Who are we?
Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. We're experts helping clients adapt and thrive in a changing world. Our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 23,000 employees spanning 56 countries.
An excellent opportunity has arisen for an Employment Legal Counsel to join an expanding Legal team.
What we're looking for
We are looking for someone to provide high quality, pragmatic employment law advice across the business, supporting HR and wider stakeholders on a broad range of UK employment matters. This role offers the opportunity to work within a collaborative, fast paced, and supportive in house environment, contributing to both operational and strategic employment workstreams.
What you'll be doing
•Provide day-to-day employment law advice to HR and business leaders on a wide range of matters, including disciplinaries, grievances, performance, sickness, restructures, and general employee relations.
•Advise on employee exits, restrictive covenants and confidentiality obligations.
•Support on litigation matters, including preparation for Employment Tribunal claims; High Court litigation experience is a plus.
•Draft, review and update employment contracts, settlement agreements, policies, and template documentation.
•Support redundancy consultations, TUPE (where applicable) and organisational change initiatives.
•Partner closely with HR Business Partners and senior HR stakeholders to provide commercially focused, solutions-driven advice.
•Assist in developing best-practice HR processes and people-related governance.
•Provide training and updates on employment law developments to HR and line managers.
•Collaborate with external counsel where required and manage cost-effective use of external legal resource.
What qualifications we're looking for
•UK-qualified solicitor with approximately 2-3 years PQE in Employment Law.
•Strong private practice background and/or in-house experience.
•Essential: demonstrable experience of restrictive covenant matters.
•Experience advising large or complex organisations.
•Experience managing stakeholder expectations, particularly HR.
•Experience of High Court litigation is desirable.
•Ability to work autonomously, provide strategic advice, and supervise junior lawyers.
•Commercial mindset with collaborative, solutions-oriented approach.
What do we offer in return?
A career that you define. Our business succeeds by allowing our people to make a mark in the areas they care about most: personal development, volunteering, and fundraising for charity, or creating new insurance products that address society's greatest challenges.
This is a permanent position.
