The Ultimate Guide to HR Jobs London Has to Offer

About HR Jobs

HR specialists play an essential role in almost every business. Considering all businesses must hire, train and support employees, it isn’t surprising that one can easily find postings for HR jobs London companies are looking to fill.

If you’re looking for work in this industry, there are some things to consider beforehand. We’ve put together a guide with all the vital knowledge you need to navigate the HR job market in London, from general responsibilities to salaries, to how to land your first HR job.

What Responsibilities Are Vital in Human Resources Jobs?

Those employed in the HR department have a broad scope of responsibilities. HR specialists ensure the workplace has enough experienced workers, diversity, equality, benefits, and growth opportunities while also managing payroll and drafting office policies.

Some companies prefer that their HR employees specialise in some of these duties, while others have more general roles.

Specific subsets of human resources may entail tackling different tasks. For example, for a typical HR assistant, the job description in the UK involves doing a lot of clerical work for other HR specialists. These tasks include anything from writing correspondence and scheduling appointments to answering phone calls.

No matter the specific role, all HR employees deal with administrative duties and employees’ overall well-being.

Types of Human Resources Jobs

Let’s look at the most common designations and duties in the HR department. This overview provides a comprehensive review of the tasks HR officers tackle every day, including for both high-profile positions and the junior HR jobs that London offers.

• HR Manager Jobs

Generally speaking, HR managers make sure recruitment, development, and employee welfare procedures are in accordance with company goals. HR manager jobs in London are no different, acting as liaisons between management and daily workers and consulting with high executives on corporate strategies.

• HR Assistant Jobs

HR assistants are usually in charge of the administrative side of human resources. They handle documentation, phone calls, appointments, and the like. Assisting other HR experts in their day-to-day affairs and aiding in recruitment processes.

• HR Director Jobs

HR directors come up with personnel and training strategies. They provide their input on company policies and how they might impact the workforce. Most employees in this position have an influence on things like remuneration or reward policies, dispute mediation, and discrimination policies at the office.

• HR Consultant Jobs

In human resources, consultants act as external advisors on various staff-related matters in the company. They analyse a business’s HR policies and propose solutions to client management, development and contract issues.

• HR Advisor Jobs

People working as advisors in HR propose the best procedures for keeping staff satisfied and productive. They typically report to HR managers or directors for suggestions on how to improve recruitment, onboarding, and updating job descriptions.

• HR Coordinator Jobs

When it comes to HR coordinator jobs in London, facilitating the many protocols and functions of the HR department is part of their daily routine. Large companies usually hire several coordinators who specialise in making sure individual processes, such as recruitment and development, run smoothly.

Work Environment for HR Officer Jobs

The majority of HR duties take place in the office. That said, employees still may be required to run errands to other sites, such as government departments or retail shops. Depending on the company structure, HR officers may be assigned to a single facility, such as a warehouse or work from a centralised office that oversees the entire company.

Like many other sectors of employment, work-from-home HR jobs are growing in number, mainly due to companies wanting to minimise overhead costs. As such, you’ll easily find telecommuting HR jobs, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic has stifled much of the working world.

With improving technology and work methodology, working in HR via telecommuting is becoming easier. Nowadays, those with home-based HR jobs can handle most of their work remotely. They can onboard and offboard employees, conduct worker training and orientation, and contribute to improving employment policies with relatively few obstructions.

Injuries and Illnesses

The majority of careers in HR involve spending a lot of time in an office setting. As such, HR professionals may find themselves susceptible to common office health hazards, especially due to a sedentary lifestyle. Issues such as eye strain, back issues and being overweight or obese are all risk factors for desk workers.

That said, some HR officers, particularly HR assistant jobs in London, regularly venture beyond the office to sort out paperwork or buy supplies. This task may come with risks, including getting into a roadside accident, too much sun exposure, or any unfortunate incident endemic to being outside.

