Solicitor - Employment

This is a Permanent , Full Time vacancy that will close in 12 days at 23:59 GMT .

The Vacancy

Our market leading Employment team in Newcastle is looking to recruit two additional experienced solicitors (3 - 10 years PQE) to join us in roles ranging from Solicitor to Director level.

The Employment team acts for some of the region's most high profile private and public sector clients across sectors such as manufacturing, retail, hospitality, tech, health, education, charities, local authorities and housing. The requirement to recruit additional solicitors is due to an increase in both contentious and non-contentious client instructions from existing and new clients and in line with the firm's overall growth strategy across all service lines. The successful candidates will be exposed to high quality contentious and non-contentious employment work within a supportive and flexible team culture. The team works collaboratively with colleagues across its five offices and there will be the opportunity to work with clients from outside the region and internationally.

What will I be doing

• Providing day to day operational employment law advisory support to clients on disciplinary, grievance, performance management, capability, sickness absence, contract and policy drafting etc.
• Providing strategic employee relations advice often within a union backed environment in relation to reorganisations/restructures on a collective and individual basis, TUPE/outsourcing, post termination restraints, complex grievances and whistleblowing complaints, investigations, DSAR's etc.
• Managing a Tribunal caseload and supporting senior members of the team in running high value, complex and sensitive litigation. We encourage our solicitors to carry out their own Pre-Hearing Reviews, Case Management Discussions and where appropriate undertake full advocacy at hearing.
• You will have the opportunity to focus in specialist areas such as Health Employment, Education Employment - schools, academies, further education colleges and MAT's, Immigration (business and personal) and Corporate Support.
• Assist in developing existing and new client business via appropriate channels including active network building and the delivery of training.
• Where appropriate supervising and delegating work to trainee solicitors, paralegals and legal secretaries as appropriate.

You'll have

• A minimum of 3 years (up to a maximum of 10 years) PQE in employment law acting for respondents.
• Strong experience advising employers on both contentious and none-contentious employment matters.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills and be adept at working to challenging timescales and with demanding clients.
• A Proactive approach and be enthusiastic and committed with the ability to plan and organise effectively.
• Great attention to detail with effective diary/ administration management (including time recording).
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to adapt to different clients' circumstances and backgrounds and to articulate and explain potentially complex points in a straightforward and clear manner.

About us

We're proud to be an independent, full-service law firm providing exceptional legal expertise to businesses, the built environment, healthcare, the public and third sectors, and private individuals. With several office locations around the UK we're one of the UK's Top 100 law firms. When you join us, you'll be part of a team of over 500 passionate and talented individuals who take pride in offering an exciting and supportive environment allowing you to thrive.

We're passionate about promoting wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion, with dedicated committees to support ongoing efforts. We recognise that a healthy and thriving Firm filled with individuality and differences strengthen our teams, our clients and our communities.

What we can offer you

We're committed to being a firm focused on support, development, wellbeing and inclusion and we're always striving to improve. Our commitment to this has been recognised by our achievement of our Gold Investors in People award and by our Hive HR Employee Voice certification.

We reward our people with a whole range of benefits, some core and some flexible, designed to shape a reward package that's right for you - now and in the future. Our core benefits include:

• An enhanced pension scheme with employer matched contributions of up to 6%.
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays (increasing to 28 days with length of service). There is also the option to purchase up to 5 additional days.
• Life assurance cover of 4 times basic salary, with the option to purchase additional cover.
• A range of health and well being benefits
• Hybrid working with a minimum requirement of two days in the office
• We also have a flexible benefits programme where you can purchase a wide range of additional benefits.

We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please request a call back via the above email address.

The Company

Ward Hadaway is a full-service, UK Top 100 law firm providing exceptional legal expertise to businesses, public and third sectors, and individuals.

From our offices in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Teesside, we combine regional strength with national influence to deliver high-quality, tailored solutions that drive success for our clients.

We remove ambiguity and provide a clear direction and certainty. We build trust with each other and our clients through honest, transparent interactions.

• Respectful

We succeed together. We build and maintain an inclusive firm in which difference is recognised, valued and harnessed.

• Ambitious

We constantly strive and innovate to be the best we can be for ourselves, our teams and the firm.

The Benefits

The important bits

We offer a competitive salary, discretionary bonuses, and a range of benefits to suit your lifestyle.

With flexibility and work-life balance in mind, we offer flexible working options where roles allow such as hybrid working, part-time working and job-sharing.

We want you to feel your best every day and, as well as providing a supportive and inclusive environment, we provide a range of health and wellbeing benefits to help you achieve this.

The fun stuff

We have an active social calendar with plenty of opportunities to get together with your team, wider departments, and cross-office.