ER and Employment Law Lead
We’re on the lookout for a big-hearted and first-class ER and Employment Law Lead to join our People team here at Dishoom.
We’re a growing team of nearly 2,500 Dishoom-wallas, and this new role will be pivotal in shaping how we manage Employee Relations as we continue to grow. As the complexity of ER increases through new legislation, evolving ways of working and the introduction of AI we need someone with real expertise who can help us manage risk, build confidence and ensure we continue to do the right thing. You’ll be the go-to person for complex cases, supporting our teams to navigate them with clarity, fairness and confidence, while always keeping people at the heart of every decision.
Reporting to our Head of People, you’ll work closely with our People Partners and Vista, our external legal advisers, to strengthen our approach across the board. This is about more than managing individual cases: you’ll help us build the right infrastructure, capability and ways of working so that we can be smarter, more consistent and more proactive, without losing the human touch that makes us Dishoom.
About the role:
● Lead and support on complex ER cases, including performance management, grievances and disciplinary matters, ensuring Babus are confident and well equipped to follow the right processes.
● Act as Dishoom’s subject matter expert on all Employee Relations matters. ● Work closely with our three People Partners to seek timely advice on complex matters and ensure actions are followed through.
● Manage ACAS Early Conciliation and Employment Tribunal cases.
● Use AI-enabled workflows and data analysis to improve efficiency, consistency and decision-making across the ER function.
● Develop and maintain a clear ER framework, including templates, process guides and practical guidance, helping teams approach ER with confidence and consistency.
● Track, analyse and report on ER data to identify patterns and themes, proactively address root causes and share meaningful insights with the wider business.
● Partner with People Partners to embed best practice consistently across café operations.
About you:
● Expert knowledge of UK employment law – you keep on top of legislative developments and can apply the law pragmatically in a real-world, fast-paced environment.
● Strong legal or specialist ER credentials – you may be a qualified employment solicitor looking to move in-house, a CILEX Lawyer, or an experienced ACAS conciliator or senior ER specialist with significant Employment Tribunal experience. A formal legal qualification is highly desirable, but we’re equally interested in candidates who can demonstrate comparable employment law expertise through their experience.
● Significant, hands on ER experience – you’ve led a wide range of complex and high-risk cases, including grievances, disciplinaries, performance matters, ACAS Early Conciliation and
Employment Tribunal claims. You know your stuff inside out and are confident making sound judgement calls.
● A brilliant collaborator and communicator – you build trust quickly, explain complex issues simply and work effectively with People Partners, Operations and senior leaders.
● Calm and credible under pressure – you handle sensitive, high-stakes situations with discretion and sound judgement.
● Commercially minded and risk-aware – you balance doing the right thing for our people with protecting Dishoom commercially and legally.
● Warm, organised and improvement-focused – you care about fairness, manage your work with rigour and want to strengthen our approach to ER across the business.
Benefits:
We deeply care about making Dishoom an awesome place to work and have some of the best team events and benefits around, including:
● A huge summer festival (our Family Mela) and Babus day out and Christmas party.
● Regular team events and a weekly team lunch get together in Babu House.
● 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (plus a day for our Family Mela and another for our Christmas Party).
● Dishoom Black card with a monthly allowance for treating friends and family in our cafes in your own time.
● Food from the café menu when working in cafes.
● Access to a huge discount network saving you money on everything from flights to groceries. ● Subsidised yoga & gym memberships.
● Ongoing support to continue your personal development.
● An extra Day off to take your little one to their first day of school.
● Plus you’ll be in a team of super smart, supportive and ambitious people – all working to create something career-defining in terms of a place for our team to work.
At Dishoom - everyone is welcome. We are committed to having an inclusive and diverse workplace and strongly encourage people from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to apply for roles with us.
Application deadline is EOD Wednesday 29th July.
*Babu can be a term of respect in India but is more frequently used to refer to bureaucrats behind desks who don’t do much