Employment Lawyer – Perm - London

Job description

EY is a global network of professional services firms engaged in advisory, transaction, assurance and tax services with member firms in over 170 countries worldwide.  The UK firm of Ernst & Young LLP has over 700 partners and 17,000 employees.

  

The UK Legal team is well established and highly regarded.  Led by our General Counsel, Lisa Cameron, we comprise 20 lawyers supported by 2 paralegals. The UK Legal team also forms part of a Global legal function.

The opportunity

We have a vacancy for a manager within our high performing and ambitious in-house legal team. In line with our NextWave Strategy to create long term value as the world’s most trusted, distinctive professional services organisation we are disrupting ourselves for the future, focussing on asset based services, emerging technologies and encouraging and enabling innovation.  We enjoy a challenging workload, supporting that Strategy by the prompt delivery of pragmatic, adaptable and commercial legal advice to all levels within our business. 

 

Your key responsibilities

 

The work within the UK Legal team is highly varied and covers all legal issues arising from the running of a professional services business.   Much of the legal work is at the cutting edge of business practice as the firm constantly finds innovative ways to help our clients’ businesses.

 

Your work will include

· 
providing day to day legal support for HR business partners and specialists, including with employment/secondment agreements, absence/leave matters and change programmes

· 
supporting the Employee Relations team on complex grievance, disciplinary and dismissal processes as well as early negotiation of potential employee disputes and settlement agreements.  Also providing strategic litigation support on employment tribunal claims

· 
advising, drafting and negotiating employment related aspects of client matters including contracts, master service agreements and tenders, with a particular focus on TUPE, including transfer of teams into EY

· 
providing employment law support to the Partner Matters team, including restrictive covenant and stock clawback issues for incoming partners, potential removals/negotiated exits and partner disputes (e.g. discrimination)

· 
giving employment law input into EY projects

· 
conducting investigations in relation to business and conduct issues, including whistleblowing reports and external complaints

· 
conducting and/or supporting employment aspects of due diligence and acquisitions

· 
reviewing, amending and implementing changes to policies, procedures and standard documentation in light of legal developments

· 
ideally, you’ll also have some familiarity with partnership law, pensions and data protection 

Skills and attributes for success

·  Strong team player with excellent negotiation and communication skills.
·  Demonstrable commitment to the attributes of our highest performing teams – focus on results, accepting of accountability, committed, embraces healthy conflict, builds trust.
·  Keeps calm and copes well with conflicting and ever-changing deadlines.
·  Ability to lead, provide a view, take responsibility and ownership of issues, including an ability to take difficult decisions and provide substantiated arguments.
·  Commercial awareness of the business issues facing us as we evolve, coupled with an active desire to get alongside our business, offering legal insight and support. 

To qualify for the role you must have

·  At least 5 years of post-qualification employment law experience
·  Significant experience gained either in a reputable City law firm (or equivalent) and/or in-house
·  Ability to provide practical legal advice and support with a high degree of professionalism in a fast-paced environment and to establish a high degree of credibility, respect and trust at all levels. 

What we look for 

· 
A self-starter, adept at responding promptly/juggling deadlines who actively looks to build relationships based on trust and confidence.

What working at EY offers
We offer a competitive remuneration package where you’ll be rewarded for your individual and team performance. Our comprehensive Total Rewards package includes support for flexible working and career development, and with FlexEY you can select benefits that suit your needs, covering holidays, health and well-being, insurance, savings and a wide range of discounts, offers and promotions. Plus, we offer: 
·  Support, coaching and feedback from some of the most engaging colleagues around
·  Opportunities to develop new skills and progress your career
·  The freedom and flexibility to handle your role in a way that’s right for you
EY is committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We strive to achieve the right balance for our people, enabling us to deliver excellent client service whilst allowing you to build your career without sacrificing your personal priorities. While our client-facing professionals can be required to travel regularly, and at times be based at client sites, our flexible working arrangements can help you to achieve a lifestyle balance.

About EY
As a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, we’re using the finance products, expertise and systems we’ve developed to build a better working world. That starts with a culture that believes in giving you the training, opportunities and creative freedom to make things better. Whenever you join, however long you stay, the exceptional EY experience lasts a lifetime.

Please note
Prior to finalizing your application, you will be asked to provide personal information across several dimensions of diversity and inclusiveness. The information you provide is kept entirely confidential and will not be used to evaluate your candidacy. We collect this data to help us analyse our recruitment process holistically and implement actions that promote diversity and inclusiveness. While optional, we encourage you to provide this information to hold us accountable towards our goal of building a better working world. Read more about our commitment to diversity & inclusiveness here . We ask because it matters!
 
If you can confidently demonstrate that you meet the criteria above, please contact us as soon as possible.

Join us in building a better working world. 
 
Apply now.