People Advisor

People Advisor - Restaurants Wasabi Head Office London

Please make an application promptly if you are a good match for this role due to high levels of interest.
Competitive Salary
Full time
Founded in 2003 by Dong Hyun Kim, his mission was simple, to make fresh and flavorsome sushi and bento available to everyone. Almost 20 years later Wasabi have 40 successful branches across London, other UK major cities and New York.
The journey continued in 2019 with the launch of Wasabi Home Bento exclusively into Sainsburys. After several years of great success there, the grocery business expanded launching into Tesco in September 2022. Wasabi has now firmly established itself as the No2 chilled ready meal brand and a driver of significant market growth. And we're just getting started. The leadership team have set out their 5 year strategy which encompasses company growth, franchise and international expansion.
Our menu is renowned for its distinctiveness, freshness and flavour. The cold food range of sushi, pokes and salads are made fresh daily in our branch kitchens and our hot bento, noodle bowls and soups offer an indulgent and comforting alternative to our broad and democratic demographic.
As we prepare for our next phase of growth and innovation, we have an incredibly exciting opportunity for a People Advisor - Restaurants to join our People Team based in Park Royal.
The Role:
The People Advisor – Restaurants is the first point of contact for employees and managers across our restaurant teams, providing confident, policy-grounded guidance on a wide range of people matters.
The incumbent will take ownership of core people administration processes for the restaurants they support ensuring employee lifecycle documentation is accurate and updated in a timely manner.
Reporting to the Senior People Business Partner - Restaurants, the People Advisor – Restaurants will build trusted relationships with managers and employees across our restaurant business, helping them navigate people processes with confidence.
This role will champion our Wasabi PART behaviours and be a role model for our culture, playing a critical role in delivering a high-quality employee experience.
Key Responsibilities:
Service Delivery & First-Line Advisory
Act as the first point of contact for people queries, providing responsive support to employees and managers.
Provide timely, policy-compliant advice on absence, wellbeing, performance, benefits and employee relations.
Manage visa renewals through to completion, liaising with managers throughout.
Monitor monthly people dashboards and reports to ensure compliance with holidays, working hours and absence management.
Support managers in making fair, consistent and informed people decisions.
Promote consistent policy application and escalate complex or sensitive matters to the Senior People Business Partner – Restaurants.
Employee Relations
Manage all employee relations activity, maintaining accurate and up-to-date case records throughout.
Prioritise and manage multiple cases simultaneously, proactively following up on in-progress cases to ensure timely and appropriate resolution.
Support organisational change processes such as restructure, restaurant relocations or closures, assisting with documentation, communications, and employee guidance
Provide insights on casework and common themes to the broader People team to address consistent needs for information
Support managers actively and on site when necessary, particularly where policies or guidance may not be clear.
People Administration & Data
Maintain accurate and up-to-date employee records, ensuring compliance with legislation and internal data standards
Own and deliver employee lifecycle administration including onboarding, contract variations, job changes, leaver documentation, and weekly induction sessions.
Prepare and issue people documentation such as offer letters, contract amendments, and other employee communications in a timely and accurate manner.
Contribute to routine reports where necessary to support People and Operations and provide data to colleagues and stakeholders as needed.
Reward and Benefits Support
Respond to employee reward and benefits queries, helping them understand their benefit entitlements.
Guide new starters through benefits enrolment and ensure all required payroll documentation is collected as part of onboarding.
Support the processing of payroll and benefits changes by supplying timely documentation to the Payroll team and follow up where necessary
Investigate and resolve payroll or benefit discrepancies in partnership with the Payroll team
Manager Capability & People Projects
Contribute to the creation and delivery of manager toolkits, guidance materials, and resources that build people management capability across the organisation.
Support Senior People Business Partner - Restaurants and team colleagues with the delivery of cyclical people activities such as performance review cycles, development initiatives, and onboarding events.
Contribute to policy and 'How to' guide updates, ensuring documentation remains clear, accessible, legally compliant, and aligned with team culture.
Provide policy and process advice and guidance to managers to educate and upskill them
Continuous Improvement
Identify recurring trends in employee queries and case types, recommending process improvements that reduce friction and improve service quality.
Support system enhancements and issue resolutions, helping optimise functionality and improve the day-to-day employee experience.
Assist with data quality checks, system audits, and broader compliance activities to ensure consistency and accuracy across people records.
Contribute ideas and insights that support the wider People strategy and remove operational blockers.
Our requirements:
The ideal candidate for this role will be educated to A level or equivalent, preferably CIPD qualified.
Experience in an HR Advisor or similar role, ideally in a fast-paced hospitality or retail environment. xwzovoh
Have a good grounding in HR principles and legislation and comfortable interpreting policy into advice and practice
Proactive with a hands-on approach
Solution focused and look for ways to make things happen
Have excellent organisational skills with a keen eye for detail
Are personable and engaging and able to build strong relationships with employees and managers alike
Enjoy working as part of a team and happy to cover for their counterparts when required
Have strong Microsoft Excel, Word and Powerpoint skills
Have a genuine interest in people engagement and promoting great working environments
In return we provide:
A great working environment
Pension scheme
Target Bonus
Refer A Friend Scheme
Free Sushi or hot food (vegan options available)
50% discount in our Branches
Employee Assistant Programme
Long Service Awards
Stream - a financial wellbeing benefit that lets you access your pay as you earn it in real time and manage savings
Life Assurance
Cycle To Work
Free on-site parking
A variety of discounts (shopping, food & drink, entertainment and health & fitness) through Perkbox
Online GP service via Perkbox and
The opportunity to develop your skills within a growing company.
Our people make us who we are. If you're looking for an exciting challenge and this sounds like the job for you please apply today as we can't wait to hear from you.
COME ROLL WITH US!