Work Schedules

Part-time HR jobs usually come in the form of internships or temporary employment. These are great for people looking to get the experience and exposure they need to be hired full-time. Usually, part-time HR jobs in London require working 20 hours per week.

Beyond that, most workers in HR can look forward to standard 40-hour workweeks. Of course, there may be times when extra hours are necessary, such as when meeting tight deadlines. Many companies also offer flexible hours for HR specialists.

How to Get a Job in HR

Applying for positions in HR requires certain qualifications and characteristics. Emphasising these strengths within your own application and even getting additional certificates or a diploma can help get you into one of the entry-level HR jobs and begin your career in human resources.

Important Qualities

• A Knack for Recruit Selection

As an HR worker, a major responsibility is employee recruitment. Having the ability and strategy to find the most suitable candidates for a particular position is a key trait to emphasise. Practically all London HR jobs require a certain intuitiveness in assessing how well an applicant would fit into a company or team’s culture.

• Takes Initiative

Being proactive helps HR officers resolve employee problems before they develop into larger issues. Jobs in HR require keen observation and understanding of human behaviour, especially as it pertains to the workplace. HR workers serve a protective role, not just for individual employees and their work satisfaction, but for the company’s interest as well. Preventing potential lawsuits and drops in productivity are all part of the responsibilities of the HR department.

This type of intervention doesn’t apply solely to issues like employee complaints. For instance, an HR assistant in London must take initiative on administrative matters regularly, organising payroll and prioritising tasks for a well-executed office environment.

• Team Player

No matter what role you have in the human resources department, HR jobs in London will fundamentally entail dealing with other people. Working with others without a sense of teamwork makes it unnecessarily difficult for teams to achieve desired goals. Further, HR positions are often responsible for fostering positive environments that encourage teamwork and that value all employees.

• Data-Driven and Analytics-Oriented

Data analytics in HR is a burgeoning trend, and as a result, from assistant to the head of all HR jobs, positions require some level of knowledge in data technology. Those working in HR need to use advanced prediction software or simply record data to improve their decision-making process.

• Administrative Expert

Administrative duties are the primary workload of HR workers. HR officers need to have a flair for administrative tasks and thrive in paying attention to detail and performing repetitive tasks. Notably, HR admin jobs in London require managing employee leaves, absences, and payroll despite the growing automation of those tasks.

• Coaching Skills

Providing coaching and office training to address a variety of topics is often the responsibility of the HR department. Onboarding is also a required task, training new employees and getting them integrated and working within the office. Comfort in coaching and providing guidance is required in the HR officer jobs that London companies are hiring for.

• Provides Good Advice

HR practices and procedures are about designing highly functional and healthy work environments, and providing expertise and advice to relevant stakeholders on company policies and structure is sometimes a requirement of the HR sector.

Extending support and advice to employees is an additional responsibility, and HR employees are usually the designated persons for receiving complaints and resolving conflicts within the office.

Being an HR advisor in London requires excellent communication skills and the ability to structure and deliver expert and sound advice to all levels of employees.

• Adept at Communication

The HR department is the link between the management department and the employees, and as such, must be skilled in balancing expectations and communicating the needs of employees to the managers. Most HR jobs London has to offer show that this is the most important skill for employment in the HR sector.

• Knowledgeable of the HRIS Software

Knowledge or previous experience in HR information systems is a must for any HR officer in London. Programs like Oracle, Payroll, or Workday store information about employee benefits, payroll, performance evaluation, and so on. They’re an essential organisational tool for the needs of a modern HR department.

• Intercultural Sensitivity

The modern workplace is diverse, making intercultural sensitivity an essential requirement for corporate HR jobs in London. Cultural awareness means that you are accepting, aware, and respectful of people and their individual backgrounds. This is an essential characteristic in jobs that require you to deal with people, such as sales and receptionist jobs.

It is especially important for HR professionals to have a complex understanding of this, as they are responsible for drafting office-wide discrimination policies, addressing employee complaints of harassment or insensitivity, and must treat all employees with respect and understanding.

