Junior Lawyer

Type: Trainee
Region: London

Your new role

National Highways is hiring for a Junior Lawyer for our Legal Service directorate, to be based at our central Birmingham location.

In this role you will be responsible for providing effective and pragmatic legal advice over a range of areas in the business (specifically employment law) and supporting Lawyers and Senior Lawyers in relation to more complex legal matters, drawing on their expertise to ensure that the best interests of National Highways are always protected.

What youll be leading on

Responsible for providing specialist employment legal advice to human resources and managers across National Highways. This advice will span the whole remit of employment legal work but will particularly focus on support to the employee relations team dealing with HR processes including disciplinary, grievance, performance and attendance management.

Manage employment tribunal claims against National Highways, either independently or by assisting the senior lawyer with more complex cases.

Provide training and updates to the HR team on developments in employment law.

Advise on reputational risk, ensuring that the horizon is scanned, pulling together conflicting priorities and managing expectations of a range of stakeholders in order to provide the best possible legal service to National Highways.

Act independently as a legal expert for National Highways, resolving any queries, providing clear, concise advice and direction for those in need in relation to routine employment legal work and supporting the Senior Lawyer in relation to more complex legal matters.

Hold external, contracted lawyers to account to ensure they are acting responsibly and are utilising internal resources, frameworks and guidelines to ensure work is not repeated and is compliant.

To be successful you’ll need

Ability to influence stakeholders at a range of levels

Ability to work under pressure

Competent client handling skills

To be a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.

Understanding of employment law with experience of providing employment legal advice to employers and dealing with employment tribunal claims for respondents.

Experience in legal practice

A bit about us

The Legal Services Directorate encompasses the company’s legal team and the Company Secretariat function. The legal team is divided into four divisions: planning, operations, property and commercial.The in-house team provide an effective legal service to the company, and support the Board, Chief Executive and its committees on a wide range of issues. The team provide strategic legal advice to support delivery of the Road Investment Strategy.

About Us

Why you should join us

At National Highways we believe in a connected country. We are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this.Were proud that as an organisation we are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support our colleagues to do the same with their careers.

So, if you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity in how you do it

then youll be a great fit for our organisation.

A connected and sustainable working approach has been adopted across National Highways. For some roles, this means being able to work in a hybrid way spending up to 60% of time working from a remote location such as home.

Please wait until the interview stage before asking us about flexibility, and we will explore what is possible.

Our benefits package

Our total reward package includes basic salary, the potential for a performance related bonus

Contributory pension scheme with employer contribution of up to 10%

Annual Leave starting at 26 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising by 1 day each year up to 31 days (plus Bank Holidays)

Flexible hours and an approach driven by connected and sustainable working which includes hybrid working

Life assurance of 4 times annual salary

Health and wellbeing support, including anEmployee Assistance Programme, available 24/7 365 days and network of mental health first aiders. Plus access to a wellbeing app to enhance your self-care 24/7, Occupational health service and flu vaccines

A cycle to work scheme for the purchase of a bicycle and equipment for healthy, low carbon travel

Significant investment in your career development, through learning and development, talent management, coaching, mentoring and on job experience

And we are

Family friendly with enhanced maternity leave and pay, paternity leave (15 days), shared parental leave, adoption leave. Plus access to financial support for holiday play schemes and paid special leave (up to 5 days pa), eg for caring responsibilities

Money friendly with access to a discounts platform including over 3000 discounts for supermarkets, eating out, leisure, holidays. Alongside a financial wellbeing programme

Community friendly

offering paid leave to volunteer, 3 days basic/year

If you are successful, it is key to know all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory completion of our pre-employment checks which include:

Right to work check

3 year employment history references

DBS criminal record check

Social media and adverse journalism check

Driving licence check (if applicable)

Fit to work questionnaire (for all), followed by a medical check (if applicable)

Qualifications and/or professional membership check (if applicable)

And finally

We reserve the right to close before the advertisement expires.

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