Overview
The Employee Relations team brings together a wide range of experience and specialist knowledge, working closely to provide consistent, well‑considered support to ECA Member about employment matters.
By sharing expertise and taking a joined‑up approach, the team ensures advice is clear, reliable and aligned, giving Members confidence that guidance is practical, balanced and grounded in real workplace experience.
The people behind the Employee Relations team
Catherine Watt
Employment and Skills Director
About: Catherine leads ECA’s HR and Employee Relations function, working closely with Members and internal teams to support fair, compliant and effective people management.
Qualifications
- Principal ECA contact for the Joint Industry Board (JIB), involved in national wage negotiations and collective agreements for the electrical contracting industry
- Member of key JIB committees, including the Remuneration Committee, Employee Relations Committee and National Board
- Recognised employment‑law and employee‑relations specialist, delivering Member guidance, training and strategic advice across ECA regions
Follow Catherine on LinkedIn
ECA also works closely with WorkNest – a trusted employee relations and HR advisory partner that give Members access to additional expert support when needed.
WorkNest supplements the ECA Employee Relations team by providing clear, practical advice on employment matters, including extended helpline support beyond standard working hours, helping Members manage people issues with confidence and reassurance.
Go beyond the Employee Relations team's (Catherine) role, journey, and insights in the Q&A below.
Catherine: Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends and finding opportunities to switch off and get outdoors. Having balance outside work helps me stay focused and effective in a demanding role. It’s an important counterbalance to a role that involves a lot of thinking, problem‑solving, and decision‑making.
Keith: I support the Sheffield Steelers Ice Hockey Club, I’m a fair-weather cyclist, however most of my spare time is dedicated to managing my children’s ever growing social calendar!
Felix: I’m a big music fan and play the guitar.
Carolyn: Travel and horse racing are passions as well as spending time with my two grandchildren.
I lead ECA’s Employment Relations, Skills and Growth Hub services, as well as ECA’s internal HR function. For Members, this means I am responsible for the teams that provide practical advice and support on managing people, developing skills, navigating change and growing strong and resilient businesses. My role focuses on making sure Members can access the right help at the right time, ideally before issues escalate, and that ECA’s support is clear, relevant and easy-to-use.
I have spent my career working in employee relations, HR and organisational development, advising organisations in complex, high‑risk and highly regulated environments. My experience spans day‑to‑day people management advice through to major change programmes, restructuring, disputes and governance. I combine strong technical and legal knowledge with a practical, commercial approach to help organisations apply advice confidently in the real world.
I have worked at ECA for five years, during which time my role has evolved alongside the organisation’s developing offer to Members. This gives me a strong understanding of the electrotechnical sector, ECA membership, and the practical challenges contractors face.
The key benefit is access to trusted, practical, and expert industry support. My teams help Members manage people matters confidently and compliantly, build skills for the future and make informed decisions that protect and grow their business. Importantly, we support Members to think ahead and reduce risk, not just react when issues become urgent.
Members contact us for support on issues such as managing performance, conduct and absence, disciplinary and grievance processes, dismissals, redundancy and TUPE, employment law changes, skills and training, and wider organisational or growth challenges. We always encourage Members to contact us early, when advice can prevent issues becoming more serious or costly.
Don’t wait for perfect conditions, focus on doing the right thing well, consistently. In people and business matters there is rarely a perfect answer, but sound judgement, clarity and proportionate decision‑making make a real difference.
My superpower is cutting through complexity. I help Members get to the heart of an issue, understand their options clearly and move forward with confidence, without unnecessary jargon or over‑complication.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends and finding opportunities to switch off and get outdoors. Having balance outside work helps me stay focused and effective in a demanding role. It’s an important counterbalance to a role that involves a lot of thinking, problem‑solving, and decision‑making.
