Talent Bank Expert

Hugo Carter

Waddington Brown Ltd

Specialisms

I specialise in the following areas:

  • HR Consultancy
  • Investigations
  • Mediation

Hugo is a senior HR professional and qualified workplace mediator. He specialises in employee relations, workplace investigations, TUPE and organisational change across the public and private sectors. He has led HR through restructures, service centralisations and terms and conditions consultations, consistently delivering change without legal or tribunal claims. Hugo supports clients throughout the East of England on complex ER casework, mediation and structural change. His experience spans local government, the NHS, education and the commercial sector, and he combines strategic HR judgement with hands-on delivery, discretion and a fair, evidence-based approach.

Key Strengths/Area of Expertise

  • Complex employee relations casework: grievance, disciplinary, capability and absence management
  • Workplace investigations, including sensitive cases where HR itself has been named
  • Workplace mediation, including business owner and senior manager to employee disputes
  • TUPE transfers, managing moves both into and out of organisations to deadline
  • Restructuring, organisational design and high-volume consultation processes
  • Change management and terms and conditions consultation, with a track record of no legal claims
  • HR partnering at all levels, from operational advice to board-level strategic support
  • Line manager capability building through development programme design and delivery
  • Trade union relationship management, consultation and negotiation

Professional Qualifications

  • CIPD Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management, and Member of the CIPD
  • National Certificate in Workplace Mediation (Open College Network)

Testimonials/Case Studies

Hugo provided outstanding support during a significant workplace transition. His profound knowledge in HR was a tremendous resource, and his compassionate and empathetic approach, conveyed with a calm and reassuring presence was incredibly comforting. Hugo’s unwavering support made all the difference during this challenging time. Hugo’s diligent and supportive nature, combined with his strong professional counsel, make him an excellent individual to work with. Shelley Barrett – Pitkin & Ruddock.

Hugo is an exceptional individual. His personal resilience is second to none; there is nothing he cannot tackle head on. His HR knowledge and expertise goes without saying, but Hugo has so much more to offer than just HR. His considerate manner and outstanding team approach makes him a joy to work with. He is the ultimate professional, always pragmatic and a real asset to the team. Sally Marlow – HRD, York St John University.

Notable Achievements/Value Added

  • Led an HR development project for a regional multi-academy trust, engaging educational and non-educational stakeholders and working with the CEO to agree an alternative HR structure.
  • Integrated three decentralised HR advisory teams into a single centralised operation, leading a team of 18 and embedding consistent policy, process and ways of working.
  • Reduced monthly absence cost and days lost by around 35 percent within his client group at Suffolk County Council.
  • Delivered a terms and conditions consultation achieving full employee sign-up with no legal claims.
  • Reduced central division headcount and cost by around 50 percent at Care UK, in line with strategic objectives.
  • Provided timely, effective guidance to managers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and led a full Employee Handbook review with recognised trade unions.
  • Supported two HR apprentices to achieve their CIPD qualification, one of whom was runner-up in the Apprenticeship of the Year Awards 2023.
  • Managed combined HR and training budgets of approximately £225,000 while overseeing outsourced transactional and payroll providers against KPIs.

Relevant Sector Knowledge

  • Local government: county, borough and district councils, including shared-service delivery models
  • NHS and clinically-led commissioning, including workforce and OD strategy
  • Education: multi-academy trust and higher education
  • Health and social care, including multi-site residential care operations
  • Private and commercial sector, including manufacturing, maritime and owner-managed businesses
  • Governance experience as a former vice chair of governors, chair of an HR committee and named safeguarding governor

LGR Experience & Expertise

  • Extensive TUPE experience gained across local government and the wider public sector, managing transfers in both directions to agreed deadlines, a core workstream in any reorganisation.
  • Track record of centralising and integrating separate teams into single operations, directly relevant to the structural consolidation involved in local government reorganisation.
  • Skilled in large-scale restructuring and high-volume consultation, having supported organisations through change while meeting timescales and safeguarding fair treatment of affected staff.
  • Experienced in terms and conditions harmonisation and consultation, achieving full employee engagement with no resulting legal claims, a key challenge when bringing workforces together under new authorities.
  • Strong trade union consultation and negotiation record across multiple public sector bodies.
  • Deep familiarity with public sector governance, values and behaviours frameworks, and the operating context of councils in the East of England.