Senior Lawyer - Employment

The starting salary for this role is £53,918 per annum based on a 36 hour working week.

Are you looking for a new opportunity to develop your career in Employment Law?

Are you as committed as we are to working as part of a supportive, successful and Lexcel accredited in-house legal team that delivers timely, clear and effective legal advice, representation and assistance to the Council?

Are you looking to work in an agile organisation that focusses on outcomes?

If so, an exciting opportunity has arisen within our Employment team for a qualified Senior Solicitor or Lawyer.

About You

We are looking for a skilled, employment lawyer with substantial experience of the law and practice in this area to join our friendly and committed team.

An effective and dynamic individual, with some experience of managing and supervising people, you will be able to motivate others, be flexible in your approach, comfortable both leading and working in a team and be able to work to challenging priorities and achieve clear outcomes. The role will bring you into contact with senior officers throughout the organisation.

The Role

You will be working as part of a small team of employment lawyers to provide advice across a broad range of issues to support the Council in its role as an employer. As one of two employment Solicitors, you will play an active role in the management of the employment team and will deputise for the Principal Solicitor alongside actively contributing to the future delivery of first class legal services.

You will be expected to provide quality proactive legal advice on issues including but not limited to:

• Employment tribunal casework for claims against Council (including Surrey Fire and Rescue Service) and for Surrey Schools via Buy-back arrangements
• Pre-litigation support to HR/client services (including Surrey Fire and Rescue Service) for in-house processes/disputes
• Settlements with employees (including schools where Council is contractual employer)
• Acas Early conciliations
• TUPE enquiries
• General employment law enquiries from HR/client services
• Support to HR on policy and process development, pay arrangements and trade union issues
• General employment advice including early conciliations for Surrey schools within buy-back scheme

You will clearly demonstrate that you have good experience in the relevant areas of law and the following skills and abilities:

• Negotiating and drafting documentation
• Providing solutions-focused and enabling advice on a range of matters and an ability to learn quickly about subjects in which you may not have had prior experience
• Effective team working
• Leading/ contributing at client and project meetings
• Advising Members and Senior Officers of the Council
• Managing competing priorities to achieve client/ statutory deadlines
• Exemplary client care and organisational skills
• Assisting with management of the team and direct supervision of at least one member of the team

The team is supportive and knowledgeable and there is a commitment to development and training of our in-house talent.

Our Legal Services department is Lexcel accredited.

Our administrative base is in Reigate but we also have an office in Weybridge where our Support Team is based. However, the Council adopts an agile working policy, so we are able to provide some flexibility in terms of where you work from.

Benefits

From flexible working arrangements to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied. You will benefit from 26 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years’ service, a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our webpage on Staff Benefits.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on Sunday 21st August 2022.

Interviews will take place on 1st September 2022 at our Weybridge Office (1^st Floor, Dakota, De Havilland Dr, Weybridge, KT13 0YP).

 This post has been designated as a politically restricted post in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

Contact Details

For an informal discussion please contact Deborah Chantler by e-mail at deborah.chantler@surreycc.gov.uk. 

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer of first choice reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all under represented groups.