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A day in the life of an Assistant Human Resources Officer

Alison Clark

My name is Alison Clark. I am an Assistant Human Resources Officer and work in the Human Resources department at East Devon District Council. I have worked in this role for just over a year.

When I left University I knew I wanted to follow a career in Human Resources. When I saw the post of Human Resources Support Assistant advertised at East Devon District Council in 2003 I thought it would offer the ideal opportunity to pursue my career in Human Resources. I joined the council in this role without the need for any HR qualifications although I had just graduated from Plymouth University with a degree in law.

After working in this role for about a year and a half I had the opportunity to further develop my career in Human Resources by covering the post of Human Resources Support Officer in the Learning & Development team when a colleague went on maternity leave for a year. The skills and knowledge I gained in this role enabled me to apply for the post of Assistant Human Resources Officer. When I started this role one of the conditions was that I was willing to undertake a professional human resources qualification so I started a Masters in Personnel & Development which has taken two years to complete. I have nearly finished the qualification and once I have done so I feel that this is probably my proudest achievement in my career so far.

A typical day in the life of a Assistant Human Resources Officer is very varied. It involves advising managers on people issues that arise day to day in their team in the context of employment law. I spend quite a lot of time working with managers and employees helping to identify suitable adjustments to their job roles when an employee has a medical condition or when they are planning to return to work following a long period of sickness absence. I also spend time investigating situations which could potentially lead to disciplinary hearings. Finally, part of my role involves collating various data such as the total number of employees we have at any given time, how many hours they work and how much sickness absence has been taken in the last year. All of this data is provided to the management team regularly.

The thing I like most about my role as an Assistant Human Resources Officer is the opportunity I have to meet with and advise various managers and employees and support them through often very difficult times. No two people are alike and this can make the job very rewarding. Employment law is constantly changing so a career in Human Resources offers the potential to continue to learn throughout your career. If I had to choose one aspect I wasn’t so keen on it would be the need to be involved in disciplinary proceedings. This aspect of the job is never a nice thing but somebody has to do it!

I work 37 hours per work and on an average day I work 9.00 – 17.00. However, I have the opportunity to work flexibly within certain time bands due to the flexi system. I currently have 21 days annual leave which I can take when I want to as long as this is agreed in advance.

A career in local government offers the potential for personal and professional development and is very challenging and rewarding.

Good Luck in your chosen career!

Page last updated on 24 May 2012