Senior Associate - Employment (12-month fixed-term contract)

These are exciting times at ARAG as we’ve been going through a period of positive change and sustained growth across our Legal teams.  As a result, we now have an exciting opportunity for someone to join as a Senior Associate in our Employment department, on a 12-month fixed-term contract basis.

About the team:

Our Employment Law department deal with all aspects of employment law, from advising an employee on pursuing an unfair dismissal claim, or a claim for unpaid wages, to defending claims of whistleblowing and discrimination on behalf of respondents. Whilst we have longstanding relationships with various Chambers across the country, we conduct our own advocacy on a regular basis.

As well as acting for employees and employers during the litigation process, we also provide advisory HR services such as drafting contracts & policies or guiding and supporting businesses through the complexity of employment law requirements.

About the role:

As a Senior Associate you’ll run and advise on the most technically difficult cases within the Employment team and you’ll be a point of referral for our more junior fee earners regarding technical legal issues.

You’ll be required to lead, motivate and provide technical supervision to a team of fee earners who are handling a diverse and challenging contentious caseload, whilst providing the highest standard of service to our customers that we strive to achieve.

Other key responsibilities include:

• Managing a predominantly litigated caseload including complex matters such as Equal Pay, Discrimination, Interim-Relief and Whistleblowing, ensuring disputes are resolved in a commercial manner.
• Independently conducting all aspects of litigated cases from assessing prospects to preparing a case for trial (Legal Assistant support will be available).
• Delivering on team SLA’s, KPI’s, financial and performance targets to drive efficiency, performance, billing and throughput within the team.

This is a hybrid role – minimum 2 days a week in the office. The role can be full-time or part-time (minimum 4 days a week, or the equivalent hours) and can be based at either our Bristol City Centre office (next to Temple Meads) or our Bedwas office in South Wales.

You’ll be a qualified Solicitor or Legal Executive and, given the complexity of the matters you’ll be dealing with you’ll have significant experience in employment law litigation, being recognised as an authority on employment law and legal procedure.

You’ll be adept at dealing with the with the most difficult cases and / or the most challenging clients and with your depth of understanding you’ll be able to explain difficult legal concepts to clients and other lawyers in a manner that is comprehensible and easily understood.

Finally, you’ll be exceptionally customer-focussed in your approach and very driven to provide a high quality and efficient service to our clients and customers, with the ability to work proactively and collaboratively.

What’s on offer:

Only a 5-minute walk from Bristol Temple Meads station we have newly refurbished, modern city centre offices. Our staff are at the heart of everything we do, and we encourage our people to work flexibly and achieve a work-life balance that works for them.

This will be a hybrid role we can offer you generous remuneration and an attractive benefits package that includes:

• 27 days holiday, with the option to buy up to a further 5 days
• Private Medical Insurance
• Company Pension Scheme with the option to increase contributions
• Group Income Protection and Group Legal Protection for all employees.
• European Motor Assistance
• Home Emergency Assistance
• Salary sacrifice benefits including Cycle to Work Scheme
• Access to our Employee Discounts Hub offering exclusive discounts across thousands of retail partners, including discounted gym memberships at over 3,000 gyms across the UK
• The option to join our Sports and Social Club who organise discounted events such as theatre visits and shopping trips

If you think you would be a good match for this role and can demonstrate some transferable experience please apply, regardless of whether you meet all the criteria listed above.

ARAG UK helps businesses and individuals gain access to justice, and it’s our founding principle to enable everybody, not just those who can afford it, to assert their legal rights.

Thousands of businesses and individuals defend or pursue legal action each year safe in the knowledge that ARAG UK are paying their legal bills. Our businesses include a legal expenses insurance company and a law firm with many opportunities in both areas.

We have historically focussed on delivering legal services to customers solely via our Legal Expenses Insurance products, which provides a steady workload of litigated cases in areas such as;

• Personal Injury
• Litigation & Dispute Management
• Employment
• Business & Commercial

We believe these are exciting times for ARAG Law as part of the wider ARAG UK, and we are looking for likeminded individuals who share our ambition to make our high quality legal solutions accessible and affordable.

You can expect to join an organisation that will challenge and develop you to progress your career in ways that traditional law firms cannot. We are also committed to supporting continued professional development and promote both internal Training Contracts and alternative routes to qualification (SQE/CILEX).

By giving you every opportunity to develop yourself professionally and personally, we also pride ourselves on having an open, inclusive and high energy culture that encourages a fun working environment and places our customers at the very heart of everything we do.