absence procedures, encouraging early intervention and case management, and enhancing support pathways to promote sustainable returns to work.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage sickness absence cases using the GHR Service Centre system, ensuring accurate and prompt updates.
• Oversee short-term and long-term absence cases, maintaining adherence to company policy and relevant employment legislation in the UK and Ireland.
• Advise and support managers through absence management processes, including reviewing absences, conducting formal procedures, and planning returns to work.
• Analyze absence data trends, contribute to analysis efforts and suggest actionable improvements to reduce absences.
• Coordinate referrals to Occupational Health and external providers, ensuring timely and effective case advancement.
• Collaborate with Permanent Health Insurance providers to assist employees on prolonged absences for a unified support approach.
• Facilitate absence-related meetings as required, ensuring procedures are fair and consistently applied.
• Refer complex employee relations, conduct, capability, or legal-risk matters to Employee Relations while retaining responsibility for absence management and related administration.
• Engage in process improvement initiatives focused on absence management, employee wellbeing, and service delivery quality.
• Maintain thorough documentation aligned with audit, risk management, and legal standards.
• Supply operational insights and case trend analyses to inform policy reviews, process improvements, and wellbeing programs.
• Work closely with HR Business Partners, managers, payroll, benefits teams, and Employee Relations to manage absence-related impacts accurately.
• Contribute to training programs aimed at enhancing managers' understanding of absence management and employee wellbeing.
• Assist in creating absence management tools, templates, procedures, and training content.
• Stay current with UK and Irish legislative changes, updating processes accordingly.
• Provide local input during Global Policy evaluations related to sickness absence and wellbeing policies.
• Support Global Human Resources in local, regional, or EMEA absence management and wellbeing initiatives.
• Monitor service metrics, case volumes, and operational trends, delivering regular reports and insights to stakeholders.

Required Skills and Experience

• Possess a third-level degree in Business, Human Resources, or a related discipline, or possess equivalent experience.
• Previous experience in HR Operations, Absence Management, Employee Relations, Case Management, or HR Shared Services is desirable, along with working knowledge of UK and Irish employment legislation.
• Experience in a large, preferably global, organization within Financial Services, Banking, or a similar sector is advantageous.

Essential Competencies

• Team-oriented with strong collaboration skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Customer-focused and dedicated to employee service excellence.
• Proactive problem-solving approach in managing cases.
• Resilient and capable of exercising sound judgment in sensitive and complex scenarios.
• Adept at building and sustaining strong relationships both locally and remotely.
• Self-motivated and able to operate independently in a remote management environment.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and reporting capabilities.
• Effective at managing multiple priorities within a fast-paced workplace.
• Committed to continuous improvement with a focus on operational excellence and superior service delivery.

About the Company

The company is a trusted global partner for institutional investors, providing risk management, addressing challenges, and enhancing performance and profitability. Valuing its workforce, it promotes an inclusive culture offering development opportunities, support for work-life balance, paid volunteer days, and active employee networks that foster connection and purpose.

As an equal opportunity employer, the company welcomes applications from all qualified individuals regardless of diverse personal attributes protected by law.