Frances Harris
Pontefract. Leeds
Summary
Committed HR professional with expertise in complex employee relations and case management, adept at navigating disciplinary, grievance, capability, and DSAR processes. Proven ability to manage performance, conduct, and absence issues while interpreting employment policies and mitigating risks. Skilled in advising and influencing senior stakeholders, leading teams with a focus on coaching and quality assurance. Committed to leveraging these competencies to drive organisational success and foster a positive workplace environment.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
2
2
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work history
PSHD Team Leader – Employee Relations
McDonalds Restaurant Limited
Leeds
2025.01 - 2026.04
- Lead an established team of ER Advisors delivering high-volume, complex ER services in line with SLAs, service standards and organisational values.
- Provide leadership across high-risk and sensitive ER workstreams (including SRI Discipline, Franchised Grievances, DSARs, ACAS notifications and brand-critical cases), ensuring consistent, compliant and confidential handling.
- Act as a trusted SME and escalation point for complex ER matters including long-term sickness, grievance, discipline, safeguarding and investigations, balancing people risk, policy and commercial considerations.
- Drive SLA delivery through effective demand planning, workload prioritisation and real-time case allocation.
- Coach and develop Advisors through regular case reviews, quality assurance and in-the-moment feedback, building empathy, judgement and confidence while reducing risk.
- Quality-assure ER advice, calls and case outcomes, using insight and trends to improve consistency, fairness and ER journeys.
- Build and manage strong senior stakeholder relationships across Executive Leadership, Legal, Reward and ER networks, influencing insight-led decisions and joined-up outcomes.
- Represent People Services in senior forums, ER clinics and regional calls, managing complex communications across all levels of the business.
- Provide HR escalation support to PSHD Operations and Shift Leaders, including safeguarding escalations and liaison with the Culture Team.
- Promote a digital-first, self-service culture that reduces complexity for Advisors and customers.
- Champion colleague wellbeing, inclusion, engagement and performance while maintaining up-to-date knowledge of employment law, policy and best practice.
Employee Relations Advisor
McDonalds Restaurant Limited
Leeds
2022.01 - 2025.01
- Provide end-to-end transactional administration for a range of Employee Relations processes, including Appeals, Grievances, SRI Discipline, Long-Term Sickness, Death in Service and Occupational Health cases, managing activity for an allocated region in line with agreed workstream protocols.
- Manage the transactional administration of SRI Grievances in partnership with the Investigations Handling Unit (IHU), ensuring all information recorded on the IHU Smartsheet is accurate, timely and aligned to the one-hour SLA.
- Support the administration of Subject Access Request (DSAR) activity, working closely with the Legal team to ensure requests are handled compliantly, sensitively and within statutory timeframes.
- Act as a trusted Employee Relations Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the PSHD Ops Team, supporting colleagues with complex or sensitive queries and helping to drive consistent, high-quality outcomes.
- Responsibility for case work and stakeholder management at all levels within my set region
Shift Manager
McDonalds Restaurant Limited
2021.01 - 2022.01
- Planned and led shifts end-to-end by forecasting demand, deploying teams effectively and maintaining high standards of safety, cleanliness, food quality and customer experience.
- Delivered people-first leadership by coaching and motivating team members in the moment, proactively resolving issues and ensuring compliance with labour and safety requirements.
- Reviewed shift performance, completed key administrative tasks and shared clear handovers and insights to drive continuous improvement and recognise team success.
Crew Member & Crew Trainer
McDonalds Restaurant Limited
2019.01 - 2021.01
- Delivered high standards of quality, service and cleanliness by providing fast, accurate and personalised customer service across all service channels, consistently role-modelling company values.
- Trained, coached and supported Crew Members and Apprentices across multiple stations, building confidence, capability and consistent performance through structured training and feedback.
- Led shifts and work areas by directing teams, monitoring performance and proactively addressing service or production issues, while reinforcing safety, food hygiene and security standards.
Team Coach
NEXT PLC
Doncaster
2016.01 - 2019.01
- Delivered structured learning sessions to new employees on core operational systems, building early understanding of process, compliance and the standards expected when handling employee and customer enquiries.
- Supported new starters through their initial months in role, providing consistent coaching and guidance to build confidence, decision-making capability and appropriate judgement in live case handling.
- Reviewed calls and case management activity to assess quality, accuracy and adherence to process, identifying potential risks and opportunities for early intervention.
- Provided timely, balanced feedback to employees to strengthen performance, improve consistency and support development against role expectations.
- Partnered with line managers by sharing insight from reviews, highlighting strengths, development needs and emerging themes to inform targeted coaching and support plans.
- Contributed to the development of a strong people capability culture by reinforcing best practice, promoting accountability and supporting a smooth transition from learning into sustained performance.
Education
GSCE -
The Clarendon College
Trowbridge 2005.09 - 2007.07
Skills
- Complex Employee Relations & Case Management
- Disciplinary, Grievance, Capability & DSAR Processes
- Performance, Conduct & Absence Management
- Employment Policy Interpretation & Risk Management
- Senior Stakeholder Advisory & Influencing
- Team Leadership, Coaching & Quality Assurance
Certification
- Mental Health First Aid
- Additional internal ER and investigation training
- Enrolled on Level 5 People Professional Apprenticeship CIPD
Timeline
PSHD Team Leader – Employee Relations
McDonalds Restaurant Limited
2025.01 - 2026.04
Employee Relations Advisor
McDonalds Restaurant Limited
2022.01 - 2025.01
Shift Manager
McDonalds Restaurant Limited
2021.01 - 2022.01
Crew Member & Crew Trainer
McDonalds Restaurant Limited
2019.01 - 2021.01
Team Coach
NEXT PLC
2016.01 - 2019.01
GSCE -
The Clarendon College
2005.09 - 2007.07