Education

For most HR apprenticeships in London, a diploma is not required. Experience in HR departments is an asset, however, and related A levels such as law, psychology, business, sociology, and others are considered helpful.

Obtaining a Human Resources Management diploma is an option, however, and provides knowledge and experience that will help secure graduate-level HR jobs in London.

Licences, Certifications, and Registrations

Here are some of the best courses you can take to boost your chances of being hired in the HR sector:

• Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) courses: Foundation, Intermediate, or Advanced
  Peninsula’s HR training
• CIPD’s HR short courses
• AIHR – People Analytics Courses
• Coursera – Human Resource Management: HR for People Managers
• HRCI – Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
• Wharton Online: HR Management and Analytics

Even for HR entry-level jobs, upgrading with some of these courses will make you a more competitive applicant.

Advancement

As an HR worker, there is great potential to stay with a company for one’s entire career. This is due to high job satisfaction and the potential for advancement within the department.
HR jobs in London that are entry-level often lead to specialised career paths in one particular area, giving multitudinous chances to advance and develop as a worker within this growing field. Some of these specialities include benefit or compensation management, event planning, or leadership training.

Human Resources Salary in the UK

The range of salary for HR workers in the UK is quite variable. From entry-level positions to directors, salaries depend on the experience, education, performance, and seniority of an employee.

• HR Assistant

The HR assistant salary in the UK is on average £30,332 per year. While top earners receive around £43,000 yearly, the bottom 10% of assistants earn about £25,000 per year.

• HR Administrator

The average HR administrator salary in the UK is £30,671 per year. The top earners in this position make £49,000 annually on average. On the other hand, the lowest earners make at least £19,000.

• HR Manager

An HR manager in London can expect to receive an average yearly salary of around £48,951. While the highest possible salary for this position hovers at about £70,000 annually, the bottom earners make an average of £35,000 per year, which still goes beyond the average HR officer salary in the UK.

• HR Advisor

The average pay for this position stands at £35,000 per year, with a bottom compensation of £27,000 annually. The highest potential HR advisor salary on record, however, is as high as £46,000 per year.

• HR Coordinator

On average, an HR coordinator enjoys a salary of £27,710 per year. Moreover, when it comes to these types of HR jobs in London, the salary can range anywhere from £22,000 and £35,000 annually.

• HR Director

HR directors have the highest salaries among HR officers. They work for £104,000 per year on average, and those working in HR director jobs in London can earn a minimum wage of £70,000 per year, while the maximum compensation is £149,000 per year.

Job Outlook

Despite the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on regular job life, most HR experts in the UK remain optimistic about the outlook of the HR jobs London has to offer. Apparently, 35% of recruiters plan to replace job vacancies by hiring new workers, and more than 30% of companies in the UK intend to grow their workforce.

The bulk of HR admin jobs will focus on recruiting healthcare staff. Around 89% of HR specialists in the industry plan on expanding their medical staff. Other industries aren’t too far behind. Specialists in manufacturing, technology, and retail HR jobs are growing their labour force at similarly high rates, with 94% of them stating they are confident they’ll find the right talent to fill their job vacancies.

With all that in mind, HR recruitment in London and the wider UK will be preparing to onboard new employees. As HR officers are a crucial link in the recruitment chain, finding jobs in this profession should be a successful experience.

Job Prospects

Unless you hold a specialised diploma for HR, the first prospects will be entry-level positions such as an HR assistant. Getting HR jobs in London with no experience often involves working through the ranks, gaining experience and training on the job. There are, of course, specialised positions, but they require more knowledge, experience, or even a diploma to qualify for.

A CIPD certificate makes it easier for you to land a promotion in one of these roles, which can establish you in the HR field and prepare you to apply for higher positions such as HR director. Head of HR jobs in London involve dictating company policies, advising board members, and overseeing other HR employees.

Frequently Asked Questions