Employment Legal Counsel

• Act as a trusted advisor to HR and business leaders, providing pragmatic, commercially focused and legally robust employment law advice.
• Advise on complex and high-risk employment matters including disciplinary, grievance, whistleblowing, discrimination, harassment, restructures, redundancy, business change, TUPE, settlement agreements, restrictive covenants and senior exits.
• Identify legal risks and provide practical solutions that balance compliance requirements with operational and commercial objectives.
• Support the development of legally compliant people strategies across Atlas.
• Monitor legislative developments, case law and regulatory changes, assessing business impact and driving implementation of required changes. 

• Manage or oversee Employment Tribunal litigation and pre-claim disputes, including ACAS Early Conciliation matters.
• Develop litigation strategy for employment disputes, conduct internal investigations, review pleadings, prepare Grounds of Resistance and other tribunal submissions, draft witness statements, manage disclosure and bundle preparation, and represent or support the organisation through pre-hearing proceedings, final hearings, and settlement negotiations.
• Instruct and manage external legal advisers and control legal spend where applicable.
• Support HR and managers through complex litigation, investigations and dispute resolution activity.
• Analyse litigation trends and provide recommendations to mitigate future risk and improve organisational practice. 

• Provide specialist legal support on TUPE transfers, outsourcing, insourcing, harmonisation exercises, acquisitions, contract mobilisation and organisational change programmes.
• Review and negotiate contractual employment provisions and TUPE-related obligations within commercial contracts.
• Support bid, tender and commercial activity by identifying workforce and employment law risks.
• Partner with HR and operational teams to ensure legally compliant consultation and employee engagement processes.
• Advise on collective consultation obligations and trade union considerations arising from business change programmes. 

• Draft, review and update employment contracts, policies, procedures, guidance notes and template documentation.
• Support the development of people policies that reflect legal requirements, best practice and organisational values.
• Contribute to governance reporting by identifying trends, emerging risks and mitigation strategies.
• Maintain accurate legal documentation and support audit and compliance activities across the People function.
• Provide legal support to HR in responding to employee data rights requests, including Subject Access Requests (SARs), requests for rectification, erasure, and other applicable data protection rights including liaising with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) where required. 

•  Build trusted relationships with leaders, managers and HR colleagues across the organisation.
• Deliver practical training, coaching and legal updates to HR teams, managers and leadership groups.
• Support capability building through knowledge sharing and proactive legal guidance.
• Work collaboratively wiith external legal advisers, trade unions and other professional partners where required.

• A UK qualified Employment Lawyer Solicitor with ideally 3+ years' PQE with experience advising on employment law matters.
• Proven experience managing both contentious and non-contentious employment law issues.
• Demonstrable experience handling Employment Tribunal cases and ACAS Early Conciliation matters.
• Strong understanding and experience of TUPE, organisational change, redundancy and collective consultation processes.
• Experience operating within a fast-paced commercial environment.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and challenge appropriately at all levels.
• Strong drafting, analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to balance legal accuracy with commercial pragmatism.
• Experience managing sensitive and confidential matters with discretion.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise and manage a varied caseload independently.
• Excellent written, verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Collaborative approach with a commitment to knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
• A Right to Work in the UK

• Previous experience within an in-house legal function.
• Experience within Facilities Management, Cleaning, Security, Support Services or other multi-site operational environments.
• Experience working within unionised environments.
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, outsourcing or large-scale workforce transformation projects.
• Experience managing external legal providers and controlling legal spend.
• Advocacy experience at Preliminary or Final Hearings. 

What makes this job amazing?  

*Subject to qualifying parameters.