Employment Solicitor

You will play a crucial role in delivering high-quality legal services across a diverse and complex employment law portfolio, providing expert advice and representation on matters that can be high profile, politically sensitive and financially significant. Working closely with senior officers, elected members and departmental clients, you will help shape key employment decisions and contribute to the efficient delivery of council services.
This role offers the opportunity to handle challenging and rewarding work within one of the country’s most dynamic local authorities, while benefiting from agile working arrangements and a strong commitment to professional development.
 

Key Responsibilities As Employment Solicitor, you will:

• Provide timely, practical and commercially focused legal advice on a wide range of employment law matters.
• Manage a varied caseload of employment-related litigation, including complex, high-profile and sensitive matters.
• Advise on issues including unfair dismissal, TUPE, discrimination claims, Equality Act matters, whistleblowing claims and settlement agreements.
• Conduct proceedings and represent the Council in Employment Tribunals, courts, inquiries and other hearings as appropriate.
• Draft pleadings, witness statements, legal documentation, reports and legal opinions.
• Instruct and manage counsel and external legal advisers where required.
• Provide legal and procedural advice to Cabinet Members, committees, sub-committees and senior officers.
• Monitor developments in employment law and communicate legal changes to client departments.
• Maintain accurate case management records and ensure compliance with Lexcel and professional standards.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives and contribute to the development of teams, systems and processes.

What We Expect This Role to Achieve In this role, you will:

• Deliver efficient, cost-effective and customer-focused legal services.
• Independently manage complex and routine employment law matters with minimal supervision.
• Provide robust and pragmatic legal advice that supports informed decision-making across the Council.
• Achieve monthly and annual chargeable hours targets.
• Successfully negotiate favourable outcomes on behalf of the Council.
• Build strong relationships with clients, elected members, colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Ensure legal and procedural compliance in all areas of responsibility.
• Contribute to the reputation of Legal Services as a trusted and responsive partner to the organisation.