Human Resources

HR Operations are responsible for the entire employee lifecycle and assist in supporting colleagues and management teams on any operational HR matter including maternity, sickness, flexible working, policy advice, workplace conflict, etc. 

We also have a Case Management team who deal with more complex employee relations matters which require specialist advice.

The Resources and Rewards department are responsible for recruitment (including increasing our under representation of diverse communities into policing), promotion, reward, benefits and recognition, job evaluation and provision of HR policy supporting their business area.

Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing are responsible for the provision of advice, guidance and wellbeing ensuring safe and healthy working conditions, safe systems and safe working practices, in compliance with legislation, together with ongoing wellbeing and support to all of our workforce.

Shared Services are responsible for the administration of all HR functions and process, including Police Staff contracts, our workforce planning and establishment.

“A day in the life of a HR Business Partner” is hard to put into words… as no two days are the same.  Our HR Business Partners work can cover operational HR issues or supporting our strategic priority areas (such as Reward and Recognition or Talent).

Operational HR Business Partners deal with a variety of issues and are responsible for policy development and dealing with specific cases which may involve advising management on grievance, discipline, and capability issues, as well as advising on how to manage sickness absence and capability.

They advise and are active members of their Senior Management Teams (SMT) based in their respective business areas (based in HQ Departments or our Basic Command Units (BCUs)).

Talent and Reward and Recognition HR Business Partners support the strategic direction of the force, and their work is project focussed. Aligning organisational priorities with project planning and outcomes.

The Human Resources (HR) Advisor role is varied, and this role could be working directly supporting the HR Business Partners in the operational HR area of business, as well as acting as the first point of contact to all line managers and staff on operational HR issues.

In addition to the operational HR business areas, HR advisors may also be placed in our workforce planning business area, where they will work with data and analyse trends, attrition, and new role/vacancy requests. They will also be the critical lead on all Force people data.

HR Advisors play a key part in dealing with day-to-day queries whilst supporting a HR business partner. They have a lot of interaction with staff and officers within SWP and will take on project work where necessary.

There are a variety of areas where our administrators support our HR functions, including employment contracts and changes to employment, recruitment and selection processing. They can also support our existing workforce in their wellbeing by arranging and supporting appointments with occupational health, or our Force Medical Advisors.

All administrators have a varied workload and use many different systems, including Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel and Word and sometimes PowerPoint) and our own in-house systems (including HR, recruitment, service desk (HR queries) and Health and Management).

Our administrators work in a busy environment and ensure that staff and officers are kept informed of any changes to their working life.

To support our vision of being the best at understanding and responding to our community’s needs, we need the very best candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to apply to become part of our policing family. Our aim is to attract, recruit, support and promote talented individuals who represent the diverse communities we serve across South Wales. This is where our Positive Action Officers support this aim.

They attend engagement events, schools, universities and job fairs in person across the force area to discuss different opportunities across the force.

They also offer and provide ‘upskill’ sessions to individuals in selection processes who are from an underrepresented background. This upskill is tailored to the application process for each vacancy.

They also support other projects in force to support increased community engagement with underrepresented communities to be available to answer any questions or concerns a candidate may have.

The Positive Action support that is offered provides an understanding of what to expect and any candidate appointed is selected solely on merit. Positive action does not seek to remove competition and South Wales Police will always appoint the best applicants.

At SWP, our Senior Occupational Health Advisers work autonomously, utilising a wide range of skill sets and experience to undertake the role and make effective decisions. Duties can range from undertaking pre work placement medicals, health surveillance and health screening, administering vaccinations, assessing fitness for work, health promotion and health education, client consultations and complex case management responding to line manager referrals. This wide range of tasks means that they will have an excellent opportunity to continue to utilise their occupational health knowledge to assist many officers and staff across the organisation.

South Wales Police has a varied workforce who deliver an essential public service operating in highly demanding and complex specialist functions. Some of these specialist areas include firearms officers, hostage negotiators, dog handlers, crime scene investigators, roads policing, professional standards, control room operatives, response and neighbourhood officers to name but a few. Occupational Health and Wellbeing services are relevant to all these areas and with no two cases the same, this helps to keep this role varied and interesting.

Our advisers will have the opportunity to engage with all these groups to gain a better understanding of what the role entails in order that we can deliver our services proactively, as well as tailoring our services to meet specific needs. Advisers will develop close working relationships with these groups and other disciplines within the organisation, including HR and Chief Officers who will often involve Occupational Health for support and advice with a wide range of cases.

This is a supportive environment where they will be part of a team consisting of a Principal Occupational Health and Wellbeing Adviser, another Senior Occupational Health Adviser, Clinical Nurse and Clinical Support Nurse, Counsellors and other support staff.  To further support this function, SWP is implementing a new Patient Management System for our occupational health records which is a very exciting project.       

The hours in Occupational Health Nursing are favourable and cover Monday to Friday 9-5 with the added benefit of flexi leave, 24 days annual leave and home working. There will be opportunities to attend various sites including our brand-new facilities in Bridgend HQ.

In terms of development, South Wales Police is very supportive of this, and individuals will have the opportunity to attend a wide range of Occupational Health training including specialist trauma focused support for high-risk roles, structured interviewing skills and clinic work including audiometry, vision screening and other health surveillance requirements as well as regular case management consultations. They will prepare quality occupational health reports in response to manager referrals and may also be required to provide advice and follow up to employees who may have been exposed to hazards through their work, for example, blood borne viruses.

The successful candidate will have scope to further develop the role bringing fresh ideas and exploring unique ways of assisting police officers and staff in their day-to-day work where they may be absent from work due to physical or psychological health difficulties.