UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson has appointed Laura Chinyere-Ezeh as HR consultant in health and social care to lead a new offering for residential care homes, nursing homes, domiciliary care providers and hospices.

Based at the firm’s Birmingham office, Chinyere-Ezeh’s team will provide advice on matters such as workforce planning, complex grievances and disciplinaries, allegations against staff, team restructures, organisational development, TUPE transfers and indemnities on outsourcing, and exit agreements.

It will also support clients with HR audits to ensure compliance with the Care Quality Commission, bespoke and off-the shelf-training for all levels of staff, and developing HR policies.

Chinyere-Ezeh has more than a decade of experience as an HR generalist. She was previously an HR business partner at Ramsay Healthcare, and was part of senior leadership teams for three neurological rehabilitation centres’ clinical support functions for acute care and central corporate teams. She has also held several HR management positions, including with a domiciliary care provider for local authorities.

Chinyere-Ezeh said: “It is a brilliant time to be joining Browne Jacobson as the firm continues to grow its clients, teams and services, proving that the expertise in law firms goes far beyond legal advice into various other practical and strategic matters.

“The health and social care sector is experiencing a lot of change right now, with retention and recruitment among its greatest challenges. By thinking outside the box, employers can showcase the rewarding nature of working in this sector and ensure they have a sustainable supply of talent to meet future demands.”

Emma Hughes, partner and head of HR services, added: “Our HR practice has proven to be a huge success in the education sector, where our team of 20-plus consultants now support a large number of schools and trusts in navigating both the day-to-day and more complex issues that arise in any organisation.

“We believe there’s huge potential to replicate this provision in the health and social care sector, where many of the same opportunities and challenges exist. We identified that a large proportion of care providers that typically have between one and 10 care homes experience a lack of specialist HR resource and therefore struggle with the vast array of people challenges.

“Responsibility usually falls upon registered managers, who are already stretched, and many of these providers experience greater workforce challenges as a result. By pooling our expertise, we can support these businesses in dealing with what is fast becoming one of society’s biggest issues due to the ageing population and acute shortages in the care workforce.

“In Laura, who brings vast experience from working in senior roles for care providers, we have the ideal person to lead this new service and we look forward to developing it over time.”